Action portraits: how to photograph people on the go

How much drama can you pack into one action shot? We show you how to set up your camera to shoot great action portraits of people on the go.

Image and words by Tom Welsh

Action portraits are, by their nature, quite dramatic. To get the most out of photographing sports, however, we need to think carefully about angle, focal length and lighting.

Most sports feature subjects that are moving fast, so capturing a clean, sharp image can be a challenge, but no matter what sport you’re shooting, the fundamental rules are the same: unless you actually want to blur your subject or the background you’ll need to use fast shutter speeds and predictive focusing.

For our action shoot, we photographed rock climbers Ryan and Mark at Cheddar Gorge near Bristol. Though rock-climbing might not be the most fast-paced sport, it certainly has its fair share of death-defying drama.

Adding effective drama is mainly done compositionally, though some additional kit can open up more options to you.

A telephoto lens will allow you to overcome distance and is essential for many sport shoots, though as we were able to get closer than we’d usually be to a sporty subject, we used a 24-85mm lens for wider shots.

A flashgun also helped to highlight our athlete and darken the background for a more dramatic and harsh, isolated look.

One of the best methods for ensuring you get the best possible shots is to try out different angles. Climbing lends itself perfectly to this demonstration due to it being more three-dimensional than traditional sports, where athletes stay firmly on the ground.

To try out new perspectives we got above the athletes, below them, and everywhere in between to capture the action.

SEE MORE: 10 quick action photography tips

Get set, go
Decide on all of your camera settings before you begin shooting. The last thing you want is to be trying to work out your exposure while dozens of great shots fly on by.

Although conditions and lighting can change, knowing approximately what to use ahead of time will give you a great advantage. If you’re shooting a day-long event with a lot going on, auto ISO could save you time and help you stay on top of your exposure.

SEE MORE: Free action photography cheat sheet

Set up your camera to shoot action portraits

01 Pin-sharp action
Set your camera to manual (M) mode. As always when shooting fast-moving subjects, a fast shutter speed is essential if you want to freeze the movement. If you’re using flash, a speed of 1/200 sec will do, as this is the maximum sync speed of most cameras. Without flash, you’ll have to go even faster in order to avoid motion blur.

SEE MORE: Getting sharp images – every technique you need to know starting out

02 Focus tracking
Set your camera to continuous shooting mode (CH on the dial) and autofocus tracking. Turning off Focus tracking with lock-on in the focus shooting menu will allow for fast tracking while moving, as the camera will not try to lock onto anything – we’re photographing climbers, but this is especially useful when shooting team sports.

SEE MORE: 4 ways to ensure pin-sharp photos with focus tracking

03 Add some depth
Set your lens to a wide aperture to allow plenty of light through and make that motion-freezing faster shutter speed viable. Use an aperture of around f/4-5.6, especially when you’re not high up, as that will give enough depth of field to keep a face or hand sharp but send the background out of focus, isolating the athlete.

SEE MORE: Aperture cheat sheet – when to go small and when to go wide

04 Light ’em up
Use flash to highlight your model for a more striking image. (Make sure your subject knows you’ll be using it, for safety.) We used 1/8 power on our SB-910 Speedlight to prevent the flash overpowering the image. Set the flash zoom higher to create a beam of light. Set your ISO lower to darken the image, isolating the climber further.

SEE MORE: Flash photography made easy – master everything from pop-up flash to multiple flashguns

05 Highs and lows
Picking the right angle will make the difference between a good photo and a great one. Often shooting low down will make your athlete seem larger, so they appear to dominate the setting. Shooting them from above can do the reverse, leaving the athlete appearing smaller and more challenged by the activity.

SEE MORE: Angle of view – how to choose the right focal length to frame your image

06 Action stations
Direct your athlete into position. Get them into the most awkward position you can by exaggerating their moves. This will make the best possible shapes for the image. Although shooting them doing what they do naturally can be more convincing in photographs, virtually static poses are easier to capture on camera.

SEE MORE: How to compose a photograph in Live View

Alternate angles of view to try

Push the limits to add a sense of place to your sporting drama

From the ground up
Get below your subject and shoot upwards to make the location appear a larger, more challenging obstacle. If you use a wide lens to look up, it creates a vast landscape and makes the shot more about the location.

SEE MORE: 14 portrait photography tips you’ll never want to forget

On the level
Staying at the same elevation as a subject may seem fairly standard, but with climbing this is possibly the most unusual angle. Standing on a hillside and zooming in on the climber shows their position, bringing the viewer onto the wall with them.

Natural high
When shot from above, the long drop behind the climber can be the most effective way to add drama. Shooting with a zoomed flash (that the climber is ready for!), you can highlight the climber with a narrow beam. This darkens the background for a dramatic harsh light.

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