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Photography 11

 

Lesson 2 - Motion  

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The goal of this assignment is for you to show your understanding of how to control your shutter speed to capture motion. 

Don't forget the importance of composition when setting up your shot.  

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1. Panning – You need a moving subject for this one, could be a car or motorcycle, a friend running fast, a bicycle going by, pet at full speed etc…. This takes practice so shoot over and over again until you get a feel for it.

 

Success = subject is in focus and the background is blurred in streaks of light, this creates a sense of speed around the moving object.

 

Shoot in Shutter speed priority and set your lens to manual focus. Pre-focus on the point in front of you where you plan to take the shot/where your subject will be passing by. Follow your subject with your camera as they move closer to you and snap the shot at the pre-focused location, keep moving in the direction of your subject after shooting. Try shutter speeds - (1/8, 1/15,  1/30, 1/60, 1/125) – subject should become sharp, background blurred as shutter speed increases but this depends of other variables like how fast your subject is moving. Practice, practice, practice.

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Make sure your ISO is set correctly for the lighting conditions (higher in low light, lower in bright light) For now while you are practicing leave ISO in auto mode.  

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Reference

“Read this if you want to take great photographs” by Henry Carroll, pages 34-39

2. Blurred Motion – You will need to find subject in which there are aspects of the frame that are moving and other parts that are motionless. Shoot in shutter speed priority, focus on your subject (the motionless element) and try shooting at a variety of shutter speeds.

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Use slow shutter speeds - (1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60,1/125) - parts of your image will be blurred - a mark of success - the parts for your image that are moving will be blurred, your focal point will be in sharp focus, this can create a very cool effect.

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Blurred Motion examples – parts of each image are in focus and other areas are blurred in a purposeful way.

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See link if you are struggling with subject ideas - "13 Places Take Beautiful Motion Blur Shots"

3. Stop Motion - You will need a moving subject. Shoot in shutter speed priority at faster speeds to freeze motion. This effect is used most often in sports photography because you want to capture/freeze the moment of action to show every detail of that action. Working in natural light is easiest but if you want to shoot inside make sure to increase your ISO and test to make sure your white balance is correct.  ​

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  • Fast shutter speeds - all action should be stopped as your shutter speed increases (1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000) –  this depends on how fast your subject is moving.   

  • Focus – if you know where your subject is going to be when you are going to shoot then set your lens to manual focus, focus on that point and shoot when your subject passes.   

  • Experiment with – increasing shutter speed to stop action, increasing/deceasing ISO if over or under exposed, manual verses auto focus and white balance if colour is off.    

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  • Experiment with "Continuous Focusing Mode" if working in auto focus - (Nikon AF-C) - (Canon AI -Servo AF) . AF-C (AF continuous, sometimes called continuous servo) can be of good use when photographing moving objects.

    • When your camera is set to AF-C and you focus on a moving subject, for example a dog running towards you, the focus will stay on the animal so long as your shutter button is held half way down. In other words, the camera will keep re-focusing as the animal moves. That is, so long as you keep your shutter button held half way down.

  • ​Experiment with continuous shooting mode

    • ​Continuous shooting or burst mode. The camera records a continuous series of images for as long as you hold down the shutter button, making it easier to capture fast-paced action.

PHLEARN tutorial - Stop Motion

Assignment requirements

Contact Sheet 

Panning - 6 images of your best shots showing that you have explored a variety of shutter speeds, subjects, compositions and viewpoints. 

Blurred motion - 6 images of your best shots showing that you have explored a variety of shutter speeds, subjects, compositions and viewpoints. 

Stop Motion - 6 images of your best shots showing that you have explored a variety of shutter speeds, subjects, compositions and viewpoints. 
 

Edit using Adobe Photoshop to enhance image to its fullest.

- 3 edited jpegs., your best example of each challenge (1 Panning, 1 Blurred, 1 Stopped)  - sized 8.5" by 11" at 300 dpi.

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In total you will be handing in

  • one contact sheet of your best 18 images, order images - 6 panning, 6 blurred, 6 stopped. 

  • Make sure to include ISO, f-stop, shutter speed and date as your captions for each image.

  • 3 edited jpegs, one of each

Lesson 2B - Motion - Dispersion Effect 

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Big Idea - To creativity enhance a your edited motion images using Adobe Photoshop editing method. 

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  • Edit three of the images you shot in your motion assignment using this method.  

  • Make sure your images are sized 8.5" by 11" and at 300 DPI

  • Quality images will be printed on the Epson Printer. 

Particle disintegration Effect or Dispersion effect

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- This method will work well if you have a simple background.

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The You Tube page also includes written instructions. 

Chilling Decay Effect

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- This method is better to use if you have a busy background

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