Help with technique

scottduffy

scottduffy

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Hi Guys,

I am designing a poster for the college gym and have a fair idea of what i want to do but what i'm wondering is how to shoot images portraying motion whilst keeping the subject in sharp focus.

For example if i have someone on a rowing machine or on a treadmill then would it be a case of trying to keep focus on their face/head but using a slow enough shutter speed that their arms or legs are blurring? If i'm doing this given the slow shutter speed should i use a tripod? If i should will it not make focusing on their heads much more difficult given they are moving?

I keep hearing about panning but don't know if this the correct technique as i always though that was for objects like cars passing by at speed.

Any help appreciated.
 
This is just a suggestion and I don't know if it will work or not, but on the wall at our local sports centre are some graphic images which suggest motion, they have a sharp figure which gradually blurs while appearing to show movement as each image is in a slightly different position but increasingly opaque
So if instead of using a slow shutter use a fast shutter and shoot a burst, each shot will be sharp but the person will then be in a slightly different position.
Now this might tax your photoshop skills , it would certainly tax mine.
Put each sequential photo onto its own layer and drop the opacity on each layer,so the photo appears to fade but on each layer the same photo is in a slightly different position but becoming increasingly opaque.
If you look at a cartoon where the character appears to be running thats what you should ( hopefully) get-its a still animation if that makes sense
Try it and see
 
scottduffy said:
Hi Guys,

I am designing a poster for the college gym and have a fair idea of what i want to do but what i'm wondering is how to shoot images portraying motion whilst keeping the subject in sharp focus.

For example if i have someone on a rowing machine or on a treadmill then would it be a case of trying to keep focus on their face/head but using a slow enough shutter speed that their arms or legs are blurring? If i'm doing this given the slow shutter speed should i use a tripod? If i should will it not make focusing on their heads much more difficult given they are moving?

I keep hearing about panning but don't know if this the correct technique as i always though that was for objects like cars passing by at speed.

Any help appreciated.
Click to expand...

If the lighting ratios permit it you can combine a blurred motion shot with a sharp flashgun illuminated shot in the same exposure by using flash fill with rear curtain synchronization, thus catching the sharp bit of the shot at the end of the blurred part of the shot, so that for example a blurred leg trail appears behind the sharp leg. Here's an exaggerated example with a fire spinner.

Can you hold that pose while we adjust our cameras? by Chris Malcolm, on Flickr
 
It's highly unlikely that you'll get one part of a person moving whilst another part stays totally still, so really the only way to do this is to freeze motion with flash whilst combining that with a slow shutter speed to capture the movement.

Typically this would be done with 2nd curtain sync, the SS will depend on how fast the movement is, but I'd take 1/15 as a start point, so set the ambient exposure to 1/2 to 1 stop under at 1/15sec then add auto or manual flash at the correct exposure. From there, adjust to taste.

It's a common technique, good luck.
 
Thanks guys I had been reading about second curtain sync this afternoon and I think this will probably work. Having seen the gym today I wish the bloody machines where situated a tad further from the walls and facing out from them. I'll try your suggested speeds Phil and let you know how it goes.

My lecturer was telling me today that it's easy enough to add motion blur in photoshop but I'd much rather get it right in camera.
 
Get someone on the cycle machine thing and experiment with a slowish shutter speed and a pop of flash.
Apparently there's a physiological phenomenon (Wow) called "Auto-suspension" where the body naturally tries to keep the head, and therefore the face, still while the legs are peddling like billy-ho.
 
Haha. It was a she and she's quite new by all accounts. I'll keep you guys posted.
 
I would suggest rear-curtain sync is the technique to go for. Learning to light this properly will be of more help than just "doing it in photoshop".

That said, when I tried to do this shot below with rear-curtain sync, I just couldn't get it to work, probably because of the speed of the motion. But it did work with the layering technique as @troutfisher suggests. (15 shots to create this)

Chapter 2: "Too many words" by Alistair Beavis, on Flickr

troutfisher said:
This is just a suggestion and I don't know if it will work or not, but on the wall at our local sports centre are some graphic images which suggest motion, they have a sharp figure which gradually blurs while appearing to show movement as each image is in a slightly different position but increasingly opaque
So if instead of using a slow shutter use a fast shutter and shoot a burst, each shot will be sharp but the person will then be in a slightly different position.
Now this might tax your photoshop skills , it would certainly tax mine.
Put each sequential photo onto its own layer and drop the opacity on each layer,so the photo appears to fade but on each layer the same photo is in a slightly different position but becoming increasingly opaque.
Click to expand...

As for this:
scottduffy said:
Having seen the gym today I wish the bloody machines where situated a tad further from the walls and facing out from them.
Click to expand...
Talk nicely to the gym manager and get a couple of the machines turned to give you a better shot. Unless they are bolted to the floor, no reason you can't do this. You're the photographer, you're creating the image, you can do more than just press the shutter.
 
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Hmmm! just a thought?

When motion of the rowing machine user or indeed possibly to lesser extent the treadmill runner in the action there is a point in time when the head will be motionless but the limbs will be moving. I wonder if is possible to capture the head in focus and the parts of the body in motion blur???

In regard to holding the persons attention and (possibly) reducing the motion of the head.............if you put a red pingpong ball on stick (or other such mounting) just above the lens and ask them to concentrate on the red ball that will mean they are looking down the lens! (NB red is always a colour that draws the eye and ping pong size is good to focus on)
 
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ABTog said:
I would suggest rear-curtain sync is the technique to go for. Learning to light this properly will be of more help than just "doing it in photoshop".

That said, when I tried to do this shot below with rear-curtain sync, I just couldn't get it to work, probably because of the speed of the motion. But it did work with the layering technique as @troutfisher suggests. (15 shots to create this)

Chapter 2: "Too many words" by Alistair Beavis, on Flickr



.
Click to expand...

That's because, as ive said on numerous occasions, rear curtain sync isn't for 'creating a still shot over a moving shot' as most people think, it's for creating the still image with a motion trail behind.

With random movement, it doesn't matter when the flash occurs, it's all about the balance between the ambient and flash exposure. This is what I shoot mostly for dance floor shots.

And in many ways it's easier with first curtain sync, because then we can choose what the still shot looks like.
 
Seeing the laptop keyboard shot above reminded me I had this from 2009 ~ slow shutter and no flash of the hands of church organist playing.

Granted not rapid movement but possibly shows what can be down if you can capture both static parts and movement in the one "appropriately shutter speed" shot! Oh,handheld ;)

IMG_8729_handMotion.jpg


NB This is crop of the full image.
 
scottduffy said:
Hi Guys,

I am designing a poster for the college gym and have a fair idea of what i want to do but what i'm wondering is how to shoot images portraying motion whilst keeping the subject in sharp focus.

For example if i have someone on a rowing machine or on a treadmill then would it be a case of trying to keep focus on their face/head but using a slow enough shutter speed that their arms or legs are blurring? If i'm doing this given the slow shutter speed should i use a tripod? If i should will it not make focusing on their heads much more difficult given they are moving?

I keep hearing about panning but don't know if this the correct technique as i always though that was for objects like cars passing by at speed.

Any help appreciated.
Click to expand...

An alternative approach.. I think that if you get the composition, timing & pose right then you can convey a sense of motion while keeping everything sharp. It works best if you capture a position which obviously couldn't be held or balanced - so on the rowing machine you might want the stroke just before maximum extension.

With dancers it means capturing not the peak of a jump or a perfect position so much as a moment of transition just after the peak. This is one of my attempts..


Bernadette II by Simon Carter, on Flickr

Lois Greenfield is the foremost practitioner of this style.

Your flash will need to completely dominate any ambient light. A short flash duration helps - but isn't entirely necessary.
 
Lovely image mate and yes I can see exactly how that would work. Maybe with the rower extended just the the muscle definition etc would show the movement. Excellent idea.

I'll let you guys know how I get on. Thanks again.
 
If its any help I was discussing this today with a friend who is retired Pro, used to working in film.
His answer was " Well we would have done this on 10*8 , moving the model a bit at a time, meter the shot and take a series of 10*8's each one slightly ( 1 stop) underexposed.
Pin the trannies together, apparently they had a special frame to do this ) and then print.
His comment was it was a bit hit and miss getting the alignment spot on but its a lot easier in PS but we did not have that in my day
 
I find this...
troutfisher said:
If its any help I was discussing this today with a friend who is retired Pro, used to working in film.
His answer was " Well we would have done this on 10*8 , moving the model a bit at a time, meter the shot and take a series of 10*8's each one slightly ( 1 stop) underexposed.
Pin the trannies together, apparently they had a special frame to do this ) and then print.
His comment was it was a bit hit and miss getting the alignment spot on but its a lot easier in PS but we did not have that in my day
Click to expand...
**

Even more incredulous than this...
scottduffy said:
My lecturer was telling me today that it's easy enough to add motion blur in photoshop but I'd much rather get it right in camera.
Click to expand...

This concept is a bread and butter shot for a nightclub photographer or wedding photographer, a simple 2 minute setup and shoot.

Check all the wedding photographers on here and you'll find most have examples of this type of shot, it's not just possible in camera, it's easily done almost to the point of 'easy'. I'd certainly rather have this brief than Orbs, light trails or Macro (or many other amateur exercises).

**There's a chance that this old pro assumed you meant a stroboscopic effect rather than blur, because that appears to be what the above describes, though again - easy to do in camera with modern flashguns.
 
I will be researching many images before I make mine and I'll show you one or two that haven't been handed in for marking as that's not allowed. Thanks again guys.
 
juggler said:
I think that if you get the composition, timing & pose right then you can convey a sense of motion while keeping everything sharp. It works best if you capture a position which obviously couldn't be held or balanced - so on the rowing machine you might want the stroke just before maximum extension.

With dancers it means capturing not the peak of a jump or a perfect position so much as a moment of transition just after the peak. This is one of my attempts..


Bernadette II by Simon Carter, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Here's one of my recent favourites. Outdoor sport, but the same idea:

17552-1484754741-f8fcaf79fc33404cfa5b6a3a64a8ca9c.jpg
 
Was thinking about this. There's potentially a crackin shot to be had using a rowing machine with the subject moving towards/away from the camera position, slow shutter speed, flash synced front or rear and zooming you lens, in or out - experiment.
 
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