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The task of successfully seizing that one moment of action is not an easy one. It is a problem for not only the budding amateur, but also the competing professional. The constant debate of digital Vs film is not an issue here, as both offer no true advantage. The only pro with digital is that you get to see instantly whether the shot turned out to your liking or not. Capturing motion is down to technique, practice, timing and a spot of luck.
There are two main problems with capturing motion. The first of these is motion blur. At its most extreme the main subject appears as nothing more than a smear in the photograph. This is rare occurrence as even the most basic novice will manage to get some clarity of his subject. The second problem is in capturing the subject too well. The result of this is photograph that appears static, emotionless, lacking atmosphere and ironically lifeless. As you are aware by now, you need to find a balance between these two that suits your own tastes.
There are three essential methods to use if you wish to capture motion perfectly. The first, and most obvious method, is to utilise a high shutter speed. The faster the shutter the quicker the action is captured. It is best to combine this with the lens open as much as possible. Incorporating a maximum aperture size, f2.8 on professional lenses and f5.6 on standard, will provide you with a shallow depth of field. This creates a blurry background with the primary subject in perfect clarity. If the photographs are being taking indoors, it is a good idea to set the cameras ISO to its highest setting, which requires the least amount of light to take a photograph. The last method is to amalgamate these latter methods with a fast light source. This brief flash is used to freeze the motion for capture.
To capture action with blurring implement a slower shutter speed. It will take practice to decide what shutter speed produces a nicely blurred image, and which produces an image that is unrecognisable. A good process to use is panning. This entails using a slow shutter speed and then moving the camera to match the path of the subject. The desired result from this method is to produce blurred backgrounds but sharp subjects.
At the end of the day it comes down to what you actually plan to do with the photographs taken. If you're taking photographs of a local band for example, you may wish to have some motion blur to push their ostentatious image a bit further. Essentially it all comes down to what you desire aesthetically from your photographs. There is no right or wrong, just good and bad methods of capturing motion.
Well that's about it for this facet of photography. It's more of a brief overview full of helpful hints than a full step by step technical approach to shooting motion. As stated previously, the best way to improve your ability with capturing motion, as with everything, is to practice. Get outside and take photographs of cars, go to your nearest playing field on a Sunday and take photographs of local football matches, or even take a trip to a river and try to capture birds in flight.
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