Photo of the Week - Week 1

Here's the first post of the new year and my new goal ...

Flash and Movement

Taking pictures with flash while the subject is moving can sometimes be a bit tricky; most flashes will have a maximum sync speed of 1/250 second, while kids will often be moving much fast than that ... If you've coughed up the money for a brand-name flash, then you can do high-speed sync, which will allow you to get to much higher shutter speeds. Another discussion for another time; I'm using more economically-priced flashes and remote flash triggers.

Timing - If you get your timing right, then you can mitigate ay effects of movement and the use of flash. Basically, your subject is moving slow enough that you won't get ghosting (see next part).

Shutter Speed: 1/320s
Aperture: F5.6
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 50mm
Lens: Tamron 17-55mm

In the above photo, I got him right at the apex of his swing - he's slowed down enough that he's essentially not moving, though just for a split second, so the timing is crucial. His father is holding the flash, which is at 1/8 power, with a diffuser cap on it, about three feet from his face, with the flash sideways (long side up and down to match the subject's body angle). Confession: I lucked out with the higher shutter speed - usually anything above 1/250s gives me a black band across the bottom of the frame. It may have been because the flash was at such a low power it gives me that extra bit of light but doesn't do too much more to the exposure of the frame. In other words, I get the highlights in the eyes, but the overall exposure is pretty close to what it would be without the flash. I wish I could say it was all planned out that way, but it wasn't ...

And now for something different ....

Shutter Speed: 1/15s
Aperture: F6.3
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 50mm
Lens: Tamron 17-55mm

In this case, the subject was spinning around and dancing when I make this exposure. The slow shutter speed will accentuate motion, giving me some blur/ghosting. The flash in this case fires when the shutter opens, at the beginning of the exposure, giving me part of the image that is well-exposed and in focus. As the shutter remains open other parts of the image are exposed, though not as much as with the initial flash. You can also set the flash to fire at the end of the exposure, right before the shutter closes. This is helpful if you want to "burn in" a dark background but then have a subject you want to expose with a flash.

The tricky part is making sure that part of the image that is well-exposed and in focus is the part you want, in this case the face. Since I wanted to convey movement in this image, it's going to be different than a crisp, static shot.