How to Freeze Motion Photography

Use a fast shutter speed to freeze the entire scene.

The world is continually in motion, as are the people and things in it: a football game is a blur of action, a deer in the wilderness is a fleeting image. Photography allows us to capture moments in time, essentially freezing the world for a split-second and allowing us to study a scene, as it occurred, at that specific point in time. Freeze the entire scene by using a fast shutter speed, or freeze the subject against a blurred background by using the pan-and-shoot method.

Instructions

Use a Fast Shutter Speed

1. Switch to shutter priority mode. This mode allows you to set the shutter speed, letting the camera calculate the aperture value.

2. Increase the shutter speed. Depending on the subject’s speed and direction, the optimal shutter speed varies. For instance, if the subject is relatively slow, like a child running on foot, you may be able to get away with 1/250th or 1/500th of a second. For a quick subject or a subject moving horizontally across your field of view, you’ll need a faster shutter speed.

3. Increase the ISO. If the images are under-exposed and you can’t decrease the shutter speed without introducing motion blur to the composition, bump up the ISO.

4. Turn on the on-camera flash if you are shooting in a low-light location. Though freezing the action in dimly-lit scenes is difficult, you may be able to bump the camera’s ISO and use the on-camera flash for a successful shot.

Pan and Shoot

1. Switch to shutter priority mode and set the shutter speed to a relatively slow value, like 1/15th or 1/30th of a second, depending on the subject’s speed and direction.

2. Point the camera at the area where the subject will be and press the shutter button halfway to focus. Switch to manual focus mode to lock the focus setting in place.

3. Point the camera at the subject as it crosses your point of view. Press the shutter button to start the exposure.

4. 

   The pan and shoot method freezes the subject against a blurred background.

   Follow the subject as it crosses your point of view, keeping the subject within the center of the viewfinder as much as possible.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your elbows in tight to your body to eliminate shake and vibration.

References

• “Understanding Photograph Field Guide: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera”; Bryan Peterson; 2009
• Northeastern University: Edtech: Digital Photography – Shutter Speed

Resources

• Digital Photography School; Aperture and Shutter Priority Modes; Darren Rowse
• Duke University: Computer Science Department: Ron Parr’s Digital Photography FAQ