Welcome to tip #5 of our Life Lessons from Photography School!
Let me give you a quick recap of what you have missed:
#4 Shooting from Different angles and a different perspective
Contributing Photographer: Carla Ackermann
Todays Photo tip and Life lesson: Blur Technique and Lean On It
This past weekend I photographed a great wedding. The couple wanted two things for their wedding: 1) That Christ be glorified and; 2) That it would be fun. Both were definitely accomplished! It was one of the most God-honoring parties ever. As this was the emphasis for the wedding, I knew it also needed to be the emphasis for the photos.
One of the best ways to photograph a party is allowing for blur-motion, where part of the picture is blurry to show that the subject (or subjects) is moving.*
And I love blur-motion – it is probably my favorite photography technique. To accomplish this technique, a longer shutter speed is required (1/30 sec. is a good place to start, and work towards longer shutter speeds from there….. it all depends on how fast your subjects are moving.) The problem with a longer shutter speed is that it is difficult to not get blur due to camera shake; ie: it is difficult to hold the camera still long enough for the fixed objects to remain sharp. The way to combat this it to lean on it! Lean on something solid, rest the camera on a firm surface or best yet, use a tripod.
The first photo was hand-held. My shutter speed was for one second. You’ll see that the tables and chairs are blurred due to my hand movement. In the next photo, all the fixed objects are sharp while those moving are blurry, indicating their movement. All of my settings are the same but for the second photo,
I placed the camera on a wide banister for stability. The motion in the photo shows that people were having a great time, dancing the night away (yes, they were doing the Macarena!).
*Note that the integral part of this type of photography is that objects that are still are sharp and the objects that are in motion are blurred. It is important to have that contrast.
The quality of photos can be greatly improved by leaning on a solid foundation, just as the quality of life is improved in the same manner. God and His Word is our firm foundation (2 Timothy 2:19; Matthew 7:24). Circumstances and the direction for our lives come to us clearly when He is what we are leaning on. Just as in the photos, if we try to do life on our own, we will end up with a blurry mess. Leaning on Christ will sharpen our view in spite of the whir and motion of life around us. Just lean on Him.