Capturing motion in still photos is a great way to communicate mood, movement, and to draw viewers’ attention to a specific object in the frame. Today’s lesson provides the guidance you need to do just that and get smooth motion shots.

Determine Shutter Speed

Each motion situation will be different, so there isn’t a be-all, tell-all speed you should use. Essentially, you will just need to experiment. The speed with which your subject is moving, the distance you are from your subject, and the amount of motion blur you want in the photograph are all factors to consider when setting your shutter speed. Just remember this rule of thumb: The faster the shutter speed, the less blur, the slower the shutter speed, the more blur.

Set Your Aperture and ISO

As you work with your shutter speed, you may notice that as you slow it down, your images become more and more overexposed. This occurs because the aperture is too large for the shutter speed and lets too much light.

When capturing motion, stay away from large apertures (i.e. those in the f/1.4-f/2.8 range). Instead, try an aperture in the middle, say f/5.6, and work your way toward smaller apertures until you find one that results in a properly exposed image. Like shutter speed, finding the right aperture will depend on your specific situation, so some experimentation will be necessary.

You’ll also need to keep a close eye on your ISO. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive your camera’s sensor is to light. Additionally, the higher the ISO, the more likely your image is to have noise or grain. If you find your images are overexposed or grainy, try lowering the ISO.

Determine Your Composition

There are two primary types of motion captures. In the first, the background is in focus with the primary subject blurred, as in this shot:

To get this kind of motion, simply place your camera on a tripod and fire your shutter with a remote or a timer to avoid camera shake.

In the second, the background is blurred with the subject in focus, as in the photo below:

You can achieve this kind of blur by either focusing on a stationary subject, as above, which blurs the movement in the surrounding scene. You can also pan your camera to match the speed of a moving subject, as seen below. By panning with the running man, his face is in sharp focus, while the train, which is moving faster, is blurred nicely.

Practice and Participate!

Now it’s your turn to try your hand at composing shots that effectively capture movement. Don’t forget to check your camera settings to ensure you’ve got the correct exposure and the right amount of speed to get the level of blur you want. Use the example photos we’ve included in this lesson as inspiration, and then take that inspiration to create motion blur shots to share in the forum.

Happy shooting! We can’t wait to see what you create!