One of the first things that I teach in my workshops is how to use your camera's shutter speed to freeze or blur motion. Everyone asks the same question..why and when would you intentionally blur your images? This week I have a fun assignment for you that is all about using your shutter speed to intentionally blur your image. It looks like this...
It's simple to do. You just grab your camera and go outside where there are some lights (porch lights, car lights, street lights and so on). I took these at about 6 pm (it was just barely dark). My shutter speed was between 2.5 seconds and 3.2 seconds and my f-stop was at 7.1 and my ISO was set to 100. You can just use your shutter speed priority mode and set the shutter speed really slow. You will have to experiment to find the speed that works with your scene. Point your camera towards the lights, click the shutter release and then move your camera around in different ways until the shutter closes.
Experiment with different shutter speeds until you find one that works. The slower it is, the more time you will have to make patterns. Make sure your ISO is set low to 100.
Try moving your camera in circular patterns, back and forth and all different ways.
Look for different color lights and different size lights.
It's simple to do. You just grab your camera and go outside where there are some lights (porch lights, car lights, street lights and so on). I took these at about 6 pm (it was just barely dark). My shutter speed was between 2.5 seconds and 3.2 seconds and my f-stop was at 7.1 and my ISO was set to 100. You can just use your shutter speed priority mode and set the shutter speed really slow. You will have to experiment to find the speed that works with your scene. Point your camera towards the lights, click the shutter release and then move your camera around in different ways until the shutter closes.Experiment with different shutter speeds until you find one that works. The slower it is, the more time you will have to make patterns. Make sure your ISO is set low to 100.Try moving your camera in circular patterns, back and forth and all different ways.Look for different color lights and different size lights.In the picture above, you can see the electric wires and the outline of the trees. The way the background comes out is almost as interesting as the lights. They look a little like abstract paintings. So, there you go! Have fun and please add your images to my Monday Lesson Flickr pool or leave links to your images in the comments section below. Have fun!