How do I get clear, sharp photos of pets and kids?!

Have you ever wondered how photographers get crystal clear photos of fast moving people and animals? Well, thousands of dollars worth of photography equipment helps, but there are a few things that you can do with most consumer DSLR cameras that will help; a lot! I'll give you a rundown a couple of tricks that will sharpen up those pics of erratic, fast moving critters and kids!

1) Increase shutter speed!

For those new to DSLR photography - do some reading on 'exposure'. Essentially, exposure is a function of how much light hits the sensor of your camera (or film) and the sensitivity to light of that sensor/film. It's controlled by shutter speed, aperture and ISO. I won't go into it here...quickly Google it and keep reading.

What you want to do with fast moving objects is to increase the shutter speed. The faster your shutter opens and closes, the more motion will be frozen - the thing you're photographing would have moved less during the photo resulting in a sharper image. For general photography of slow moving people, 1/150 second may be enough. For a fast moving dog, you will probably want that up around 1/1000 second.

2) Move with your subject

Simple as it sounds. Keep the camera moving as you take the photo in line with the movement of your subject. This is how photographers get those cool photos where the subject is clear, but the background appears to be in motion. It can be hard to master...I'm terrible at it!

3) 3D tracking autofocus