If you tend to spend a lot of your weekends on the side of a field or court to support your children, you’re no stranger to sporting events or the fact that it can be next to impossible to capture a decent shot of your child in action.

Moving shots are notoriously some of the hardest to capture, especially on a smartphone, but there are a few tips that you can keep in mind to make this a little easier going forward.

–        Try to forget your zoom is there at all

It’s important to remember that pinching a screen to get closer is not the same as zooming in with a professional camera lens. When you use the zoom function on your phone, you’re essentially just blowing up a portion of the image, which takes away from the overall quality. Instead of zooming in, try getting closer to the action. You can always crop your photo and zoom in later in when you go to edit the photo.

–        Burst mode works wonders

Most smartphones have pretty impressive cameras, but they’re not built to take action shots. However, burst mode is one feature that will increase your chances of capturing that perfect shot mid-kick, jump or bat. Most smartphones will activate burst mode when you hold the shutter button. If that doesn’t work, check your settings or download a burst mode app.

–        Focus on the photos first

Focusing on taking as many great shots as you can, then once all the excitement is over, you can start sifting through your photos and choose the ones you want to edit. 

–        Stay alert

If you want to capture better photos, you’ll need to be on the lookout for key moments in the game. You never quite know when something exciting is going to take place so have your camera ready to go. What also helps is to have more knowledge of the sport you’re watching too. 

–        Don’t forget about lighting

Lighting can make or break your photos so if the weather doesn’t look too good on game day, take a few minutes to adjust your exposure to compensate. Increasing your exposure will force the camera to let in more light as you capture your photos. The sun icon is what will adjust the exposure on most smartphones. 

Now that you know how to take better photos using your smartphone, you can look forward to a year of sporting accomplishments and exciting photos of your child that both you and they can be proud of.