5 Ways to Take Stunningly Sharp Images

By: Jaymes Dempsey 

You can take sharp images. You can take them consistently, quickly, efficiently. However, you just may not realize it yet.

The Problem

The thing is, getting acceptably sharp images is a common problem among photographers. It’s something that I myself often struggled with getting consistently. I can’t tell you the number of times I used to come home, only to find my memory cards full of blurry or out of focus images.
I used to think the problem was my camera optics. In order to take pin-sharp images, I thought I needed a top of the line camera and lens. But it turns out that, when it comes to sharpness, the problem is generally the photographer (or the choices that the photographer makes).
And fortunately, that problem is very easy to fix.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn five ways that you can get sharp images. And then, next time you go out shooting, you’ll consistently take pin-sharp images. Sound good? Read on to find out how.

1. Use a fast enough shutter speed

When you press the shutter button on your camera, the internal sensor is briefly exposed to the light. This is how the camera actually captures an image.
The length of time that the sensor is exposed to the light is called the shutter speed.

Depending on your camera settings, the sensor might be exposed to the light for a long period of time (a slow shutter speed) or a short period of time (a fast shutter speed).
One of the main reasons your images are coming back blurry is that you’re not using a fast enough shutter speed. If you use a slow shutter speed, then your camera sensor remains open to the light for too long. It captures too much. That is, it captures motion.
But if you want to freeze the motion and capture only a sliver of a second so that everything is crystal clear, frozen. To do this, you need a fast shutter speed.

Fortunately, it’s not difficult to do this. In your camera’s settings, you can generally increase the shutter speed. Or you can use the Action (Sports) setting, which many cameras have.
Even if your subject isn’t moving, your hands might not be rock-steady. This causes camera shake which in turn causes image blur.
A faster shutter speed will help fix this.

2. Tuck in your elbows

A shutter speed increase solves many issues with blurry photographs. But what if you can’t use a fast shutter speed?

When the light is low, for instance, when you’re indoors or when you’re outside at night – a fast shutter speed lets in too little light, causing the image to be dark (we call this underexposure). Your camera will compensate for the low light by keeping the shutter open for longer, exposing the sensor to more light.
This is when it becomes important to eliminate camera shake completely. If the camera shakes, your image will come out blurred. So how do you stop your camera from shaking?
The first way that I’m going to talk about is simple: You tuck in your elbows. Don’t shoot with your arms out. Instead, firmly grip your camera while pulling your elbows in. This will serve to stabilize the camera and reduce camera shake.

I tucked in my elbows in order to get a sharp shot of my model in low light.

3. Stabilize your body against a wall (or the ground!)

Sometimes, tucking in your elbows isn’t enough. If the light is really low, you may need to take more drastic measures to reduce camera shake.
One big tip is to stabilize your body against a feature of the landscape, something solid.

When photographing birds, I often stabilize my elbows against the ground, ensuring a sharper image. 

If you’re a street photographer, for instance, you can search for walls to lean against. If you’re a 

landscape photographer, you can hold onto a rock or tree.

It also helps to get down on the ground. You can kneel and stabilize your arms on your knee. Or you can get down on your stomach and use the grass, concrete or dirt as a stabilizer for your camera.
Trust me, it works!

4. Use a tripod

I’ve been talking a lot about stabilizing your camera, and the ways I’ve suggested will generally work well, especially if you’re in a pinch. But there is a more dedicated solution – use a tripod.
With a good tripod, you can completely eliminate camera shake. This will do wonders for keeping your images sharp.

I used a tripod to capture this image of a musician at night.

There are a few downsides to using a tripod, however. The first is that you lose flexibility. It takes time to set up a new composition when you’re using a tripod, time that you might not want to spend. This is especially true if you’re photographing in a fast-paced atmosphere (e.g., portraiture or events).
The second downside is that good, solid tripods are expensive, especially if you want one that’s lightweight. Cheaper tripods may seem like a bargain, but they often don’t do the job well, or at all and replacing them costs more than buying one good one in the first place.
So be careful before choosing to invest in a good solid tripod.

5. Use a Shorter Lens

I have one more recommendation for eliminating blurry photographs, that is to use a shorter lens.
This is for a few reasons, but I’ll focus on the simplest one. A longer lens is harder to keep steady. It destabilizes the camera (and the image is magnified), and will, therefore, cause camera shake.

I used a wide-angle lens to photograph this golden retriever as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Hence, this tip is short and sweet. Especially when shooting in low light, put away your longer lenses and your telephoto zooms. Bring out your wide-angle and portrait lenses, ones that you can easily hold steady.
That’s how you’ll take sharp images.

Capturing consistently sharp images may have seemed daunting, but I hope that you now realize the truth. Getting sharp images is easy!

I urge you to get out and try these tips now.

1. Use a fast shutter speed.
2. Tuck in your elbows.
3. Stabilize your body.
4. If you want, invest in a tripod.
5. Use a wider lens.

And admire those crystal clear images!
Do you have any other tips for taking sharper images? Please share them in the comments below.


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How to Take Sharp Images

By: Darren Rowse 

Getting your digital images perfectly sharp is something that most photographers want – however clean, crisp, sharp images can be difficult to achieve.
Perhaps before we start exploring how to improve sharpness it would be good to talk about the main causes for lack of sharpness:

• Poor Focus – the most obvious way to get images that are ‘un-sharp’ is through having them out of focus. This might be a result of focussing upon the wrong part of the image, being too close to your subject for the camera to focus, selecting an aperture that generates a very narrow depth of field or taking an image too quickly without checking it is in focus.
• Subject Movement – another type of ‘blur’ in shots is the result of your subject moving – this is generally related to shutter speed being too slow.
• Camera Shake – similarly you can get blur if you as the photographer generate movement while taking the image – this often relates to either shutter speed and/or the stillness of your camera.
• Noise – ‘noisy’ shots are ones that are pixelated and look like they have lots of little dots over them (get up close to your TV and you’ll get the same impact).

10 Ways to Take Sharper Images: Tips for Beginners

Here’s a list of 10 basic things to think about when shooting to get sharp images (note – there’s also a lot you can do in photoshop after taking you images.

1. Hold Your Camera Well

A lot of blur in the photos that I see is a direct result of camera shake (the movement of your camera for that split second when your shutter is open). While the best way to tackle camera shake is to use a Tripod (see below) there are many times when using one is impractical and you’ll need to shoot while holding your camera. I’ve written a tutorial previously on how to hold a digital camera but in brief – use both hands, keep the camera close to your body, support yourself with a wall, tree or some other solid object etc.

2. Tripods

Regular readers of this site will have seen my recent series on tripods and know that I’m a big fan of them as a way to reduce (and even eliminate) camera shake. While not always practical, the result you’ll get when you do go to the effort of hauling one around can be well worth it.
Related: A Beginners guide to using Tripods.

3. Shutter Speed

Perhaps one of the first things to think about in your quest for sharp images is the shutter speed that you select. Obviously – the faster your shutter speed the less impact camera shake will have and the more you’ll freeze any movement in your shots. As a result you reduce the likelihood of two of the main types of blur in one go (subject movement and camera movement). Remember the ‘rule’ for handheld shutter speeds:
Choose a shutter speed with a denominator that is larger than the focal length of the lens.
So:

• if you have a lens that is 50mm in length don’t shoot any slower than 1/60th of a second
• if you have a lens with a 100mm focal length shoot at 1/125th of a second or faster
• if you are shooting with a lens of 200mm shoot at 1/250th of a second or faster

Keep in mind that the faster your shutter speed is the larger you’ll need to make your Aperture to compensate – this will mean you have a smaller depth of field which makes focussing more of a challenge (read more on Shutter Speed).

4. Aperture

Aperture impacts the depth of field (the zone that is in focus) in your images. Decreasing your aperture (increasing the number – say up to f/20) will increase the depth of field meaning that the zone that is in focus will include both close and distant objects.
Do the opposite (for example moving to f/4) and the foreground and background of your images will be more out of focus and you’ll need to be more exact with what you focus your camera upon.
Keep in mind that the smaller your aperture the longer your shutter speed will need to be – which of course makes moving subjects more difficult to keep sharp (read more on Aperture).
Related reading: How to Get Landscapes Sharp with Hyperfocal Distances and Aperture Selection

5. ISO

The third element of the exposure triangle is ISO which has a direct impact upon the noisiness of your shots. Choose a larger ISO and you’ll be able to use faster shutter speed and smaller aperture (which as we’ve seen help with sharpness) but you’ll suffer by increasing the noise of your shots. Depending upon your camera (and how large you want to enlarge your images) you can probably get away with using ISO of up to 400 (or even 800 on some cameras) without too much noise but for pin sharp images keep it as low as possible). Read more on ISO.

6. Image Stabilisation

Many cameras and lenses are now being released with different forms of image stabilisation (IS) which won’t eliminate camera shake – but can definitely help reduce its impact. I find that using IS lenses that it will give me an extra two or three stops (ie I can use slower shutter speeds but 2-3 stops) when hand holding my camera. Keep in mind that IS helps with camera movement but not subject movement as it allows you to use slower shutter speeds (not good for moving subjects).
Also – don’t use image stabilisation while mounted to a tripod.

7. Focus

Perhaps the most obvious technique to work on when aiming for sharp lenses is focussing. Most of us use ‘Auto Focussing’ with our cameras but don’t assume that the camera will always get it right.
Always visually check what part of the image is in focus before hitting the shutter and if it’s not right try again or switch to manual focus mode. This is particularly important if you’re shooting with a large aperture (small depth of field) where even being slightly out can result in your subject being noticeably out of focus.
Most modern cameras have a range of focus modes you can choose to shoot in – choosing the right focusing mode is really important (learn how to do that here).

8. Good lenses

This one is for DSLR owners – if you have the budget for it invest in good quality lenses as they can have a major impact upon the sharpness of your images. For example shortly after buying my DSLR I was in the market for a everyday zoom lens that would give me the ability to have both wide (ish) and telephoto zoom capabilities. I bought a Canon EF 28-135mm lens. It was a good lens (and reasonably priced) but it wasn’t as sharp as some of my other lenses. A few months later I borrowed a Canon EF 24-105mm ‘L series’ (the professional series of lenses from Canon) lens from a friend and was amazed by the difference in sharpness between the lenses. While the first lens was good for what I paid for it I ended up going for an upgrade and the new lens is now almost permanently attached to my camera.

9. Get your Eyes Checked

Since I was young I’ve worn glasses but in recent years I’ve been a little slack in getting my eyes checked. Recently I got them tested for the first time in a number of years and was surprised to find that they’d deteriorated significantly. Getting new glasses improved a number of areas of my life, one of which was my photography. Also connected with this is checking the ‘diopter’ on your camera (if it has one. The diopter is a little adjustment that you can make to how your viewfinder works – it’s particularly useful for people with poor eye sight – it’s usually a little wheel next to your viewfinder.

10. Clean equipment

Recently my wife and I went on a window cleaning frenzy at our place. Over the previous months the grime on our windows had gradually built up without us really noticing it. When we did clean them though we were amazed at how much more light got through and how much better the view outside was. The same can be true for your camera’s lens. Keep it clean and you’ll eliminate the smudges, dust and grime that can impact your shots. Similarly – a clean image sensor is a wonderful thing if you have a DSLR as getting dust on it can produce noticeable blotches in your end images.
Update

11. Lens Sweet Spot

Lenses have spots in their aperture ranges that are sharper than others. In many cases this ‘sweet spot’ is one or two stops from the maximum aperture. So instead of shooting with your lens wide open (ie where the numbers are smallest) pull it back a stop or two and you might find you get a little more clarity in your shots. Learn more about identifying the sweet spot of your lenses here.

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How to Shoot Light Trails

By: Darren Rowse

One of the first subjects that I remember trying to capture as a teenager with my first SLR camera (film) was light trails created by cars on a busy road near my home.
I’d seen this type of shot in a photography magazine and was impressed by the eye catching results.

Light Trails continue to be popular subject matter for many photographers and they can actually be a great training ground for those wanting to get their cameras out of manual mode and to experiment with shooting in low light at longer exposures.
Following area few examples of light trail shots as well as some practical starting point tips for those wanting to give it a go.
To get more tutorials like this subscribe to Digital Photography School.

Equipment:

There is not just one particular type of camera and kit that you’ll need to capture light trails – however it is important to have a camera that allows you to have some control over exposure settings – particularly those that allow you to choose longer shutter speeds. This means you need a camera that has the ability to shoot in either full manual mode and/or shutter priority mode (something that all DSLRs and manypoint and shoot cameras have).
You’ll also need a tripod (or some other way to making your camera completely still) as you’ll be shooting with long shutter speeds which will make shooting handheld pretty much impossible.
Not essential but helpful to have with you are lens hoods (to help block lens flare from ambient lights), remote shutter release cables or wireless remote controls, patience and some warm clothes if you’re going out on a chilly night.

The Basic Principle:

At the most general level photographing light trails involves finding a spot where you’ll see the light trails created by cars, securing your digital camera, setting a long exposure setting on your camera and shooting at a time when cars will be going by to create the trail of light. Of course it’s a little more complicated than this – but the general factor behind it is longer exposures that will enable the car/s that create the trails to move through your image.

Experiment:

While there are a lot of tips that could be shared on the topic of photographing light trails – the main thing I learned in my early days of attempting to create these types of images was to experiment extensively. The beauty of digital photography is that you can do this with no extra cost to yourself and can get instant results (unlike when I did it on film and had to fork out for film and processing – not to mention wait days to see my results).

Setting Up Your Shot:

Photographing light trails is not difficult – it’s as simple as finding virtually any road with cars going down it once the sun goes down. But getting a shot that grabs attention means putting a little more thought into choosing your location, thinking about timing and framing your image. Here are a few tips on how to set your shot up:

• Timing/Light – one might think that the middle of the night is the best time for light trail photography (and it can be) – however one very effective time to do it is just as the sun is going down (just before and after). If you shoot at this time you’ll not only capture light from cars, but ambient light in the sky which can add atmosphere to your shots. You also might find that earlier in the evening you get a little more ‘action’ in your shot with more cars and even the movement of people through your shot.
• Creative Perspectives – some of the most effective light trail shots that I’ve taken and seen from others were taken from perspectives other than at the height of a normal person standing up. Get down low or find a place looking down on your scene that will create an unusual angle.
• Location – the most obvious thing with location is that you’ll need it to be somewhere near a road – however there’s more to think about than that. Choose a location that adds interest to the shot in some way. This might be one where there are well lit buildings along the road, one where multiple roads merge together to create light trails in different directions, on the bend of a road so that the trails sweep through the image, near a roundabout so the trails create circular shapes, in the middle of dual carriageways (on a triaffic island) so that you get traffic coming in two directions etc.
• Framing – the normal ‘rules’ of composition apply in this type of photography. Images need some sort of point/s of interest, the rule of thirds can be applied effectively, draw the eyes into your image using lines smartly, foregounds and backgrounds should add to and not distract from the image.

Settings:

• Aperture and Shutter Speed – I wish I could give you shutter speeds and apertures that will work in every situation – but as the ambient light and speed of cars will differ in every situation there’s no one exposure combination that will work in every setting.

Having said this I’ve found that I usually shoot at shutter speeds between 10 and 20 seconds (which gives cars time to move through the frame) and with apertures in the mid range (start with something around f/8).
The key is to start with something in the range above and to take a few test shots to see how the exposure works. You’ll quickly realize whether your shots are under or overexposed and whether the length of the exposure is long enough to let cars travel through the frame in the way that you want.
If your shots are overexposed – close your aperture down (increase the f stop number) or if your shots are underexposed open it up (decrease the f stop numbers). If you want the car’s lights to go further through the frame go for a longer shutter speed and if you want it to travel less through the frame shorten it.
Keep in mind that aperture impacts depth of field. If you need to go with a larger aperture you decrease the depth of field and more of your shot will be out of focus.

• Histogram – One thing to watch out for is letting any light source in your image (whether it be headlights, street lights etc) washing out your image. Lights that burn too bright can cause distractions and draw the eye of your viewer away from focal points – ruining your shot. One way to quickly check out if there’s any area in your shot that is overexposed to this degree is to view the histogram on your shot. If there are areas that are blown out you’ll have a graph with a right hand side that is too high on the graph. Learn more about histograms here.
• Choose a low ISO setting – this will give you images with as little noise as possible.
• Shoot in RAW if you have it – this will enable you to have more control in your post production work – particularly in getting white balance right (something that can be important as you’re shooting in a situation with lots of artificial light that can cause all kinds of color casts in your shot).
• Manual Focus – In low light situations cameras can struggle to get focusing locked correctly. The last thing you want is for your camera to be in and out of focus just as you need to hit the shutter release. Switch to manual focus and make sure your focus is upon a part of your image that is visually strong.

Timing Your Shot:

There is no right or wrong way to time your shot. Hitting the shutter just before a car enters the frame and releasing it just after it leaves the frame can create a lovely unbroken line – but sometimes shooting with shorter exposure times while the camera is in the frame can be effective also. Once again it’s about experimenting with different timings and seeing what effects it has.

Using Bulb Mode:

Many digital cameras have a mode on them called ‘bulb’ mode that allows you as the photographer to keep the shutter open as long as you wish. This can be very handy in this type of photography to time your shots with precision. If you use this you’ll want to be using a remote shutter release to stop any camera movement while the shutter is open.

Got some good light trail shots?  Share them with the community.

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A Beginners Guide to Capturing Motion in Your Photography

By: Darren Rowse

Emily Hancock, a professional Hampshire Photographer recently submitted the following tutorial to on Capturing Motion in Photography.

Image by T.MoE

Photographs, by definition, capture and immortalize a small slice of life. There is little for the viewer to infer what happens before or after that moment. However, there are images that need to communicate motion. For example, you may want to capture a dog running, a train barreling down the tracks, or trees that are blowing in the wind. Each of these scenes can come alive within your photographs if you learn how to convey motion properly.
Today, I’ll describe how you can use different shutter speeds and panning to capture motion in your photography. I’ll also explain a potential issue you might experience along with tips to resolve it.
Reasons To Capture Motion
Beginning photographers have likely seen captivating photographs that capture motion which they’d like to duplicate. There are several ways to accomplish this and each has a slightly different goal. Sometimes, there is a need to blur certain elements in the image while focusing sharply on a few subjects in the foreground. Other times, you may want to freeze or blur everything. The direction you take depends upon your objective for your photograph.
A lot of photographers capture motion simply to convey that an object is moving. But, there are other reasons to so. Movement can communicate mood. Trees rustling in the wind suggest serenity while throngs of people on a busy city block imply harried activity.
You can also use motion to eliminate elements in a scene that may serve as distractions to the viewer. For example, you may want to photograph a person standing on a sidewalk corner as cars move behind him. By blurring everything but your primary subject (i.e. the man on the corner), you can eliminate potential distractions and focus the viewer’s attention.

Two Primary Techniques For Capturing Motion
The shutter speed that you use while photographing a scene plays a key role in capturing motion in your image. The faster the shutter speed, the sharper the focus on your subject. On the other hand, a slower shutter speed will blur a moving object. There are two main approaches (we’ll discuss a couple of alternatives in a moment).

1. Blurred Subject With Background In Focus

photo by paulaloe
Let’s assume you’re photographing a speeding train against a wall of trees in the background. You can blur the train while leaving the trees in focus. Doing so would instantly communicate to the viewer that the train is moving quickly. To accomplish this, you would use a slow shutter speed. (It’s also important to use a tripod. That way, your camera remains steady.) You’ll often see this technique used in nighttime photographs with car headlights cutting through the image.

Image by Extra Medium

2. Blurred Background With Subject In Focus

This second technique keeps your photograph’s subject in sharp focus while the background is blurred. Using our train example, the train would be in focus and the wall of trees would be blurred, thereby conveying the train’s movement. Similar to the first method, you need to use a slow shutter speed. However, instead of using a tripod, you’ll be panning your camera along the directional path of your subject.
Panning Explained

Photo by fabbriciuse
Most beginning photographers are trained to “secure” their cameras. That is, your camera should remain as still as possible for certain types of shots. By contrast, panning requires that you move your camera with your subject. Specifically, you’ll be matching your subject’s rate of movement and the direction in which it is traveling.
In our train example, assume the man on the bike is moving from east to west. In that case, you’ll need to pan your camera along the same direction, matching the speed of the bike. The best results occur when you have a clear view of the moving object and ample room to swivel your camera along a parallel axis to it.
Panning effectively can be difficult. You can practice and perfect your technique by photographing athletes who move quickly (for example, basketball players). Try to capture their facial expressions while blurring everything in the background. It will take some time to get it right, but once you do, the technique can be a valuable addition to your repertoire.

Other Techniques To Capture Motion

Besides the two main techniques described above, you can also freeze the entire field of vision or blur everything. Freezing the entire scene can give your photographs a unique look, especially if the objects strongly imply movement. For example, consider a bird that is flying in front of a waterfall. Both imply motion to the viewer. Freezing the entire scene captures that motion in a single moment and can produce a breathtaking image. You should use a shutter speed of at least 1/1000th of a second for this type of shot.

Photo by llimllib
Blurring everything produces the best results when the scene offers bright, contrasting colors or varying shades on the grayscale. In most cases, capturing motion in this manner is done purely for artistic purposes.
Another effective method for capturing motion within your images is ‘chrono photography’.

Photo by monkeyc
Using the continuous shooting feature on your camera, you can capture a series of shots and join them together in the post processing stage to create the effect shown above. A tripod is essential when attempting to shoot motion using this method.

Image by Jolantis

Determine The Proper Shutter Speed

A lot of novice photographers ask what the proper shutter speed is, given their objective for their photographs. Every situation is unique. One speed doesn’t suit all circumstances. To identify the right shutter speed, you’ll need to ask yourself a few questions:

1. How fast is your subject moving?
2. How much distance exists between the camera and the subject?
3. How much motion do you want your photograph to convey to the viewer?

The faster the shutter speed, the more frozen and crisply-defined your subject will be. Most cameras today will allow you to freeze a scene using 1/8000th of a second or faster. That being said, the numbers only serve as a rough guideline. You’ll need to experiment with different shutter speeds in a variety of situations.

Potential Issue: Excess Light

When you slow your shutter speed to blur elements in your image, there’s a chance that too much light will enter and impact your photograph. It’s a common problem, but there are a couple of ways to resolve it. First, check the aperture on your camera. The larger it is, the more likely excess light will enter. Try adjusting the settings to reduce its size. Second, review the setting of your ISO. When it is set high, the image sensor in your camera may be overly-sensitive to light. This can create unwanted noise in your image.

Mastering The Art Of Motion Capture

Like other photography skills, becoming proficient at capturing motion requires practice and experience. You’ll need to spend time learning how shutter speeds will impact the quality of your images. Even if you’re just setting your camera on its tripod, timing a perfect shot of a fast-moving object can be difficult. In the end, capturing motion in your photography is part technique and part art. Fortunately, with practice, you can master it.

Got a photograph that you’d like to share with the community? Share it and get published here on the blog to be seen by hundreds of thousands of people.

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Slow Sync Flash

By: Darren Rowse  

One camera function that can be a lot of fun to play with (and that can get you some interesting results) is slow sync flash.

Low Light Photography Options

When shooting with a subject in low light situations you generally have two options; either to shoot with a flash or to shoot with a slow shutter speed.
1. Flash – When shooting in low light with a flash in auto mode your camera will choose a relatively fast shutter speed. This means that your subject will be well lit and that if it is moving it will be frozen and as a result will be sharp. The problem with this is that it can also leave your subject lit up too brightly and can leave it’s background looking very dark as there is not enough time for the camera to collect any ambient light.
2. Slow Shutter Speed – The other option is to turn your flash off and shoot with a longer shutter speed in order to collect enough available light from the image to get a well exposed shot. This can be an effective technique if you’re shooting landscape or environmental shots where everything is nice and still – however if you’re shooting a moving subject it means you’ll get motion blur which could ruin your shot.
Both of the above options are legitimate technique but both have their weaknesses. Another options to consider is slow sync flash.

What is Slow Sync Flash?

Slow Sync Flash is a function found on many cameras that tells your camera to shoot with both a longer shutter speed as well as firing the flash. This means you get the best of both worlds above and can both get a relatively sharp shot of your main subject as well as get some ambient light from the background and foreground.
Some cameras allow you to access slow sync flash manually and set exposure length and flash strength but on many compact cameras there is a little less control given and it’s presented as an automatic shooting mode, often called ‘night mode’ or even ‘party mode’ where the camera selects the slower shutter speed and flash strength for you.

Rear and Front Curtain Sync

If your camera gives you some manual control when it comes to slow sync flash you might find yourself presented with two options called ‘rear curtain sync’ and ‘front curtain sync’.
These two modes sound a little technical but to put it most simply they are the way in which you choose when to fire your flash during the longer exposure.

Rear Curtain Sync – this tells your camera to fire the flash at the end of the exposure. ie when you press the shutter your lens opens up and starts collecting light and just before it closes the flash will fire to light up and freeze your main subject (see the card shot to the left for an example where you’ll see the card trail ending in a nice crisp shot of the card).
Front Curtain Sync – this tells your camera to fire the flash at the start of the exposure. ie when you press the shutter, the flash will fire immediately and the shutter will remain open afterwards capturing ambient light.
You might not think there’s much difference between these modes but when you’re photographing a moving subject it can have a real impact. You’ll find many action/sports photographers will use Rear Curtain Sync when shooting with a panning technique.

Tripod or Handheld?

When using either slow synch in either mode (or in the automatic ‘night mode’ you will want to consider whether or not to use a tripod. Traditionally when shooting with longer shutter speeds it is accepted that a tripod is essential in order to stop any camera movement. Even the steadiest of hands will not be able to stop a camera moving over even a 1 or 2 second exposure. So if you want to eliminate blur from your cameras movement definitely use a tripod (and consider a shutter release cable).
However in some circumstances hand holding your camera while using slow sync flash can lead to some wonderful effects. For example if you’re at a wedding or party and are out on the dance floor the results can be great at capturing the mood of a night with those you’re photographing largely frozen by the flash but the lights on the dance floor blurred from you moving your camera during the shot.
Of course hand held techniques won’t work with every situation so experiment with both methods at different shutter speeds and by using both rear and front curtain sync and find the best methods for your particular situation.


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How to Capture Motion Blur in Photography

By: Darren Rowse 

Capturing movement in images is something that many photographers only think to do when they are photographing sports or other fast moving subjects.
While there is an obvious opportunity in sports photography to emphasize the movement of participants – almost every type of photography can benefit from the emphasis of movement in a shot – even when the movement is very small, slow and/or subtle.
Last week I featured 15 images that capture movement with creative blur – today I want to take a few moments to suggest some tips on how to do it.

Tips for capturing movement:

1. Slow Down Your Shutter Speed

The reason for movement blur is simply that the amount of time that the shutter of a camera is open is long enough to allow your camera’s image sensor to ‘see’ the movement of your subject.
So the number one tip in capturing movement in an image is to select a longer shutter speed.
If your shutter speed is fast (eg 1/4000th of a second) it’s not going to see much movement (unless the the subject is moving mighty fast) while if you select a longer shutter speed (eg 5 seconds) you don’t need your subject to move very much at all before you start to see blur.
How long should your shutter speed be? – Of course the speed of your subject comes into play. A moving snail and a moving racing car will give you very different results at the same shutter speed.
The other factor that comes into play in determining shutter speed is how much light there is in the scene you are photographing. A longer shutter speed lets more light into your camera and runs the risk of blowing out or overexposing your shot. We’ll cover some ways to let less light in and give you the option to have longer shutter speeds below.
So how long should your shutter speed be to get movement blur in your shot? There is no ‘answer’ for this question as it will obviously vary a lot depending upon the speed of your subject, how much blur you want to capture and how well lit the subject is. The key is to experiment (something that a digital camera is ideal for as you can take as many shots as you like without it costing you anything).

2. Secure Your Camera

There are two ways to get a feeling of movement in your images – have your subject move or have your camera move (or both). In the majority of cases that we featured in last week’s post it was the subject that was moving.
In this type of shot you need to do everything that you can to keep your camera perfectly still or in addition to the blur from the subject you’ll find that the whole frame looks like it’s moving as a result of using a longer shutter speed. Whether it be by using a tripod or have your camera sitting on some other still object (consider a shutter release mechanism or using the self timer) you’ll want to ensure that camera is perfectly still.

3. Try Shutter Priority Mode

One of the most important settings in photographing an image which emphasizes movement is the shutter speed (as outlined above). Even small changes in shutter speed will have a big impact upon your shot – so you want to shoot in a mode that gives you full control over it.
This means either switching your camera into full Manual Mode or Shutter Priority Mode. Shutter Priority Mode is a mode that allows you to set your shutter speed and where the camera chooses other settings (like Aperture) to ensure the shot is well exposed. It’s a very handy mode to play with as it ensures you get the movement effect that you’re after but also generally well exposed shots.
The other option is to go with Manual mode if you feel more confident in getting the aperture/shutterspeed balance right.

How to Compensate for Long Shutter Speeds When there is too Much Light

I mentioned above that one of the effects of using longer exposure times (slow shutter speeds) is that more light will get into your camera. Unless you compensate for this in some way this will lead to over exposed shots.
Below I’ll suggest three main methods for making this compensation (note – a forth method is simply to wait for the light to change (ie for it to get darker). This is why many shots that incorporate blur are taken at night or at dawn/dusk):

1. Small Apertures

So how do you cut down the amount of light that gets into your camera to help compensate for a longer shutter speed? How about changing the size of the hole that the light comes in through. This is called adjusting your camera’s Aperture.
If you shoot in shutter priority mode the camera will do this automatically for you – but if you’re in manual mode you’ll need to decrease your Aperture in a proportional amount to the amount that you lengthen the shutter speed.
Luckily this isn’t as hard as you might think because shutter speed and aperture settings are organized in ‘stops’. As you decrease shutter speed by a ‘stop’ you double the amount of time the shutter is open (eg – from 1/250 to 1/125). The same is true with Aperture settings – as you decrease the Aperture by one stop you decrease the size of the shutter opening by 50%. This is great because an adjustment of 1 stop in one means that you just need to adjust the other by 1 stop too and you’ll still get good exposure.

2. Decrease Your ISO

Another way to compensate for the extra light that a longer shutter speed lets into your camera is to adjust the ISO setting of your camera. ISO impacts the sensitivity of your digital camera’s image sensor. A higher number will make it more sensitive to light and a lower number will make the sensor less sensitive. Choose a low number and you’ll find yourself able to choose longer shutter speeds.

3. Try a Neutral Density Filter

These filters cut down the light passing through your lens and into your camera which in turn allows you to use a slower shutter speed.
It is sort of like putting sunglasses on your camera (in fact some people actually have been known to use sunglasses when they didn’t have an ND filter handy).
For instance, if you’re shooting a landscape in a brightly lit situation but want a shutter speed of a second or more you could well end up with a very over exposed image. A ND filter can be very helpful in slowing the shutter speed down enough to still get a well balanced shot.
It is the use of ND filters that enabled some of the shots in our previous post to get a lot of motion blur while being taken in daylight.
Another type of filter that can have a similar impact is a polarizing filter. Keep in mind however that polarizers not only cut out some light but they can impact the look of your image in other ways (ie cut out reflection and even change the color of a sky – this may or may not be the look you’re after).

Two More Technique to Try

Another technique to experiment if you’re wanting to capture images with motion blur is to experiment with Slow Sync Flash. This combines longer shutter speeds with the use of a flash so that elements in the shot are frozen still while others are blurry. Read more about Slow Sync Flash. Another technique worth trying out is panning – moving your camera along with a moving subject so that they come out nicely in focus but the background blurs.

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3 Reasons to Introduce Motion Blur Into Your Photography

By: Kav Dadfar 

Making a still image come to life can be a difficult task, especially if you don’t know the full functionality of your camera. When you’re first learning photography, it quickly becomes second nature to keep everything perfectly in focus, so you don’t instantly know how, why, and when to introduce motion blur to your images. But before you introduce motion blur, first, let’s learn what it is and how to do it.

f/6.3 – ISO 160 – 1/100 sec

What is motion blur?

First and foremost, motion blur is a lot different than a blurry image. If you shake the camera around or your subject starts to move right as you open the shutter, that creates a blurred image, but not necessarily motion blur.
Motion blur is when you purposely create an aspect of movement for your subject, but the rest of the photo is in focus. This is a really important element that makes the difference between motion blur and just a blurred image. Without some part of your photo being sharp, then your foreground and background are going to blend together and the photo won’t work.
Motion blur should also happen to something that the viewer would naturally assume is moving, like a car or a person running. Adding motion blur to something that is typically stationary, like a book or a salt shaker that is on a table, will seem awkward. Even though seeing a salt shaker move at the speed of light is an interesting idea, it won’t really make any sense to the viewer.
Now that we have the basics down, here are 3 reasons why you should introduce motion blur to your photography.

f/8 – ISO 400 – 1/40 sec

1. It tells a story

When done correctly, motion blur enhances the storytelling capability of a photo.
Imagine that you’re shooting at a horse racing track. You’re standing at an angle near the finish line, and when the two runners pass you, you compose your shot with them both in the frame and the finish line in the background.
If you introduce motion blur correctly in your photo, then you’re going to have an awesome shot of the two runners in motion, slightly blurred as if they are still running despite being frozen in time. The finish line may even be in focus, along with the spectators.
This brings the viewer into the shot like they are standing right alongside you to see the race to completion. It tells the story of what you witnessed that day.
If done incorrectly, you’ll just get a blurred photo of two blobs running toward another blob. The elements in the photo will blend together and you’ll barely be able to understand what is happening in the first place.

f/2.8 – ISO 4000 – 1/80 sec

2. It adds action to your photography

Another great reason for adding motion blur to your photos is to convey a sense of “action” or “movement.” This can make your photos seem much more dynamic.
For example, imagine a dirt bike that is roaring around the side of a mountain. Imagine seeing the blurred dirt bike racing along the path while the mountain itself is in perfect focus. It almost makes it look like the dirt bike is rocketing through the frozen image, or that you’re present to witness the moment yourself.
Or, for example, imagine a dancer. If you introduce motion blur, you can show the viewer the movement that is taking place. It could be that he or she is spinning, moving their arms, or even jumping. Having the right amount of motion blur can bring the dancer to life in your photo.
You’ll need to select a slower shutter speed than you would do normally to get this to work properly. The exact settings will depend on the speed that your subject is moving at. For the bike example above, you won’t need a shutter as slow as you would need for someone walking for example.

f/4 – ISO 200 – 1/200 sec

3. It can create a wonderful effect

If you set up your camera when the lighting conditions are dark, and set a slow shutter speed so that you have a longer exposure, you can create streaking lights that not only tell a story but also look fantastic.
First, you need to make sure that you have a steady tripod. Without it, you won’t get anything other than a completely blurred picture unless you raise your ISO ridiculously high. The problem with doing that is the amount of unwanted noise that you will end up with being in your photo. So if you want the best photo possible, use a tripod.
The long exposure will mean that any vehicles that drive past will create a streaked-light effect, or the stars above will streak across the frame as the Earth rotates.
Attempting this during the day won’t work unless you use a neutral density filter like a Lee little or big stopper. Without a filter, you will just end up with a completely blown out (white) image. Even if you do get it to work, it would not have the same impact as when it is darker.

f/8 – ISO 100 – 5 sec

Getting the hang of motion blur photography isn’t very difficult. But to do it well will require practice. So, experiment a little when you introduce motion blur to your photography and keep these reasons in mind to help push you along in your trials! With experience, you’ll get to learn how and when to best introduce motion blur to your photography.

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10 Things I Wish I’d Known About Becoming a Professional Photographer

By: Darren Rowse 

A Guest Post by Kimberly Gauthier, Through the Lens of Kimberly Gauthier
When I had the opportunity to check out the Going Pro Kit, I appreciated first hand the value. It brought me back to my humble beginnings. One day in 2009, I woke up and shouted “Hello World – I’m going to be a Kick Ass Pet Photographer!!!”
Well, not really, but one day, back in 2009, I was excited about starting a pet photography business after seeing a gorgeous image of a bunny. I didn’t let the lack of knowledge about dogs, pet photography, running a business, or my camera get in my way. I was going to take over the world with my gorgeous images of puppies and kittens.

My Qualifications:

10 plus years experience shooting with a point & shoot camera, an appreciation of and love for photography and animals, I grew up with dogs, and I lived with cats for years.

My business crashed and burned slowly. I wasn’t aware of the catastrophe that was slowing growing around me and that failure was looming down the road. Now I look back and I can see the mistakes I made and the things that I wish I knew about becoming a professional photographer.
If you are considering going pro, then here are 10 lessons I learned that may help you on your path.

1. Learn to use your camera. You may be light years ahead of me, making this “lesson” pointless for you. Sadly, I took my new Sony Alpha DSLR out of the box and used it like a point & shoot for a year. The pictures I took, which I thought were great at the time, make me cringe today, but this “lesson” inspired my photography blog so all wasn’t lost. I encourage everyone to join a photography forum, seek feedback, ask questions, take workshops – learn how to use your camera.
2. Come up with a plan. It’s so important to have a business plan; this will shape the direction you take your business, how you market yourself, your branding, and your budget, among other things. I know first hand how daunting it is to create a business plan. To give you a quick reality check, I suggest checking out Creating Your One Page Business Plan and Path To Profit by The Suitcase Entrepreneur. Following these steps was a huge wake up call and helped me to reshape and redirect the plans I have for my current business. I also read Business Plan in a Day, a book by Rhonda Abrams, to help me organize my plans for my current business. This book is well organized and gives you sections to fill out and when you finish, you’ll have a 1^st draft of your business plan.
3. Create a budget. I started out using my own money and credit cards to fund my business. Not a good idea if you don’t have the plan mentioned above. I can’t tell you how much money I tossed away without knowing if it was a good idea or not (at the time, it everything seemed brilliant). And I won’t tell you how much I racked up on credit cards to fund my dream. Developing a budget will help you control spending. And then you should…
4. Keep your money separate. Back then, I was comingling funds and at the end of the year it was difficult to separate business from personal. I was STUNNED by how much I had spent. I now have separate business accounts; I opened them at a separate bank. That part is probably overkill, but there’s a true divide between personal and business now.
5. Research the specialty that has caught your eye. I know some people out there are tackling a little of everything while others like to focus on one or two specialties. Regardless of which camp you’re in, do the research. I should have taken the time to study the business, the industry, and dog breeds (like how to best deal with aggressive or shy dogs).
6. Connect with a local professional photographer. This can be a little intimidating, so I connect with people online (Facebook, Twitter, and photography forums) and build a relationship from there. Invite them to coffee when they have time. Some photographers charge for mentorships, because their time and knowledge has value. Others may be willing to meet you for a coffee or lunch to answer your questions and give you feedback.
7. Find out the pros and cons of your business set up: sole proprietorship or limited liability company (LLC). Find out what you can and cannot write off. And understand that write offs are just an offset to the taxes you owe to the government, not a reimbursement request. I’m an accountant and didn’t know this one; duhhhhh.
8. Get insured. I have a home photography studio, handy when I want to take portraits without leaving the comfort of home. What I didn’t know was that home owner’s insurance won’t cover the medical costs when your client twists their ankle after becoming tangled in the backdrop. If a client is on your property for business purposes, then your home owners insurance doesn’t apply. Currently, I have a policy with CNA that covers things like accidents, my camera gear and photography equipment (which my homeowner’s policy won’t cover since it’s for business), contract disputes, and lost images (due to memory card malfunctions).
9. Get a membership to a professional organization. And don’t just join the one you hear about the most; take the time to find out which one is right for you. I joined Professional Photographers of America (PPA), because I liked what I read about them and they offer a two year newbie membership rate while you’re growing your business and you can pay the membership monthly. By the way, Professional Photographers of America offers discounted insurance coverage to members.
10. Don’t Offer Free Photography. I know that there are different opinions about free photography. I’m not talking about donating your services to a charity; I mean offering free photography to gain experience and build a portfolio. I offered free photography and filled my calendar with sessions. I gave away up to 15 full resolution images on a CD (this is where connecting with a local photographer would have helped). Some people didn’t show up, the ones that did wanted 10x more than I was offering, and since I was valuing myself at $0, everyone else did too. For me, this wasn’t the path to a portfolio or referrals; but I did learn that people respect a fee.

There were many more lessons that I learned, but these were the main ones that still stand out today. I’d love to hear the lessons you’ve learned and what you’d advice you’d offer to anyone looking to go pro.
Kimberly Gauthier is the writer behind the photography blog Through the Lens of Kimberly Gauthier; blog written for amateur photographers who didn’t read their manual. 

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