most of us take badminton photos for the action. however, a single action snapshot doesn't say much. yeah, maybe some nice smash, retrieve, etc. maybe sometimes show some emotions, etc. but not much beyond that. One level up, the best photos are the ones that tells a story. that requires the perfect combination of positioning, composition, timing. it doesn't need any words, just the photo and composition is good enough. the first person who did this well is @red00ecstrat , he showed us how it is done back in HK Open 2007 (fittingly, exactly 10 yrs ago!). @AChan totally perfected it with this photo.
Yep, much harder to tell the emotional story with one single photo capture as compared to short video ... unless everything is right with composition, timing, position, lighting, etc., and especially... serendipity. Some photographers seem to have the intuitive "eye" to be in the right place at the right time to get the perfect shot. And that's not just simply luck, but art.
agree. once in a while, I will come up with something that look half decent. that's luck. when @AChan, @red00ecstrat comes up with these images over and over again, that's skill/art.