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Chapter 9 Action and Event Photography
needed adjustments instinctively. You need
to make technique decisions—such as “freeze
motion” vs. “motion blur”—without hesitation
and apply them immediately.
Alfred Eisenstaedt, a renowned
photojournalist and street photographer in the
middle years of the twentieth century, once
described his approach as “f/8 and be there.”
In other words, being in the right place at the
right time, and using the proper camera settings
to capture the scene. On most lenses, f/8 is the
aperture that gives you the best combination of
sharpness and depth of field when used with a
shutter speed that is the nearest reciprocal of the
ISO, such as 1/125 second with ISO 100.
Although using the camera’s full
automatic setting is often considered the mark
of the amateur snapshooter, professional
photojournalists frequently leave their cameras
set on “auto.” They do so to anticipate situations
where a quick “grab shot” may be their only
opportunity to capture the action. If time allows,
they can then make necessary setting adjustments
and keep shooting.
Stopping Motion
In many action and event photography
situations, an important objective is a crisp, well-
focused shot of the subject. Since the subject is
often moving, this objective can only be achieved
by stopping that subject’s motion.
When you seek to totally stop the movement
of a subject, the relative motion of that subject
will affect the shutter speed you select. This
involves not only the speed at which the subject is
moving, but the direction of movement in relation
to the camera. In terms of the subject’s speed of
movement, the relationship is straightforward—
stopping a sprinter requires a faster shutter speed
than you would use to freeze the motion of a
slowly strolling pedestrian.
Effects of Relative Motion
Direction of movement also affects the choice
of shutter speed. A subject moving directly
toward the camera (whether that movement is
fast or slow) can be stopped by a relatively slow
shutter speed, Figure 9-4. A subject moving
at an angle to the lens’s axis, either toward or
away from the camera, requires a higher shutter
speed. If the movement is perpendicular to the
lens’s axis (i.e., across the field of view), a still
faster shutter speed is needed, Figure 9-5. Under
identical conditions, shutter speeds become twice
as fast for each directional change. For example,
if 1/125 second stops movement toward or away
Figure 9-4. Motion toward the camera, such as this
approaching boat, can be stopped quite easily with a
slower shutter speed.
Figure 9-5. Movement across the camera’s field of
view requires a faster shutter speed than either motion
toward the camera or diagonal motion. Focal length of
the lens and the distance of the subject from the camera
also influence the needed shutter speed.