Some key points from a presentation by club member, Nick McDonald

Nick’s presentation offered advice to members on various techniques for capturing movement.

Blurred subject
o Slow shutter speed
o Low ISO and/or small aperture (large f/number)
o Tripod
o Use a neutral density or polarising filter if too bright
o Use shutter priority auto
o Manual focus

Blurred background
o Slow shutter speed
o Low ISO and/or small aperture (large f/number)
o Pan
o Keep it smooth; swivel from the waist, start to pan – press shutter – continue to follow subject.
o Use shutter priority, continuous autofocus.
o Burst mode.

Everything sharp
o Capture the peak of the action
o Fast shutter speed
o Large aperture (small f/number)
o May need to increase the ISO
o Tripod, monopod or hand-held
o Continuous autofocus
o Or trap focus
> Pre-focus on a spot and shoot just before the subject reaches the spot.
> Anticipate the action.

Slow-synch flash
o Combine ambient light with a burst of flash
o More atmosphere for indoor action shots
o Can combine with other techniques
o Standard front-curtain synch, or rear-curtain
o May need to use flash exposure compensation indoors.

Multi exposure
o In camera – set to multi exposure
o Camera generally needs to be on a tripod
o In camera using repeating flash
> Full flash exposure
> Or combine flash with some ambient exposure
> Not all flashguns offer this function
o Combine a sequence in Photoshop