Show me your motion
By Acquille Dunkley
An image can’t move. Throwing a framed photo at your wall doesn’t count either. What does count is the suggestion of movement within an image. Motion photography has the power to make you feel as though you are part of the scene. Imagine an aerial shot of a dance floor, throbbing with club goers synchronizing their moves to the beat. Captured in one shot, you can feel the high energy and can almost tell what kind of music was playing.
Once your images can evoke strong feelings within the viewer, you are well on your way in displaying great stories through photography. Imagine a photograph of a fruit sitting on a table, ever so calm. Now imagine that said fruit thrown into hard concrete. The disintegration is captured as it dissembles on impact and you captured all the flying fragments. The energy this creates allows the viewer’s eyes to wander across the space and focus on the individual elements that make up the photo.
The longer you can keep the viewer’s attention is a very good thing. This should be every photographer’s goal. Let’s face it, getting
energized through a well put together motion image makes you want to go out and get active as well. Capturing your cousin in mid air while the shutter speed is super fast is a great example.
The shutter speed will be your best friend as you begin to capture the motions. You’ll notice that a slower shutter speed allows more light to capture motion blurs while a faster shutter speed captures still motions. After a good shutter speed is established, tinker with the aperture and the ISO to compensate for less or more light coming in due to the shutter speed.
Motion photography is one of my favorite kinds of photography. Hopefully I have motivated you with this article so you are willing to try it out. Now go out and capture something cool and energetic!
