Picture of the day - January 2, 2007

Photography Tip: Using Flash To "Freeze The Action"

Shutter speed set at 1/4 second... and at 1/250 of a second. Often when photographing a subject that is moving, it is desirable to "freeze the action" to prevent the image from blurring and add clarity and detail to the photo. For example, if you're taking action shots during a football game, it's better to create a stop-action photo of a receiver catching a pass than a blurred blob of color with little or no definition. In order to make a moving object appear stationary, the shutter speed must be adjusted until it is fast enough to eliminate any blur. In a nutshell, the faster the object is moving the faster you must set the shutter speed in order to freeze the action. The photos above illustrate this principle very well. A relatively slow shutter speed of 1/4 of a second makes the ceiling fan pictured on the left appear to be in motion - which it was. But increasing the shutter speed to 1/250 of a second "froze the action" and made the moving fan appear not to be moving at all! The fan was actually rotating at the same speed in both pictures, but varying the shutter speed allowed us to capture two very different images of the exact same subject. Many modern digital cameras allow you to manually adjust the shutter speed, but you will also have to adjust other settings such as the aperture in order to ensure a properly exposed image. But there is a quick and easy way to "freeze the action" in many situations: simply turn on the flash! When the flash is activated, the camera will automatically select a fast shutter speed to prevent the image from being over-exposed. A couple of things to keep in mind: There are some situations where you actually want the object to appear to be in motion so you'll need to avoid using the flash if at all possible. Also, if an object is moving very quickly, turning on the flash might not result in a shutter speed fast enough to stop the action. In a situation like this your only option will be setting the shutter speed and other settings manually - a task that often requires a bit of trial and error.   Submit a photo of your own! Picture of the day archives