Photography Freezing motion

Photography for Beginners - Motion Freeze and capture

There are many occasions when one wants to capture the subjects in motion and the pictures turn out blur, capturing the right moment is lost and is disappointing. We have many ways to freeze and capture movements using different techniques. This post is on how to achieve motion freeze using the shutter priority or Tv mode.The two pictures above shows the same pinwheel captured in motion , the first picture is captured when  the pin wheel is in motion to show movement .The other picture is also captured when the pin wheel is in motion , but movement is  frozen by the capture.First picture numbers ( f/22, SS 1/30 , ISO 200) Second Picture numbers: (f/9,  SS 1/2000 , ISO 800)

Tips for photography freezing motion

• To practice capturing motion freeze set the camera to the Shutter Priority mode or Tv and look for a continuously moving subject, say a ceiling fan .Set ISO to 200 .F-value is automatically set in the shutter priority mode . Start with a low shutter speed say 1/30 and try to capture the picture , the blades will be blur and the picture shows the fan in motion.
•  Slowly increase the number to 1/30 , 1/200, 1/250 etc and you will see blades becoming visible .This shows that faster shutter speed helps freeze motion .At a shutter speed of 1/2000 , the blades of fan are no longer blur and captured with crisp edges as though it was not in motion when it was captured.

Drawbacks of freezing motion and workaround

• The drawback of increasing the shutter speed to high numbers is you end up with less light during capture(especially since the ceiling fan is indoors ).Increasing the ISO to 1600 or so helps in this case , and helps to get a better picture.
• Similar experiments can be done with water from a sprinkler . You can capture the water droplets, water splashing out of a glass when ice is dropped(Some color can be added to the water).This may be a bit tricky as we may need another person to co-ordinate and create the splash .The timing of the click also should be accurate.
• There is also another concept called panning in photography which captures the object in motion. In the pictures of the pinwheel above, it does not prove to the viewer the subject is in motion. A car or bike moving with the background blurred or capturing a person jumping frozen at their highest point with the hair flying all over their face, a sportsman in action, kid jumping into a pool are good subjects to achieve this technique. Continuous focus mode with multiple shots , tripod, and pre-determined focus points are also used to get the motion freeze... More on panning in my next post. Happy Clicking!