“Unseeing” Photo Challenge Assignment 5: Shutter Speed

For this challenge assignment, let’s get creative with shutter speed! Cameras don’t record motion in a way that corresponds to human perception. At one extreme, a camera can freeze the motion of a moving subject, preserving even the tiniest slice of a fleeting moment for eternity. At the other, a long exposure reveals the culmination of motion over time. Either way, what the camera sees is fundamentally different from what we see. So, if you really want to learn how to unsee, it makes sense to master this truly unusual aspect of the photographic process.

The ability of cameras to freeze time when using short exposures can fundamentally and artistically transform your subject. One thing to consider when using shorter exposures: you need to become a master of the moment. Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the most famous practitioners of the art of photography, coined the phrase “the decisive moment,” referring to the peak moment when two or more disparate elements interact in a meaningful way. Photographers like Cartier-Bresson relied on capturing decisive moments—capturing convergences of motion, shape, and mood—to create their art, and to reveal the essence of their subjects. The moment becomes the transformative event, revealing as much about the artist as about the subject.

Cameras record time in a way that is totally different from human perception. We see the passage of time much the way a video camera sees it, as a continuous and seamless transition from one moment to the next. Your camera, on the other hand, records each moment one on top of the other, creating a cumulative representation of all the moments that occur during the exposure, blurring and blending them together as one. While long exposures can be unpredictable and risky, motion-blur can add energy, direction, and depth to photographs. A very common example of using motion-blur is stream and waterfall photography. Such images are relatively simple to make: just put your camera on a tripod and exposure for one-quarter second or longer. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg—to really move away from your comfort zone, you need to try motion-blur with elements other than just moving water. Done correctly, moving elements can create an impressionistic blur that add mood and additional compositional interest to your photos.

It is important, however, to keep in mind that no matter how long your exposure or how much movement there is in the real world, your resulting photo will always be completely static. So, a long exposure itself won’t create motion; rather, if you want the viewer to perceive motion in your photograph, you need to create the illusion of motion, movement, and energy. Our job as photographers is to find a way to recreate the sense of energy and motion that we perceive in the real world. That’s accomplished through creative use of composition.

Several tools and techniques are available to achieve long exposures. Shooting in low light (such as twilight) helps considerably, as exposure times of several seconds or minutes long may be required. Neutral density filters (which block light coming in through the lens) are useful for lengthening exposure times. You can use low ISO settings and small apertures to reduce the light. The trick with photographing moving subjects is to strike a proper balance between stop-action and motion-blur. Too little motion, and the subject appears frozen. Too much motion, and the subject loses texture and detail. Somewhere in between is usually just right—but of course, that “just right” spot is very subjective, giving you plenty of wiggle room to explore your own artistic vision. Experiment freely with different exposure times to get the look you desire.

Another cool way that cameras don’t see motion the same way humans do? Cameras can simultaneously record movement and freeze action. For example, with this photo of a cheeky wild orangutan baby, I fired my flash during the exposure as he swung past me in the forest, panning the camera with his movement. The result is a photo that both shows motion blur (the background blurred by my rapid panning motion) and the orangutan frozen in mid-swing by the quick flash burst. By getting creative with movement, I was able to create a more dynamic, energetic, and interesting representation of my subject.

Another cool way that cameras don’t see motion the same way humans do? Cameras can simultaneously record movement and freeze action. For example, with this photo of a cheeky wild orangutan baby, I fired my flash during the exposure as he swung past me in the forest, panning the camera with his movement. The result is a photo that both shows motion blur (the background blurred by my rapid panning motion) and the orangutan frozen in mid-swing by the quick flash burst. By getting creative with movement, I was able to create a more dynamic, energetic, and interesting representation of my subject.

Ready for your next assignment? Here’s what’s coming up next:

Assignment 1: Lenses
Assignment 2: Exposure
Assignment 3: Perspective
Assignment 4: Focus
Assignment 5: Shutter Speed
Assignment 6: Supplemental Light