Tips for Capturing Motion Blur Photography

In photography, motion blur is the purposeful streaking or blurring of an object in motion in a photo for visual effect. It’s a great technique for capturing movement in a still image, and is often used in both nature photography and sports photography.

Below are a few easy tips to get started with motion photography.

You can’t capture motion blur if all you do is point your camera and click. There are three essential elements to using motion blur successfully: shutter speed, lighting, and camera stability.

1. 1. Use a Slower Shutter Speed. Motion blur requires a longer exposure time. The best way to get this long exposure by slowing your shutter speed.
2. 2. Be Aware of Lighting. Because a slower shutter speed allows more light into your camera, you run the risk of overexposing or blowing out a photo. As a result, many photographers choose to capture motion this way in low light situations, such as at dawn or at dusk.
3. 3. Stabilize your camera. When capturing motion blur, use a tripod or rest your camera on another stable object. Otherwise, that long shutter speed is going to result in everything looking blurry. In most motion photography situations, you’ll still want some elements of your image to be crisp and in focus—and there’s no way to do that if your camera is moving, particularly with a long exposure. While many digital cameras offer optical image stabilization, this feature is only effective in standard point and shoot scenarios.

A fast shutter speed, such as 1/500th of a second, can’t capture very much movement, and therefore won’t result in motion blur. (In fact, very high shutter speeds actually produce an opposite effect called “frozen motion,” where a moving object is in perfect or near-perfect focus. Think of water droplets suspended in midair when a wildlife photographer captures a fish jumping out of a river.) By contrast, a longer shutter speed will result in a blurred background with even the slightest movement. It is that longer shutter you want when you’re trying to capture motion blur.

There are two ways to achieve slow shutter speed: manually, or via Shutter Priority Mode. If you’re controlling shutter speed in manual mode, you’ll need to adjust all your settings on your own. With Shutter Priority Mode, your camera will automatically adjust the other settings on your camera to account for your chosen shutter speed.

So, how do you know the proper shutter speed for capturing the perfect amount of blur for your subject? The short answer is: Experimentation. There’s no set number for capturing motion blur. But this is where the art of photography comes into play. Playing with shutter speed when photographing different subjects will help you get a better idea of the range of speeds that work best.

When capturing motion blur in full sunlight, there are three ways to control the amount of light that reaches your camera sensor or film:

• Aperture. The aperture is an adjustable opening in the lens that lets light into your camera. If you’re using an automatic setting, the aperture on your camera should adjust automatically as you increase or decrease shutter speed. But if you’re using manual setting, you’ll need to adjust your aperture as you adjust shutter speed. Both shutter speed and aperture are set up in “stops.” One decreased stop in shutter speed is equal to double the length of time the shutter is open. With aperture, a decrease in one stop is equal to a 50 percent decrease in the size of the shutter opening. The numbers are proportional, so one stop on one aligns with one stop on the other.
• ISO. This is how sensitive your camera’s sensor (if using a digital camera or DSLR) or film (if using a traditional camera) is to light. ISO is represented by numbers ranging from 100 to 6400. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the film is to light. When capturing motion blur in a bright setting, using a lower ISO with a longer shutter speed will help prevent overexposure.
• Filters. A final way to reduce the risk of overexposure when you’re capturing motion photography in direct light is with a neutral density (ND) filter. ND filters reduce or modify all wavelengths of light equally. The effect is to dim the intensity of light without changing the color. ND filters are a great option when you’re trying to capture motion blur in full sunlight.

In addition to capturing motion blur with your camera, it’s also possible to add a motion blur effect to an existing photo using Photoshop or similar photo editing software.

• Import your photo into Photoshop.
• Select the part of the original image you want to blur using the Pen Tool.
• In the menu bar at the top of your screen, navigate to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur.
• Select the angle and distance of your blur in the window.
• Accept changes to see your motion blur in action.

Whether you’re using it to capture wildlife on the African savanna, or cars streaking by in a race, motion blur a great tool for any photographer. Play around, see what you like, and get shooting!

It is possible to add a motion blur effect during post-processing, too. Use a photo editing software like Photoshop to add the motion blur effect.

In order to edit your photos:

1. 1. Import your photo into Photoshop.
2. 2. Select the part of the image you want to blur with the Pen Tool.
3. 3. Navigate to the top bar where you will find: Filter > Blur > Motion Blur.
4. 4. Select the angle and distance of your blur in the window.
5. 5. Accept changes to see your motion blur in action.

Whether you’re using motion blur to capture wildlife on the African Savannah or cars streaking by in a race, it’s a great tool for any photographer. Play around, see what you like, and get shooting!

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