How to take motion photos (with blurred background)?

How can I take the motion photos like this where the background is blurred and the main subject is focused? What kind of settings I should try? I have 24-105mm lens on canon 6D.

bagharbilla said:

How can I take the motion photos like this where the background is blurred and the main subject is focused? What kind of settings I should try? I have 24-105mm lens on canon 6D.

Click to expand...

It's just been done a few days ago:


The word you are looking for is panning - moving the camera in time with the subject, the cyclist in this case plus some other tips which are in that thread.

bagharbilla said:

How can I take the motion photos like this where the background is blurred and the main subject is focused? What kind of settings I should try? I have 24-105mm lens on canon 6D.

Click to expand...

To make pictures like this you have to pan.

Panning is following the moving object with your camera while shooting with the result that the moving object is relatively sharp, but the background is blurred.

The slower the shutter speed, the more will the background be blurred, but if you slow down too much the subject will start to become blurry also.

So try "S" Shutter speed mode (whatever the equivalent is for Canon) and start panning with quite a fast shutter speed. The background will not be very blurred and the moving subject should be sharp. Then start experimenting with longer shutter speeds until you get the balance you are looking for.

Depending on how capable your camera is, you might want to experiment with continuous focus modes, perhaps a selection of focus points. With my old dslr I often have to prefocus on where I think the target will be and then press the trigger when we both get to that point.

Here is one of mine that worked quite well:



And one where my shutter speed was way too slow so that everything was blurred, still, I like the effect.



Mark_A

Thread for Sunrise & Sunset pictures (part 2!)

Thank you very much Mark for such detailed answer. It was very helpful.

bagharbilla said:

Thank you very much Mark for such detailed answer. It was very helpful.

Click to expand...

No worries.

When I was first experimenting with panning I found a position near a busy road and practiced panning with the cars and vans on the road.

Obviously if you are specifically interested in shooting cyclists, they will usually be moving slower than cars so suitable shutter speeds will differ. But time spent practicing panning is often useful.

Mark_A

Thread for Sunrise & Sunset pictures (part 2!)

bagharbilla said:

How can I take the motion photos like this where the background is blurred and the main subject is focused? What kind of settings I should try? I have 24-105mm lens on canon 6D.

Click to expand...

I'll post a few examples and maybe you can get the settings from the EXIF. You'll find that the more background blur you get, the more blur you'll also get in your main subject, so I try to keep the blur down to just enough to give the sense of speed. Personal choice, really. If you have no blur at all, these pictures can look very static.

I find that the AF focussing points act quite well as a guide for panning. I use back button focussing, preselect a focus point so that with the desired composition it is on the part of the main subject that you want in sharp focus. Then the shot goes like this, acquire the moving subject, establish pan to keep focus point on right part of the subject, hit the focus button, hit the shutter fire off a short burst, just two or three frames. High frame rates are somewhat over-rated for this kind of shot.

It takes practice to get the sequence right. The shutter speed depends on all sorts of things, subject speed, subject distance to background distance, lens angle of view. Best to experiment. And if you're using VR, remember to switch it to 'sport' mode, otherwise it will try to depan the pan.



































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