Stopping Motion

Today, we are going to jump right into action photography. You see it everywhere from the covers of sport’s magazines, to articles in the newspapers to even some music magazines. So, would you like to be able to produce photos like this…

… or shots like this…

… or shots like this one…

… instead of photos more like

It is easier than you might think. All you need is someone special [pause]…

…to guide you through a few steps to a better understanding of how to make that happen.

As an aspiring photographer, know that the higher quality cameras are more expensive but will offer the features and adjustments necessary to take great stop motion shots. Today, we will be using Digital SLR cameras. Reference your manual to see what features your camera has available.

So if your camera looks more like this…

… instead of like this…

…then it may be time to upgrade…

Otherwise, you may be surprised at the use you will get out of your digital camera. Now, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Here are a few things you might want to look at picking up as you grow into your new found photography role. Remember, photography equipment is designed to help you expand you ability and make for better shots. If you cannot afford some equipment, creativity will always overcome cost. Number one…

…a camera. I hope we can check this one off the list. Item number two…

…a tripod to stabilize your shot. It will be a piece of equipment that you will find use for throughout your photography. And number three, you guessed it…

… a subject to take pictures of whether a individual or even a moving object like a tree, a car, a car hitting a tree; whatever.

So… can we started or what?!

This is the Pixelmania studio. Let’s begin by setting up our camera to the correct shutter speed. Since we are not covering lighting in this episode, we are assuming that the subject or event has the necessary lighting.

Shutter Speed

If we were to dissect our camera…

… this portion is the shutter. It moves…

… like this, and it’s speed is controlled in seconds and fractions of a second. On most digital SLR, that motion is mimicked through electronic signals. No more science, I promise.

Here are a few general rules regarding shutter speed that you may want to jot down for future reference. When you have action moving toward you like this…

…a shutter speed of 1/100 to 1/250 is a good place to start.

If you have action that looks more like this…

…then you want to use a base of 1/250. Remember that the faster the action, the faster the shutter speed needs to be to stop motion.

When taking action shots, timing and focus are very important to getting the shots that you will be happy with. Nothing is worse than being forced to settle on images due to improper practice and setup.

Keep in mind: when you increase the shutter speed, the amount of light entering the lens is reduced. A good way to compensate as a new photographer is to use the Aperture Priority mode.

Lets begin with some visual learning, shall we? We are using [model's name] because she has longer hair, which will exaggerated the stop motion. Also, she is a much better looking example for this shot than I am which works better for our viewers. So, here we go.

Now, jump in the air with your thumb in your ear.

Now, I want cross eyes and a your tongue out.

The advantage to a studio shoot is that the models have to follow everything the photographer says to do. Most photography is not that easy. It requires anticipating motion, following a subject in the viewfinder, and working in order to get the shot.

Okay, this time, I need you to jump while making a face like a monkey while holding this banana.

I good term to know is anticipatory framing. [Anticipatory framing is a composition concept required when your subject moves within a frame generally speaking it’s a good idea for the movement of the camera to lead rather than follow the movement of your subject. Simply put, you will be following the subject's movement with your camera to capture the shot instead of waiting for the subject to cross your path.]

Simply put, you will be following the subject’s movement with your camera to capture the shot instead of waiting for the subject to cross your path.

Another area of importance is focus. You should work with both manual and auto focus depending on what you are trying to capture. A great way of getting the shot at a sporting event, for example, is to plan ahead… If you know the action at a basketball game is going to happen at the hoop then you might try pre-focusing on the hoop. Using auto focus might work better if you know that the lens will focus in enough time. Auto focus WILL ensure a sharper image than the human eye and is the optimal setting for your camera.

Now for a shot like this, timing is critical. What will make this photo exciting will be catching her hair when its up in the air. That means for this session, we will wait until she is coming down rather than going up.

I would advise against trying to get this particular shot using the continuous shooting mode, and getting good at pushing the shutter button. It is has its purpose, but we don’t want to develop bad habits or become lazy in our photography. You can try both, but from my experience, even a fast shutter isn’t as efficient as getting the so called “money shot” as some plain old practice.

And here is what we’ve got as our final product.

Well, time for a little review. We have talked about equipment, shutter speed, focusing, and anticipatory framing. The final piece to anything you ever hear me say is PRACTICE! The more we do, the better we get.

From Pixelmania, I’m John – see you next