Snap into action
Keen to capture the best action shots? Photographer Michael Hurren shares his tips for quick and slick pics.
What should you know about an action sport to photograph it?
In a creative sense, it’s good to know how the subject is going to move and react but, most importantly, for safety you need to know how close you can get and what could happen if something goes wrong.
What do you need to capture fast-paced video?
Practice! Focusing on a car that’s doing more than 200 kilometres an hour and keeping it in frame is a skill that takes time. I like to shoot at 50 frames per second to give me the option of slow motion. I turn the stabiliser off and put the camera on a tripod with a fluid head for longlens work. For mid- and wide-lens work, I run handheld with the stabiliser on for smooth moves on corners. You should shoot video with the flat colour profile, keep ISO as low as possible, manually choose the white balance and run neutral density filters to keep the shutter speed at a minimum of double the frame rate. For action sports, I use two Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II cameras and a variety of Olympus M.Zuiko digital lenses: a 7-14mm F2.8 Pro, a 12-40mm F2.8 Pro, a 40-150mm F2.8 Pro and, my new favourite, the 300mm F4.0 IS Pro.
How do you react if you miss capturing a great moment?
There will always be more great moments; it’s best not to let it get you down. If you’re consistent at what you do, you have a better chance of capturing that brilliant moment the next time.
What’s your favourite action sport to photograph?
Off-road racing. It is fast, loud, dirty and action-packed and takes you to some of the most remote and beautiful parts of Australia.