Top 5 Olympic Photography Tips!

Are you feeling inspired by the London 2012 Olympics? Why not try and take some winning images yourself by following our top 5 action Olympic photography tips!

1. Keep it sharp
To be in with a chance of capturing those winning moments set the focus to AF and use a Single AF point selection. To make the job easier change the function of the AF-ON button to activate autofocus, rather then half-pressing the shutter. It’s easier to take action shots with this setup, as you can pre-focus the shot, then fire using the shutter. Set the AF mode to AI Servo, as this is the best setting for tracking moving subjects.

2. High burst mode
Capture the sequence from start to finish by putting your camera in the Continuous burst mode. If you’re shooting in both Raw and Jpeg it may slow your camera down so switch to just Raw. Make sure you keep shooting until the end of the action. You’ll need plenty of memory space for this rapid style of shooting so make sure you pack extra in your kit bag.

3. Get into position
It’s all about being in the right place at the right time. For example at a track race you want to be as close to the finish line as possible. Also look for those moments in between races and events where the athletes are preparing as you can capture some powerful portraits.

4. AV mode
As you’re shooting at a fast pace you may not notice if the light conditions change so for this reason put your D-SLR into the AV mode. You want to keep the aperture wide which will blur the background whilst keep the athlete in focus. If you’re shooting using a telephoto lens make sure your shutter speed is set to a fast enough speed to freeze the moment and also compensate for the length of the lens. Ideally you want it to stay around 1/1000sec. If you have the aperture open at it’s widest setting and your shutter speed is still too slow push the ISO up on your camera.

5. Flash
If you can get closer to the action you may want to use some flash to fill in the shadows if it’s possible to make your subject stand out. When shooting using flash, sync the shutter speed correctly. Too fast and the movement of the shutter blinds will obscure part of the shot. Set the camera to Manual mode, and set the shutter to 1/250 sec. Set ISO to 100 and balance the aperture against the flash light.

If you want more top shooting advice on how to capture top action images be sure to check out issue 64 of PhotoPlus on sale now!

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