Tips for Taking Motion Shots

Motion shots come under three headings; stop, pan and blur. Each will give a different effect. Most people want the ‘stop’ kind where the motion of the subject is frozen in a millisecond of time. This is what you see in most sports photos. It is achieved by a very fast shutter speed that allows the picture to be etched on the film or sensor so quickly that they are, in effect, frozen in a moment of time. The faster shutter speed means that your ISO setting needs to be higher to allow in more light.

To ‘pan’ is to follow the motion with your camera, which will give a sharply focused subject, but a blurred surround. The effect here is similar to the above, as it stops the motion of the subject. Tracking the subject with your camera whilst keeping it steady is skill that takes much practice. To help, you could try using a tripod with a swivelling head. Background that is fairly plain works best for panning. Start with a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second to start and make sure nothing will obstruct your view as the subject moves.

Blurring is when you use a slow shutter speed so the subject is deliberately blurred, but the impression given is one of speed, which is the whole aim of the shot. If your camera is a point and click, it may also have a sports or action mode.

A good tip for shooting motion is to use the burst or servo mode on your camera. This will give you a series of shots taken in a burst, making it more likely to get that extra special shot. This is because there is but a fleeting chance to see when a great shot could be coming up and photograph it. It all happens faster than a speeding bullet. But if you shoot in burst mode your camera will be clicking away regardless. You’ll want a memory card with a large-capacity for this. If shutter lag is a problem with your camera, burst mode will improve your chances of a great shot.

If you want to get a scene where something is moving yet you also want the background to be clear - like a landscape with moving water, use a slow shutter speed and a tripod to prevent camera shake. This will give an unusual affect in that the water will be blurred to the extent that it looks like it’s been painted in.