Exercise 4

Project - Getting to know your camera

Exercise - Shutter speeds

For this exercise the camera was kept still while a moving object passed in front of it (my son, running). Through each progressive shot the exposure time was increased.

In the first shot 1/1000 second the subject is completely frozen, no movement is showing at all. The only sense of movement comes from the pose which is clearly off balance and so makes it clear that the subject is caught in motion.

Shutter speed - 1/1000

At 1/640 there is a hint of blur on the legs, but the slower moving parts of the body are still frozen.

Shutter speed - 1/640

At 1/250 of a second there is obvious blur for the entire subject. The pose is also a particularly dynamic one, but the image is not a particularly interesting one as the blur isn't yet pronounced enough to express great movement.

Shutter speed - 1/250

At 1/125 movement/blur is increasing, but there still isn't a great sense of speed - the subject could just as well be very out of focus.

Shutter speed - 1/125

Not a great deal more blur at 1/80.

Shutter speed - 1/80

However at 1/40 the subject is significantly blurred and there is a real sense of movement and speed. The effect is starting to be more interesting.

Shutter speed 1/40

And more interesting still.

Shutter speed 1/25

And at 1/15 the subject is still recognisable as a running boy, but is blurred across the frame. The sense of movement is really well stated and contrasts well with the sharpness and lack of movement in the background. This is my preferred shot out of the sequence.

Shutter speed 1/15

At 1/8 the subject is barely recognisable as a boy. The subject is starting to lose interest.

Shutter speed - 1/8

At 1/4 the subject has become an abstract blur. This is no longer a meaningful photo of a boy running, but if the background and colours of the subject were chosen carefully some very interesting abstract shots could be created at these speeds.

Shutter speed - 1/4

This is similar to the previous shot, but it's interesting to see how the motions of the subject are still portrayed in the abstract image.

Shutter speed - 0.5 seconds

At 1 second the subject is blurred across the whole frame and is now more of an effect than an actual subject. 

Shutter speed - 1 second

Observations & Learnings

There are several different types of images to be captured here - frozen time, fast moving subject and abstract motion. Particularly in the last type I think simplicity of background and colour is important (my choice of background is not great here). At the slowest speeds is possible to create something more akin to an effect, but I think the use of this is somewhat limited.