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Making your Photos Move
03rd July 2013
A case against Stop Action
The usual “rule” for photography is to choose a shutter speed fast enough to eliminate the jitter or bluriness when the subject moves.
But sometimes ignoring the rule leads to more interesting photographs.
Here’s a few examples.
Use your camera’s shutter speed priority mode. Try setting the shutter speed to 1/100th of a second or slower – e.g. 1/25 or 1/50. If you use an even slower shutter speed, you may end up with blurry photos since you may not be able to hold the camera steady enough without introducing camera shake.
With just a little practice you can make your photos move.
Written by Arnie Lee
Don’t Just Stand There
05th August 2011
a case for more activity
With fourteen grandkids, I feel very lucky to have ample opportunity to catch them on film.
And while I enjoy taking portraits of them – conventional static pictures of them at rest – I also like to capture them as they’re going about their youthful business.
Below are a few examples of each.
You have a many choices when capturing kids. If you haven’t done so already, try shooting the young ones as they’re involved with their activities.
Written by Arnie Lee
Make your photos “move”
01st June 2011
You don’t always have to stop the action
Sports and action photos are most often made with a higher shutter speed that “stops the action” and produces a tack-sharp image.
However by using a relatively slow shutter speed, you can emphasize the movement to create a totally different feel to the picture.
Don’t hesitate to set your shutter speed to 1/30 or slower and let the action do the talking. Slow dancing can make for some interesting photos. Do you agree? Send me your comments.
Written by Arnie Lee
Beyond the Faces
06th May 2011
Adding Action to Portraits
As a grandfather with a camera, I’m very often snapping away when the grandchildren are nearby. So it shouldn’t be surprising that I have hundreds (maybe thousands) of photos of these kids in my collection.
Yesterday, three of them were out playing in our backyard. Here’s a few snapshots that I took. I’m a big fan of trying to incorporate action into these portraits. You be the judge of whether the action helps to make the picture.
While each of the left-hand photos are OK, I’ve learned that adding a little action to the mix can turn my snapshots into real “keepers”.
Do you agree?
Written by Arnie Lee
Action Tip # 6
25th October 2010
Continuous Shooting
Most digital SLR and many point-and-shoots have a feature called continuous shooting that lets you capture several photos in a very short period of time. This is also referred to burst mode. So at the soccer game, by keeping the shutter depressed you can capture your star player as she runs towards the action, swivels her leg into launch position behind her, quickly drives her kicking shoe forward and finally strikes the ball.
On a recent outing, I caught one of our future diving stars practicing at the pool. With the camera set to take continuous photos, I quickly fired off nine shots as she made her big leap into the water.
Pressing the shutter was the easy part.
After reviewing the photos, I wanted to be able to show the young girl’s diving exploits to others. One method is to make a composite of the action. Here’s a miniature composite:
Making a larger composite makes it easier to see the detail of each frame. However, the time and expense may cause you search for an alternative if you’re planning to make many such composites.
Another way to show these is to convert the nine individual frames into a movie. One free and easy way to do this is to use Picasa 3*.
After starting Picasa, I added the nine photos to my library. Next I highlighted these nine frames and clicked on the Movie icon (towards the bottom of the screen). |
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For Transition Style, I chose Disolve.
For Slide Duration, I chose 1.0 second. You can choose a longer time which lets you study each frame more, but I prefer the shorter duration which makes the action seem to flow more naturally. For Overlap, I chose 100%. For the diving action, this setting seems to provide the best effect. Then I click on the Create Movie button. This converts the 9 individual frames into a short movie. |
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In just a few seconds, Picasa turns the images into a short movie with which you can enjoy the action with others. Click here to see the movie.
Yes, you can have a fun using the camera’s continuous shooting mode. But sharing the action with the world makes the fun last much longer.
* Picasa is available for the PC and Mac by free download from Google.
Action Tip # 5
13th October 2010
Once again, patience counts
Action Tip # 4
03rd March 2010
Here in Michigan, we still have an abundance of snow. Rather than lock ourselves inside, we’ve decided to brave the winter weather and “enjoy”. After all, there’s plenty of life in the brisk cold.
Action Tip #3
11th January 2010
There’s beauty at 30,000 feet and 600 miles per hour. Here’s how I’ve been able to capture some of this beauty when I’m flying way up high.
Action Tip #2
26th July 2009
Today’s digital cameras make it easy for you to snap exciting action photos. Here’s an obvious tip for taking advantage of one of your camera’s impressive capability.
Action Tip #1
05th July 2009
When your subject is moving, the usual way to capture the action is to use a short shutter speed. This freezes the action, but is there a better way to “show” the action?