Lesson 1 - Using Manual Focusing For Action Photography

There are often situations when you are out and about and have to shoot a sporting event or simply the kids running around. You may also find that you only have a manual focus lens or your autofocus is not fast enough to follow the action. In these situations it is easy to make errors while focusing. The trick here is in "predictability". If you have your subject constantly appear in one location then your task is easy. Simply pre-focus on an object next to where your subject will appear and try to press the shutter release button a second before your subject enters your pre-focus area. However, if your subject does not appear in the same place continuously, try to predict the next possible location by following the direction of their movement, then do the same as above. Having a smaller aperture for greater depth of field and thus getting your subject in focus helps too. I would recommend using an aperture either f5.6 or f8. Your shutter speed should be at least 1/250th of a second to freeze the action. If you are indoors then you need to select at least ISO 400 or greater. Practising this kind of technique will help you later on in similar situations.

Lesson 2 - Practice makes perfect!

When I buy a new piece of equipment I always get excited, especially if it has had good reviews. I usually visualise how I am going to take the picture, what technique I am going to use. But nothing beats practice. Before I go on a trip that would involve shooting wildlife, I usually go my local beach at the time of the day when conditions are similar and try it out there by shooting local birds even "boring" seagulls. You will be amazed how much you will learn and how many mistakes you will make along the way. Whether it is the shutter speed being too low or selected ISO is too grainy. In some instances it is the panning technique that needs to be practised to catch birds in flight. Also, you will get a good distance-to-subject judgement depending on the subject's size. If the subject appears too small, a teleconverter will help to bring it closer.