Take clear action shots by following these 7+ tips

Once you've gotten the hang of photography in general, you might want to try taking action shots. It may sound difficult at first, but with practice, you can come out with some pretty crisp action shots. Take clear action shots by following these 7+ tips.
Maybe you are a sports buff, or your friends heard about your photography skills and want you take shots of the next big sports event. Practice the tips below so that you are ready on game day to take awesome action shots.
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1. Focus mode
Don't use autofocus on game day, since your camera may not know where to focus once the action starts. Use the continuous mode on your camera to get the most clear action shots from your phone. This mode helps the camera better predict where the action is coming from.
2. Manual
For some action scenes, manual mode will work best. Focus on where the action will eventually take place. This works well for sports where a player will run from one place to another. Just be ready for the action in manual mode so you can click the shutter button at the right time.
3. Areas of AF
Continuous auto focus is great because there are various areas of focus that can be locked in for every scene. In manual focus, it may be easier to use one area of focus at a time. This can also give you a sharper image.
4. Shallow depth of field
A shallow depth of field works best to keep the subject that is moving the point of focus. With a shallow depth of field, the background will be slightly blurry, making the person or object moving even more sharp. Make sure the aperture is around f/4 to achieve a shallow depth of field.
5. Shutter speed
A fast shutter speed will stop the action as its happening. Use a shutter speed more than 1/500th of a second to start with. If you are shooting at a motor sport event, you may need an even faster speed to capture the action.
6. ISO
You can also use a higher ISO to take clear action shots with plenty of light. Keep in mind that the higher ISO used can cause digital noise to show up in the shots since the camera's sensor is more sensitive to light. You can always get this lessened during post processing.
7. Fill in flash
A fill in flash will brighten up your subject and cause blurry lines in the background, imitating speed and movement. To get this flash and blur, the flash needs to be used at the start of the shot. Practice this plenty of times to get right on game day.
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8. Practice makes perfect
Practice all these tips way ahead of game day so that once the big day arrives, you can compete with the action photography pros. Try out different settings to see which works for your action shots, and have plenty of fun creating sharp photos at sports events.