Motion blur photography5/21/2023 This smoothed the water’s surface just enough to make the reflection clear.Īs a result, it looks like the boat is floating in a box.Įven better, a truck drove across the bridge as I shot. So, I slowed down my shutter speed to 1/15 second. Unfortunately, the reflection of the bridge was interrupted by ripples on the water’s surface. I was struck by how serene this boat looked as it floated near the Route 1 bridge. Looking through the waterfall at Yards Park in Washington, DC One more example of improving a photo with motion blurįor this final shot, I was up before dawn in Belfast, Maine, standing out on a dock in the harbor. However, when I blurred the water with a slow shutter speed, what I captured looks much more abstract. I could clearly see the wading pool, grass and trees through the water. I was able to lean in behind the waterfall at The Yards Park in Washington, DC and shoot through it, with a shutter speed of 1/15 sec. This is a simple shot that I took for fun. (It certainly didn’t hurt that the blue of the waterfall and the orange of the lanterns were complementary colors.) Three lanterns in Cheonggye Stream in Seoul, next to the waterfall. The lanterns were a great subject, but the waterfall made the photo much more creative. Often, one of the middle shots will be in focus.) I set my camera to continuous shooting mode and hold down the shutter button until four or five photos have been taken. (I usually don’t try to hand-hold this slow, but I have a trick I use when I do try. Just like the previous photos, I didn’t have my tripod with me, but I was still able to hand-hold at this speed. So, I slowed down my shutter speed to 1/10 second. But the waterfall was beautiful with a lightshow of changing colors. But not always.įor this photo of lanterns in the Cheonggye Stream in Seoul, South Korea, the lanterns were the subject. Usually, these photos are landscape shots, and the waterfall is the subject. We’ve all seen beautiful shots of waterfalls, with the water turned smooth and milky using a slow shutter speed. Sometimes we get lucky! Another creative way to improve your photo with motion blur The rushing man was the icing on the cake! He photo-bombed raced through the scene as I pressed the shutter button. You can even see Eurostar on the sign, if you look very carefully. Her body is facing into the scene and across from her is a sign that places us at the station. I asked her to stop and stand very still. I loved the early morning energy in the station and wanted to convey it. We were on our way to catch the Eurostar for lunch in Paris. This next photo also called for a very still subject surrounded by moving people. Another example of slowing your shutter speed to improve your photo with motion blur: On the way to Paris, via the Eurostar, at St. It ended up being one of my favorite travel photos of all time. That’s also part of being a good travel photographer. I had no way to talk to him in his language, but when I raised my camera with a questioning look, he grinned from ear to ear and posed.Īfter I took the photo, I smiled in thanks, showed him the photo on my LCD screen and bought the bag of nuts he was holding. Everything but his face is in motion and a bit blurry, and the resulting photo is full of implied energy.Īn important thing to remember when you use a slow shutter speed to improve your photo with motion blur is that you need your subject to be very still. I knew the slower shutter speed would blur the movement and make him stand out if he could stand very still. He was standing on the sidewalk, with rushing traffic behind him and pedestrians racing past. How did I achieve this? I slowed down my shutter speed to ¼ second. For that, I needed him to be in focus and for much of the rest of the photo to be a bit blurry. I wanted my subject, a street vendor, to stand out from the background. Now, that particular aperture can result in photos that look like you shot them with an old Kodak box camera. To begin with, I knew the Chinese letters on the signs would help the viewer know where I was, so I didn’t want to totally blur them out by using a wide aperture like f/2.8 or f/4. It was my first visit to the city, and I wanted to capture the bustling chaos of this busy and crowded metropolis. Here’s a photo I took in Shanghai in 2008. A nut vendor shows his wares in Shanghai, China But, today, I want to encourage you to think more creatively and improve your photos with motion blur! Use motion blur to make your subject stand out.įirst, we’re going to use motion blur to differentiate your subject from the background. As a result, many of us try to avoid motion blur altogether. You know the look-your subject is blurry, maybe even the background is blurry. Everyone who has ever taken a picture has ended up with photos that were ruined by motion blur.
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