Child Photography Tip:
Child Action Photography

"The ability to take good action shots
is a necessity in child photography."

Let's face it, children like to play. When they play, they are happy. When they are happy, their character comes out and some great shots can be taken.

The problem is that most kids are pretty fast, but that is not a problem with a good SLR (Single Lens Reflex) Camera.

The settings on an SLR can be adjusted so that time stands still in the picture. The setting that takes care of this is the shutter speed. For an in depth explanation of how this is done check out SLR Camera Settings.

Basically the longer the shutter is open, the more motion can be recorded on the image sensor and motion shows up as blur.

For general playing, I shoot around 1/400 of a second. Don't forget to adjust aperture and film settings to account for proper exposure.

Panning

Another technique that works on the other end of the spectrum is panning. Instead of freezing time with a fast shutter speed, allow the shutter to stay open longer and follow the subject.

It requires a bit of practice to be able to keep the subject in the same spot in the viewfinder while the subject is moving, but the effect is worth the work.

Using panning in action photography gives the appearance of motion while still reflecting the character of the child.

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