Motion Photography

CAPTURING MOTION

Photographers have two primary options when capturing motion. They may wish to "freeze" the action exactly at a specific moment, or they may choose to purposely "blur" the motion to emphasize the movement or speed of their subject.

Both options require the photographer to manipulate the shutter speed to achieve the desired effect.

DAY 1 ASSIGNMENTS:

Today you will capture a moving subject with a fast shutter speed and again with a slow shutter speed to compare how motion is affected. Go outside and have a model jump, run, flip, dance, or do anything that includes motion! Other possible subjects could be a pinwheel blowing in the wind, a ball being thrown in the air, leaves being thrown in the air, etc. Be creative!

FREEZE ACTION SHOT

To freeze action and keep your moving subject(s) sharp you will need a fast shutter speed. The faster your subject is moving, the faster your shutter speed will need to be.

1/250th of a second is usually fast enough to freeze motion.

1/500th of a second is fast enough to freeze a moving athlete.

1/1000 of a second may be needed for even faster subjects, such as fast moving vehicles.

MOTION BLUR

In a motion blur image, the moving subject should appear blurry, while the background remains sharp.

A slower shutter speed allows the subject to move while the camera is still recording the image, causing a blurred effect. The slower your subject is moving, the slower your shutter speed will need to be to produce a blur.

Any time you are using a shutter speed of 1/30th of second or slower, a TRIPOD IS REQUIRED. This is because during that long of an exposure, camera shake will occur from hand-holding your camera. This will produce an image that is blurry all over (not what we want!) instead of just the moving subject.

DAY 2 ASSIGNMENTS:

Today focus on using fast shutter speeds to create FREEZE ACTION SHOTS. With your group, take turns being the "model." Take action shots of the model running (across the frame, not towards you or away from you) and jumping. Then get creative and take a freeze action shot of a moving OBJECT (water, ball, pinwheel, spinning quarter, etc.) Each photo should be perfectly SHARP! NO MOTION BLUR!

Click on your "Drive Mode" button (left arrow key).

Choose "Continuous"

When you press and hold shutter, your camera will continually shoot.

DAY 3 ASSIGNMENTS:

Today we will explore another approach to creating motion blur in our images: panning. You will need to shoot a moving subject. Read below for instructions.

Click on your "AF Mode" button (right arrow key).
Choose AI Servo

Now your camera will continually focus on your subject as it moves across the frame.

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