Sports pictures should be taken after putting the following tips into consideration for a perfect photo.

Capture the action – good timing

The best of the action should be captured in terms of the move, the tackle or the challenge in the air. This means being at the right place at the right time, do not wait to see the action, ensure you are predictive of what is likely to happen and press the shutter. Pressing the shutter after seeing the action misses the action in the photo.

Capture the action tightly

Once an action is identified you should focus to get the main characters alone. This can well be achieved by paying attention to the object and the subject. If it is impossible to get a clear focus you can crop it.

Ensure the images are sharp

Focus the action and the subject in the frame and ensure the image is sharp by increasing the shutter speed. This means getting the right lens, the further you are from the action the longer the lens that should be used to get the image in the frame

Capture the face of the subject

Sports is associated with emotion, therefore, facial expressions will show the passion or the pain in the player is having

Narrow the depth of the field to isolate unwanted characters

Take a photo by shooting at an appropriate distance to that will blur unwanted characters. This can be done by good positioning so that background cars, trees, people or structures are not seen but only the game object and the action.

Ensure your photos are well lighted and exposed

Ensure that the subject and the action is clearly visible by ensuring there is adequate light by using flash or focusing where there is light.

My general observations and experience in photography show apart from the camera features, personals skills will play a crucial part in producing a perfect professional picture. The greatest picture so far documented was taken by anologue camera. One wonders why the advanced digital cameras have not been able to outdo it. The answer is simple, lack of appropriate skills.