Movement photography techniques involve capturing motion in photography and portraying motion in photos. They may sound like the same thing, but they’re different and require different techniques.
Capturing motion in photos uses camera techniques to show movement in a single frame.
Portraying motion in photos uses composition techniques to create the feeling of movement in a photo, combined with camera technique.
So for my movement photography tips we’ll look at:
- How to capture movement photography
- Using composition for movement in portraits to convey motion
- Three examples of movement photography with detailed explanations
1. How to capture movement in photography
The art of movement photography can be divided into two categories:
- Implied movement photography
- Blurred movement photography
Implied movement in photos
Also known as freeze motion photography.
We’re used to the concept that photography is a moment in time captured, frozen.
So in a photo of somebody walking, running, jumping etc we recognize that they’re moving, even if they’re frozen still in the shot (on account of photos don’t move). The motion is implied by their body language.
To capture and freeze movement in photos you need:
- Fast shutter speed (but not always)
- Flash (maybe)
Let me explain…
To capture movement without blur when photographing with natural light, make sure your shutter speed is fast enough for the movement. The faster the movement, the faster your shutter speed needs to be to freeze it.
However, you might not be able to capture extremely fast movement with natural light only. This is when you need flash to freeze motion.
The assumption with flash is often that the more powerful the flash, the better you can freeze motion. But this is not true. To freeze movement in photography with flash, the most important factor is short flash duration.
To keep flash duration short, particularly with a less powerful flash, adjust your ISO. A higher ISO means that the flash won’t have to work so hard to light a scene, so the flash duration will be shorter.
Keeping shutter speeds low helps too, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that high speed sync freezes movement. In fact, HSS blurs movement and will run your batteries down fast.
Blurred movement in photos
Instead of freezing movement, capturing motion blur is another way to depict motion in photos.
Motion blur can be captured by:
- Panning
- Zooming
- Slow shutter speed (without flash)
Panning for movement photography
With panning movement in photography, the subject is relatively frozen and the background is blurred. So movement photography isn’t just about paying attention to the subject.
The panning technique for movement blur is:
- Set a small aperture to give you greater depth of field to ensure your subject is sharp – start at F22 and go wider if you feel you need it
- Use a slow shutter speed for movement blur – start at 1/30th and adjust from there. Of course this depends on how fast the subject is going.
- Lock your arms against your body so you have a good grip on the camera and make sure you have a firm stance so that the panning motion is smooth. If panning sideways, twist from the hips.
Zooming for movement photography
For interesting effects with a zoom lens simply turn the lens to zoom while taking the shot.
You need a slow shutter speed for this, somewhere between 1/15th and 2 seconds. Concentrate on a smooth action for the best effect. A tripod is helpful given the slow shutter speed.
Slow shutter speed for movement blur
While shutter speed is relevant in all the examples of movement photography, this way to blur movement requires a slow shutter speed.
You can achieve some interesting effects by using a slow shutter speed to record movement as a blur. How slow depends on the speed of the subject.
For these shots above and below I set my camera up on a tripod and waited for people to pass by. It was winter and overcast, so I could use a slow shutter speed without overexposing the image. The rest was just trial and error.
I used the same shutter speed for both photos so you can see the difference the speed of the subject makes to the amount of motion blur captured.
Direction of movement in photography
Because in Western countries we read from left to right, the standard in photography composition is that horizontal movement in photos should be from left to right. Controversial, I know.
Of course the world doesn’t just move in one direction, so it’s no biggie if you capture movement from right to left (as you’ll see in some examples further down), but if you can avoid it, then do.
Speaking of composition brings me to the other element of movement photography.
2. Motion photography composition
Movement photography isn’t just about capturing movement, it’s also about creating a sense of movement in a photo, a visual flow. This involves composition, not camera technique.
Use composition techniques to bring movement to a photo where there’s no actual movement captured. You can also increase the sense of movement captured with composition.
How we direct a viewer around an image creates a sense of movement in photos.
Just as music speeds up and slows down with faster and slower beats, we can speed up and slow down the rhythm of an image. This changes the feeling of the photo and therefore the viewer’s experience.
The study of movement in composition can be quite complex, so for now we’ll just look at the impact of:
- Repetition
- Lines
- Curves
Repetition creates movement in photos
You know how when you’re looking at a row of identical objects, your eyes move from one to the other and then back again? If you place something different in that row, your eyes will go straight there and keep coming back to it. It’s a resting place for your eyes before they dash off to inspect the repeating elements.
We constantly scan the world around us for clues, irregularities, similarities and points of interest. So we do the same with photos.
Using repetition to guide the viewer’s eyes, gives them something to do, which creates movement.
How lines affect movement photography
Thick vertical lines draw our eyes upwards, are dependable and create security, while thin vertical lines invoke a sense of fragility.
Level horizontal lines, i.e. not on an angle, are reassuring and relaxing and draw our eyes horizontally along an image.
Diagonal lines are dynamic and create energy and movement, especially when originating in the corner of an image towards the center. They demand attention and direct our gaze along their length.
If you’re wondering how we got the fabric to dance around to create these different types of lines, my secret was having my assistant stand to camera left and fling the fabric in the air. Repeatedly.
Curves in movement photography
Because our eyes follow the flow of a curve around and around, curves create movement in photos. This type of movement is slower, more meandering than a straight line, especially with an S curve composition.
3. Examples of movement photography
I find it easier to explain photography composition concepts with photos. So here are three examples of movement in photos with detailed explanations of the techniques I used…
Unlike in the first fairground ride photo, in this photo the ride isn’t moving, but there’s still a sense of movement created with composition. Here’s how:
- Repeating vertical lines of the thin gold poles. Spaced closely together on the right and spreading further apart as they bend round to left of camera (breaking the left to right rule)
- Repeating, evenly spaced wider verticals of the white picket fence at the bottom of the photo
- Repeating shapes of the horses legs to camera left, which also act as leading lines to the model, and 2 horses to camera right
- As we’re drawn to eyes, real or artificial, our eyes bounce back and forth from the model’s face and the horses behind her
- Our eyes are drawn to the lightest part of the photo, which is the white of the model’s shirt, so our eyes move from her eyes to the white shirt and back
- While the model wears solid colors, the background is a riot of predominantly warm colors (which are more dominant and demanding than cool colors). So our eyes bounce back and forth some more.
- A dynamic pose using an S curve shape created by her arms draws our eyes in and along the frame
Here the model is moving slowly away from us, but our eyes are encouraged to move quickly around the image through composition techniques. Here’s how:
- Repeating diagonal lines of the mountain create energy and point to the model
- The vertical lines and repeating pattern of the row of trees in the background lead us to the model
- The model is the lightest part of the image and the repeating, high contrast patterns of her dress demand attention
- The model’s shadow, a diagonal line which conveys energy, leads us to the grouping of three cows looking at her, which in turn brings us back to her, then back up to the calf looking back
- The bull is placed at the rule of thirds, not the model even though she is the subject, and this placement draws us to the bull. His gaze takes us back to the model and we find ourselves bouncing back and forth, especially as he’s rather big and powerful looking, which is slightly disconcerting once we notice him
Not all movement photography is busy, sometimes we want to create a gentler movement that comes to a stop, as in this photo. Here’s how:
- The out of focus repeating pillars in the background lead to the model, dressed in red, which is a dominant, attention demanding color.
- The dynamic diagonal line of her hand leading from the corner draws us to her face
- She’s positioned in front of the lightest part of the image and therefore demands our attention
- Her downward gaze then draws our attention diagonally down to the blank white of the pillar that she’s leaning against
- Her gaze is pensive and this solid block of white is a resting place for our eyes
- This movement up her arm and following her gaze creates an implied triangle, echoing her outline. The triangle is dynamic, but also reassuring and restful as it’s upright, as are the solid, dependable, wide verticals of the pillars
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