Ever tried snapping a picture of your dog mid-zoomie, only to end up with a blurry streak that looks more like Bigfoot than your pup? You’re not alone! Photographing dogs in motion can feel tricky, but with a few easy techniques, you’ll be able to freeze those bursts of joy into sharp, playful images.
In this post, I’ll walk you through simple tips to help you capture your dog in action — whether they’re chasing a ball, leaping for a toy, or just zooming around the backyard.
Keep It Fun (Not Frustrating)
Action images are some of the trickiest images that you can create of your dog. Which means you will need to practice one bazillion times to solidify your skills. You don’t need perfection, simply practice.
Encourage your dog to zoom around the yard, play catch, chase a ball and have loads of fun as you practice. There will be LOADS of blurry pictures. That’s totally ok! Keep practicing!
FYI: side action images are easier to capture than a dog running full on to the camera!
Camera & Settings Made Simple
Classically a basic camera setup (entry level body with 18-55 / 70-300 / 18-200+ etc ) can take decent static images of your dog, providing you have ample light.
For action, basic is going to be a struggle.
Ideally you’ll want a camera that does a minimum of 7 frames per second (fps). For lens, the sweet spot is 70mm & longer (ie 85mm, 70-200, 135mm etc). You can capture action with a wider lens, though your background could end up a bit busier (you’ll see tops of trees & sky) and possibly lose the focus on the action of your dog.
Additionally you want those lenses to have wide apertures (f2.8, f1.8 & f1.4). All these aspects together will up your keeper rate. (For starting out, a 50mm f1.8 can work.)
Start here:
- Lens: 70mm & longer
- Shutter speed: 1/1000 or faster
- F stop: f2.8 / f1.8 / f1.4 (pending lens)
- ISO: variable, depending on available light –> less light, up your ISO / more light, drop your ISO
- Shutter release: continuous (shoot a series of images as long as the shutter is depressed)
- Focus mode: continuous (AI-Servo / AF-C) <– how the focus responds when the shutter button is half depressed
- Frames per second (fps): 7 or higher
PRO TIP: Back button focus. This takes the focusing (half depress the shutter button) away from the shutter button and places the focusing control on a button on the back of the camera. Now the shutter button only fires the shutter and the focus is controlled by the button on the back (usually under your thumb). The benefit? You can reengage the focus nearly instantly after the shutter clicks vs releasing the shutter button to re-half depress it to engage the focus again.
Light & Location Tips
You can capture action images ANYWHERE!
Though your location can give you a whole realm of variables to consider for more keeper images. Scout the location around the time you want to photograph it – available light is going to be your make or break your ability to freeze motion.
- Parks
Open sky, rimmed with trees = loads of light to help freeze motion. Depending location of light & time of day, you can get harsh shadows & bright light or cool rim light & backlight. - The Lake
Huge open sky and reflective water. Splashes will add to the sense of motion. Typically ample light, though depending on the direction of it & time of day it could be lovely golden hour light to harsh overhead light. - The River / Creek
Scenic! Splashes add to the sense of motion. Typically rivers & creeks have a gap in the trees which can allow a bit more light onto your scene. Narrower rivers & creeks will have less available light (up your ISO, fast lens is MUST!) - The Woods / Forests
HIGHLY variable for light. The deeper into the woods you go, the more you lose light – up to 2 stops! Which means you’ll need to up ISO to help support a fast shutter to capture action. Ideally, you’ll want to find a pocket of woods that is closer to openings & less dense. This will give you a bit more light to work with and help freeze action. Also, the setting sun – it gets darker faster in the woods, which means you can head into the woods a bit earlier than the sun sets to have more available light for successful action images.
Tricks for Success
Want effortless, frame-worthy action portraits of your dog? That’s where I come in — let’s capture their energy together! Book your session here!
