How to Shoot Motion Blur

Although as a photographer you’ll generally want to avoid blur, using it in the correct way can create stunning imagery. Motion blur is one of the most striking effects that a photographer can produce, and it can add so much interest to an otherwise uninteresting scene.

It’s not just fast moving subjects such as running animals or speeding motorbikes that can benefit from the emphasis of movement: motion blur opens up a world of creativity and gives you the opportunity to have fun with your photos.

Mastering motion blur isn’t going to happen right away, but by following our tips and getting plenty of practice, you’ll be creating emotive and eye catching images in next to no time. 

Alternatively you can also check out how to shoot Northern Lights.

A tripod is the most obvious way of achieving complete stillness, so go for the best that you can afford as cheaper models might not be stable enough to do the job well. If you think you’ll be shooting on unstable ground or in unpredictable conditions, go for a model with retractable spikes on the feet, as they’ll allow you to dig into the ground for extra staying power.

In addition to this, invest in a remote shutter release to stop your hands from causing accidental movement. You can also use your camera’s timer if you don’t want to invest in a remote. 

Shutter priority mode is the easiest option if you’re still getting to grips with photography, and will allow you to manipulate the shutter speed without worrying about any of the other settings. If you can though, go for full manual mode: you’ll have much more control and will be able to tweak your settings until everything is absolutely perfect.

If your subject is moving incredibly fast (a fighter jet overhead, for example), you might be fine with a shutter speed as fast as 1/4000th of a second, but for anything moving at a more average pace (a race car or an animal, for example), you’ll see more blur from a shutter set at 5 seconds.

Of course, you’ll need to adjust the shutter speed depending on how fast your subject is moving and how much blur you want to see in your image, so you’ll need to dedicate time to practicing and experimenting with your camera. But that’s the joy of digital as there’s no cost implications for taking hundreds of practice shots, and eventually you’ll get a feel for how long you need your shutter to remain open for.

Lighting will make a difference to how much you can reduce your shutter speed before your image is over exposed, and if you’re shooting in the day you’ll need to make some additional adjustments to balance out your camera’s intake of light. Which leads us to our next three points…

If you’re shooting on a sunny day, go for a super low ISO of 200 or 400 first. For overcast days and that golden hour before the sun sets, you’ll probably need to ramp that number up by another 200 or so. For night shoots where you’re capturing cityscapes or shooting stars, look at doubling that number.

Of course, you’ll need to give yourself time to test out different ISOs in different scenarios to understand what your camera is capable of. You’ll know you’ve got the right ISO when you see the contrast and the strength of color that you want to achieve; over-exposure will totally wash out your images and you’ll lose all-important detail. Higher ISOs can cause noise in some cameras, but it’s always worth it to avoid the dreaded unintentional blur or blowout. 

If you shoot in shutter priority mode then you won’t have to think about this as your camera will do the calculations for you, but if you prefer full manual you’ll have to find the correct aperture yourself. As a rule of thumb, for every ‘stop’ you reduce the shutter speed by, you’ll want to look at lowering the aperture by one ‘stop’, but play around with your settings until you’re getting the correct balance of light.

Remember to bear in mind that a lower aperture means a shallower depth of field, too, so if that’s not something you desire for your images you’ll want to rely more heavily on your ISO settings to get the lighting right. Also remember that if you’re shooting light flares using car headlights or sparklers for example, you’ll need a larger aperture as you’ll want to allow more light into your camera’s sensor. For every lighting scenario between dark and sunlight, it’s going to be a case of more trial and error.

In addition to ND filters, you can also use polarizing filters, but bear in mind that these will alter other aspects of your images by changing colors and even cutting out reflections.

Filters won’t work single handedly in bright lighting scenarios, but they’ll certainly give you a helping hand for times when there’s a little too much light getting through the glass of your lens.

Rather than auto-focusing once, this setting will continue to track your subject regardless of whether your finger is on the shutter button, keeping it pin sharp as it crosses your field of vision. This will save you time on focusing, meaning that you’re less likely to miss your shot.

Contrary to our advice regarding keeping your camera stable, sometimes you’re going to want to move it while your subject stays still or moves slowly. There are a couple of ways to do this:

• Panning
  
  This is when you follow your subject with your camera. It will take a couple of attempts to get the shutter speed right, but once you master it you’ll achieve a really cool effect that gives the impression of speed.
  
  
• Zoom
  
  By manually zooming with the lens during exposure, you can create an incredible abstract shot that’s perfect for fireworks, neon signs and pretty much any other kind of light. In most cases, twisting the lens will mean that you lose focus on your subject entirely, but that’s fine. Have fun with it!