Post by daviddewar on May 26, 2011 19:15:12 GMT -5
depicting motion
by David Dewar on Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:39 pm
There are several ways to depict motion in photographs so let’s look at a few of them. It doesn’t matter what kind of camera you have, if you choose the right technique you can get awesome results. Even if you always shoot in the dreaded AUTO MODE, you can depict motion in a creative way with the right technique. I’m sure that at some point you have accidentally discovered a few methods without really trying. Have you ever taken a shot in a low light situation only to discover that the shutter will stay open much longer than you can hold still? This is your camera saying “hey I need more light here and I’m going hold the shutter open till I get it!”. Getting out of auto mode allows us to control the outcome of the shot. Most of the techniques require a slower shutter speed than we would normally use so being able to work with shutter priority is essential. I have been accused of being a little slow many times and they haven’t even seen the pictures. But that’s a whole other form! I’ll talk about three techniques here. Panning, or following the subject as it moves resulting in a blurred background and an in focus subject. Freezing the background while the point of interest moves which gives us a blurred subject, and finally, zooming into or out from the subject.
So let’s say we are at a kid’s soccer game and want to really define the action on the field. We’ll start with panning. We will choose shutter priority on our cameras and set that to about 1/30 or 1/60 of a second. You may have to experiment here a little depending on light conditions. The shutter speeds will vary according to what time of day it is and what the lighting conditions are. Some variables may be bright sunshine, cloudy and overcast or evening. Remember, digital is cheap. By choosing shutter priority we let the camera decide which aperture will be appropriate for the light conditions. Now, as our subject runs by all we have to worry about is focus and framing. Try framing him/her before you press that shutter button and don’t stop following him/her until well after the shutter has clicked. Remember your composition. Give the subject someplace to run to. If you have burst mode on your camera, you can take a series of shots to help capture a keeper or maybe use several to depict a series of movements. Most cameras today have an auto focus feature that does a good job of keeping up with the subject but the best control comes from doing it manually. All of these methods require some practice before you’ll see the results you want.
Another method used to show movement is to freeze the background and let the subject run by the lens. This was the method of choice we used at the over pass on the coldest night of the year that some idiot suggested for an outing! A tripod is best for this but not essential. Again, some experimenting with shutter speed may be in order. Focus on the area where the action is going to be. For example, your little soccer star is about to run past you chasing the ball and fighting off a defender in the process. Leave the camera focused at one spot and click the shutter as the kids run by. The result is a clearly focus background with a flurry of recognizable colors in the foreground. Done right, your little soccer star will be just slightly blurred but Grandpa and Grandma will still be able see who it is and have a good idea of the action that took place. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right the first time, just have him/her run back and forth until you do get it right. Even if it takes all day!
The final method is zooming. This requires a lot of practice to get it right and is best done on a sturdy tripod to free up both hands. We’ll say that your little soccer star just scored the winning goal and is being mobbed by his team mates and several scouts from Ivy League universities. As they gather around your star and hoist him up on their scrawny little shoulders, focus on the center of attention. Use a slower shutter speed and as you press the shutter with one hand, zoom the lens out with the other. The result will be a moderately focused player in the middle of the heap and the heap will be a pleasantly abstract jumble of colors. (Hopefully) Anyway, I hope you’re starting to get the idea here. If you are shooting in bright sunshine you may want to add a one or two stop filter to your lens to allow you to slow that shutter down to a manageable speed. It’s kind of like putting sun glasses on your camera. Like I said earlier, it takes some practice but shooting digital is cheap. So get out there and shoot some kids in the name of creativity!
David Dewar
Club President
Posts: 766
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:15 pm
by David Dewar on Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:39 pm
There are several ways to depict motion in photographs so let’s look at a few of them. It doesn’t matter what kind of camera you have, if you choose the right technique you can get awesome results. Even if you always shoot in the dreaded AUTO MODE, you can depict motion in a creative way with the right technique. I’m sure that at some point you have accidentally discovered a few methods without really trying. Have you ever taken a shot in a low light situation only to discover that the shutter will stay open much longer than you can hold still? This is your camera saying “hey I need more light here and I’m going hold the shutter open till I get it!”. Getting out of auto mode allows us to control the outcome of the shot. Most of the techniques require a slower shutter speed than we would normally use so being able to work with shutter priority is essential. I have been accused of being a little slow many times and they haven’t even seen the pictures. But that’s a whole other form! I’ll talk about three techniques here. Panning, or following the subject as it moves resulting in a blurred background and an in focus subject. Freezing the background while the point of interest moves which gives us a blurred subject, and finally, zooming into or out from the subject.
So let’s say we are at a kid’s soccer game and want to really define the action on the field. We’ll start with panning. We will choose shutter priority on our cameras and set that to about 1/30 or 1/60 of a second. You may have to experiment here a little depending on light conditions. The shutter speeds will vary according to what time of day it is and what the lighting conditions are. Some variables may be bright sunshine, cloudy and overcast or evening. Remember, digital is cheap. By choosing shutter priority we let the camera decide which aperture will be appropriate for the light conditions. Now, as our subject runs by all we have to worry about is focus and framing. Try framing him/her before you press that shutter button and don’t stop following him/her until well after the shutter has clicked. Remember your composition. Give the subject someplace to run to. If you have burst mode on your camera, you can take a series of shots to help capture a keeper or maybe use several to depict a series of movements. Most cameras today have an auto focus feature that does a good job of keeping up with the subject but the best control comes from doing it manually. All of these methods require some practice before you’ll see the results you want.
Another method used to show movement is to freeze the background and let the subject run by the lens. This was the method of choice we used at the over pass on the coldest night of the year that some idiot suggested for an outing! A tripod is best for this but not essential. Again, some experimenting with shutter speed may be in order. Focus on the area where the action is going to be. For example, your little soccer star is about to run past you chasing the ball and fighting off a defender in the process. Leave the camera focused at one spot and click the shutter as the kids run by. The result is a clearly focus background with a flurry of recognizable colors in the foreground. Done right, your little soccer star will be just slightly blurred but Grandpa and Grandma will still be able see who it is and have a good idea of the action that took place. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right the first time, just have him/her run back and forth until you do get it right. Even if it takes all day!
The final method is zooming. This requires a lot of practice to get it right and is best done on a sturdy tripod to free up both hands. We’ll say that your little soccer star just scored the winning goal and is being mobbed by his team mates and several scouts from Ivy League universities. As they gather around your star and hoist him up on their scrawny little shoulders, focus on the center of attention. Use a slower shutter speed and as you press the shutter with one hand, zoom the lens out with the other. The result will be a moderately focused player in the middle of the heap and the heap will be a pleasantly abstract jumble of colors. (Hopefully) Anyway, I hope you’re starting to get the idea here. If you are shooting in bright sunshine you may want to add a one or two stop filter to your lens to allow you to slow that shutter down to a manageable speed. It’s kind of like putting sun glasses on your camera. Like I said earlier, it takes some practice but shooting digital is cheap. So get out there and shoot some kids in the name of creativity!
David Dewar
Club President
Posts: 766
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:15 pm