Capturing Motion

There are a lot of different ways to capture motion. You can freeze a moment, making it look as if you have stopped time. Or you can create a feeling of movement in the image by blurring the subject. Understanding how to create these two looks can help you to create more depth of emotion and provoke a certain emotion.

FREEZE MOTION:

Jumpers, 05/05/2019, 7pm, St. Anthony, ID f/3.5, 1/1250

A frozen motion image captures a single moment, looking like you have frozen time. In order to do this you need a fast shutter speed so you only capture one moment and the subject is still in focus. Because of the fast shutter speed you need a wide aperture to let enough light into the lens. This will capture the detail like the expressions on their faces and the sand kicked up underneath their feet. With a fast shutter speed you are able to capture motion because you can see them floating and you can see where they are going to end up based on their gaze.

Red Car, 05/07/2019, 5pm, 2nd S, Rexburg, ID f/3.5, 1/800

A freeze motion image is the easiest to capture when there is a lot of light. Because the shutter speed is fast you need to make sure that you getting enough light to get the right exposure. For the image above I kept my focal length at 18mm which allowed me to open my aperture wider to get more light and bright the exposure while keeping the focus.

BLURRED MOTION:

New Tricks, 05/06/2019, 8pm, Archer, ID f/200, 1/15, chair as a tripod

This image creates a different kind of motion. Rather than seeing all of the details of the subject you can see motion because of the blurred effect.  This is create by a slower shutter speed and a more narrow aperture. There are more moments that you are able to capture at once. Its as if you are condensing a short timeline down. In order to effectively capture this look you will need to use a tripod to keep your camera steady. You have to keep the stationary objects crisp and in focus in order to bring more attention to the moving object. You will also need to think about how much blur you want to create. If your shutter speed is too long the moving object will not even be captured in the image.

Windmills, 05/05/2019, 9pm, Blacktail Dr., Ririe, ID f/200, 1/15, car as tripod

You will also need to think about how much blur you want to create. If your shutter speed is too long the moving object will not even be captured in the image. In the image above I tried a few different shutter speeds to get the look I wanted. If the shutter was too long the blades would disappear from the image all together. This is a technique that can be helpful when you want the moving image to completely disappear. In this case I wanted to still see the blades but capture the motion.