Sports Photography How To

David Bergman is a top sports photographer, and in this two-minute tutorial he demonstrates how to convey motion in action photos by “panning” with your camera. The technique involves moving the camera at the same speed as your subject, with the goal of keeping the subject sharp while creating a blurred effect in the background. 

While most athletes have already returned home from the Rio Olympics, a small army of photographers and technicians are still busy packing up photo gear, miles of cable, and the latest digital technology. The video below gives you a look at all the equipment used by Associated Press photographers at the 2016 games.

You're likely familiar with the claim by so-called purists that "You're not a real photographer unless you shoot in Manual mode." Since we avoid profanity on this page, let's just say that's  simply a bunch of nonsense.

Bill Pekala, head of Nikon Professional Services, came to the US Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, last August to run the NPS operation at the matches. Sports events can be the ultimate proving ground for camera gear, and one of NPS’s primary roles is providing their member professional photographers with the assurance of dedicated on-site support.

Today’s camera gear is faster than ever and much of it is tailor-made for capturing any sort of motion or movement. So then why do so many photographers struggle to shoot compelling images of action? Part of it has to do with timing and part of it has to do with composition. Your camera and lens can only do so much and there’s more to a great action shot than simply capturing the moment and making sure it’s in focus. For this assignment, we were looking for images of anything from basketball to dance to wildlife, just as long as there was some kind of action in the scene. For the winning images, we were looking for great composition, effective use of backgrounds and scenery, and powerful emotion: human, animal, or otherwise. Here are our six favorites.

There are few things that can get a man’s heart pumping like a new camera and a legendary car race to test it out at. Or at least that’s how I felt when I got a chance to take the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 for a spin at the Indianapolis 500 in May.

All Photos by Peter McGowan

Taken from the viewpoint of one who clearly loves the outdoors, Peter McGowan's images of water sports draw the viewer in and make you feel the excitement of the open sea.