A Beginner‟s Guide to
Capturing Motion in Photos

FROM: THE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOOL

    HTTP://DIGITAL-PHOTOGRAPHY-
SCHOOL.COM/A-BEGINNERS-TO-CAPTURING-
    MOTION-IN-YOUR-PHOTOGRAPHY
Reasons to Capture Motion

 Sometimes, there is a need to blur certain elements in the image
  while focusing sharply on a few subjects in the foreground. Other
  times, you may want to freeze or blur everything. The direction you
  take depends upon your objective for your photograph.

 A lot of photographers capture motion simply to convey that an
  object is moving. But, there are other reasons to so. Movement can
  communicate mood. Trees rustling in the wind suggest serenity
  while throngs of people on a busy city block imply harried activity.

 You can also use motion to eliminate elements in a scene that may
  serve as distractions to the viewer. For example, you may want to
  photograph a person standing on a sidewalk corner as cars move
  behind him. By blurring everything but your primary subject, you
  can eliminate potential distractions and focus the viewer‟s attention.
Capturing Motion Using Shutter Speed

 Shutter speed is „the amount of time that the shutter
  is open‟
 Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most
  cases fractions of seconds. The bigger the
  denominator the faster the speed (ie 1/1000 is much
  faster than 1/30).
 There are two things to remember
    The faster the shutter speed, the sharper the focus on your
     subject.
    A slower shutter speed will blur a moving object.
To capture this
picture, you would place
the camera on the tripod
and take a picture with
long exposure. (In other
words, a slow shutter
speed.)




                           Blurred subject with the
                           background in focus
Using Blur to Portray Movement

 The following shots are all of moving subjects where
 the photographer has made the choice to set their
 camera to capture the movement as blur rather than
 freezing it. This is in all cases by choosing (or letting
 the camera choose) a ‟slow‟ shutter speed
“Most beginning
photographers are trained
to “secure” their cameras.
That is, your camera
should remain as still as
possible for certain types
of shots. By
contrast, panning requires
that you move your
camera with your subject.
Specifically, you‟ll be
matching your subject‟s
rate of movement and the
direction in which it is
traveling.

The best results occur
when you have a clear
view of the moving object
and ample room to swivel
                             Panning with the subject
your camera along a
parallel axis to it.”
“Freezing the entire
scene can give your
photographs a unique
look, especially if the
objects strongly imply
movement. For
example, consider a bird
that is flying in front of a
waterfall. Both imply
motion to the viewer.
Freezing the entire scene
captures that motion in
a single moment and can
produce a breathtaking
image. You should use a
shutter speed of at least
1/1000th of a second for
this type of shot.”            Freezing the frame with fast shutter
                               speed
“Using the continuous
shooting feature on your
camera, you can capture
a series of shots and join
them together in the
post processing stage to
create the effect shown
above. A tripod is
essential when
attempting to shoot
motion using this
method.”




                             Digitally merging photographs
Tips for Capturing Motion
Determine the Proper Shutter Speed

 To identify the right shutter speed, you‟ll need to ask
 yourself a few questions:
    How fast is your subject moving?
    How much distance exists between the camera and the
     subject?
    How much motion do you want your photograph to convey to
     the viewer?
 The faster the shutter speed, the more frozen and
 crisply-defined your subject will be. You‟ll need to
 experiment with different shutter speeds in a variety
 of situations.
Potential Issue – Excess Light

 When you slow your shutter speed to blur elements
 in your image, there‟s a chance that too much light
 will enter and impact your photograph. It‟s a
 common problem, but there are a couple of ways to
 resolve it.
    First, check the aperture on your camera. The larger it is, the
     more likely excess light will enter. Try adjusting the settings to
     reduce its size.
    Second, review the setting of your ISO. When it is set high, the
     image sensor in your camera may be overly-sensitive to light.
     This can create unwanted noise in your image.

A Beginner's Guide to Capturing Motion

  • 1.
    A Beginner‟s Guideto Capturing Motion in Photos FROM: THE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOOL HTTP://DIGITAL-PHOTOGRAPHY- SCHOOL.COM/A-BEGINNERS-TO-CAPTURING- MOTION-IN-YOUR-PHOTOGRAPHY
  • 2.
    Reasons to CaptureMotion  Sometimes, there is a need to blur certain elements in the image while focusing sharply on a few subjects in the foreground. Other times, you may want to freeze or blur everything. The direction you take depends upon your objective for your photograph.  A lot of photographers capture motion simply to convey that an object is moving. But, there are other reasons to so. Movement can communicate mood. Trees rustling in the wind suggest serenity while throngs of people on a busy city block imply harried activity.  You can also use motion to eliminate elements in a scene that may serve as distractions to the viewer. For example, you may want to photograph a person standing on a sidewalk corner as cars move behind him. By blurring everything but your primary subject, you can eliminate potential distractions and focus the viewer‟s attention.
  • 3.
    Capturing Motion UsingShutter Speed  Shutter speed is „the amount of time that the shutter is open‟  Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most cases fractions of seconds. The bigger the denominator the faster the speed (ie 1/1000 is much faster than 1/30).  There are two things to remember  The faster the shutter speed, the sharper the focus on your subject.  A slower shutter speed will blur a moving object.
  • 4.
    To capture this picture,you would place the camera on the tripod and take a picture with long exposure. (In other words, a slow shutter speed.) Blurred subject with the background in focus
  • 6.
    Using Blur toPortray Movement  The following shots are all of moving subjects where the photographer has made the choice to set their camera to capture the movement as blur rather than freezing it. This is in all cases by choosing (or letting the camera choose) a ‟slow‟ shutter speed
  • 12.
    “Most beginning photographers aretrained to “secure” their cameras. That is, your camera should remain as still as possible for certain types of shots. By contrast, panning requires that you move your camera with your subject. Specifically, you‟ll be matching your subject‟s rate of movement and the direction in which it is traveling. The best results occur when you have a clear view of the moving object and ample room to swivel Panning with the subject your camera along a parallel axis to it.”
  • 13.
    “Freezing the entire scenecan give your photographs a unique look, especially if the objects strongly imply movement. For example, consider a bird that is flying in front of a waterfall. Both imply motion to the viewer. Freezing the entire scene captures that motion in a single moment and can produce a breathtaking image. You should use a shutter speed of at least 1/1000th of a second for this type of shot.” Freezing the frame with fast shutter speed
  • 14.
    “Using the continuous shootingfeature on your camera, you can capture a series of shots and join them together in the post processing stage to create the effect shown above. A tripod is essential when attempting to shoot motion using this method.” Digitally merging photographs
  • 15.
  • 16.
    Determine the ProperShutter Speed  To identify the right shutter speed, you‟ll need to ask yourself a few questions:  How fast is your subject moving?  How much distance exists between the camera and the subject?  How much motion do you want your photograph to convey to the viewer?  The faster the shutter speed, the more frozen and crisply-defined your subject will be. You‟ll need to experiment with different shutter speeds in a variety of situations.
  • 17.
    Potential Issue –Excess Light  When you slow your shutter speed to blur elements in your image, there‟s a chance that too much light will enter and impact your photograph. It‟s a common problem, but there are a couple of ways to resolve it.  First, check the aperture on your camera. The larger it is, the more likely excess light will enter. Try adjusting the settings to reduce its size.  Second, review the setting of your ISO. When it is set high, the image sensor in your camera may be overly-sensitive to light. This can create unwanted noise in your image.