Today’s sports photographer not only needs to capture the action, but oftentimes produce a unique feature image for a client. Using Nikon Speedlights in the Auto FP High-Speed Sync mode to illuminate fast action is a great way to take your sports photography to the next level.

[Auto FP High-Speed Sync is a flash mode used for fill-flash photography under brightly lit conditions. It will fill in and open up shadowed areas in order to portray the greatest detail in subjects. It's also ideal when using wide aperture lenses, and because it allows fast shutter speeds—up to fastest shutter speeds on compatible Nikon D-SLRs—it is often used for action-stopping sports photography. And for portraits, you can open up your lenses to their full aperture in order to isolate your subject against a blurred background without overexposing the image.

When Auto FP High Speed Sync is selected, the flash will fire for the duration of the shutter curtain's travel, thus syncing with the camera's shutter speed when that speed is set higher than the camera's normal sync speed. —Editor]