Choose your “sweet spot” and let the multi-shot feature in your Compact Digital Camera capture the action of your favourite sport
When it comes to action-packed excitement, tell the story through multiple photos.With the right camera, it’s easy! Guinevere Sofer explains
If you enjoy exciting sports such as skateboarding, football or wakeboarding, then try to capture those moments in photos.
It’s simple if you’re equipped with the right camera and the know-how.
Choosing the Right Equipment
Phone cams may be convenient but, for this technique, use at least a Compact Digital Camera, for three reasons.
Firstly, most phone cams don’t have the multi-shot feature. In other words, you have to take one picture at a time.
Meanwhile, almost all Compact Digital Cameras have this fantastic feature, which allows you to take multiple photos with just one push of the button.
Next, Compact Digital Cameras have faster response time, which allows the first photo to be captured almost in real-time.
Unfortunately, a phone cam’s response time is much slower, and quite often the subject matter moves out of the frame before the image can be recorded.
Last but not least, the image processor of a phone cam is typically much slower than a quality Compact Digital Camera’s. A slow image processor will delay capturing the second shot, third shot and so on.
With a Compact Digital Camera’s superior processing speed, more shots are captured in the same amount of time. This is crucial for capturing a sequence of images of a fast moving object.
With a Compact Digital Camera in hand, set it to multi-shot mode. Read your camera’s instruction manual on how to activate the feature. Often it’s just a few twists of the dial.
Finding a Sweet Spot
In any sports activity, there are common areas where the athlete will more likely “explode” with fast action. If it’s football, for instance, it will be close to the goalie or when two players are jostling for the ball.
If it’s skateboarding, it could be at the top of the ramp, where the skater is airborne. For basketball, it’s by the hoops.
If you’re a fan of the sport, you’ll probably be able to anticipate the approximate “sweet spots”.
Preparing to Shoot
After you’ve found your sweet spot, point your camera to that area and be prepared. Keep your eyes open.
Before the players reach the sweet spot, press the shutter release button, and let the multi-shot feature do the work. The Compact Digital Camera will continue to take pictures in sequence until you release your shutter button.
Tip: The trick is not to wait until you see the players in your camera’s screen. It would be too late.
You might be not be able to capture the ideal sequence of shots until you have taken several. Don’t be afraid to shoot more. You can always delete them later.
Fortunately, most sports give you plenty of opportunities to try again and again. As in sports, practice makes perfect. Enjoy.
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