FREEZE FAST SUBJECTS

Mike Harris outlines the basics of capturing fast-moving action, and shows you that basic camera kit needn't be a barrier to success

- Mike Harris

Plenty of photographers shy 30 away from shooting fastMINS moving subjects because they can be difficult to photograph. But we reckon the steep learning curve can be made more palatable because it's easier to practice regularly than it is for some other subjects.

If you're learning to shoot sunsets, for example, you have to find a good location and hope the weather plays ball. If everything works out, you might get the chance to photograph a few different scenes, but only one during peak sunset conditions. If you want to learn to capture birds in flight, however, you can head to your local nature reserve and spend all day snapping anything that happens to swoop by and honing your technique.

It's also often assumed that you need specialist equipment to shoot fast-moving subjects. Yes, you're more likely to get consistently good shots using a high-end DSLR or mirrorless camera, but we captured our mountain bike images using nothing but a nifty fifty and a 10-year-old DSLR with a sluggish 4fps max burst speed. If you want to commit to photographing moving subjects seriously, then a telephoto or super-telephoto lens is going to be essential, but there's no reason why you can't start practising the technique with your kit lens right away.