How do you create a sharp subject with a motion-blurred background when photographing a moving bike?
Asked 10/16/2018
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I’ve seen photos of cyclists where the rider is fairly sharp but the background is strongly streaked with motion blur. I understand this is usually done by panning, but I’m not clear on how precise the camera movement has to be.
Do you need to move the camera at exactly the same speed as the bike for the rider to stay sharp? Is flash involved in daylight, or is this mainly a panning technique? I’d like to understand how images like this are made and what practical tips help improve the result.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
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Yes, moving the camera to follow the bicycle is called Panning. It's easy, we can do that, it does not have to exactly precise. Any attempt greatly reduces the subject motion. It is a good way to try to freeze the motion of something like this passing bicycle.
It was not flash, because the near side of the subject is dark, darker than his front for example (no evidence of flash, no brighter spot on the near ground). Also, unless the camera were moving following the bike, the background would not be moving or very blurred. And the flash would try to freeze the background too.
My notion is that we see rear curtain very much more used at night, like seeing a passing car, and its taillights lead a long exposure light trail, but the flash freezes the car at the end of the exposure.
All you have to do is to turn your body and camera to follow the bicycle motion (holding it at same spot in your viewfinder) and then click your shutter, while following the bicycle. With a shutter speed a little slow (dunno, guessing maybe 1/30 sec), the motion will blur the background (moving as you turn the camera), but the camera is following the bicycle rendering it relatively motionless, and it would stay relatively sharp. It should work pretty well the first time you try it.
Originally by user38978. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user38978
7y ago
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This effect is mainly created by panning: you move the camera to follow the cyclist during the exposure. The rider stays relatively sharp because the camera is matching the subject’s movement, while the background streaks because it is moving across the frame relative to the camera.
You do not have to match the bike’s speed perfectly. Any reasonably smooth attempt reduces subject blur a lot, and with practice your results improve. The key is to track the rider smoothly as they pass.
In bright daylight, flash usually is not the main factor for this look. Rear-curtain flash is more commonly used in darker conditions to combine a frozen subject with motion trails. In a daylight example like this, there may be no flash at all.
Why isn’t the rider perfectly blur-free? Usually because the panning was good enough, the shutter speed was chosen well, and the final image may only show a slight amount of blur that isn’t obvious at normal viewing size. The goal is often “sharp enough” on the subject, not absolute perfection.
Practical tip: use a slower shutter speed than you would for freezing action, follow the bike smoothly, and shoot several frames—panning shots often take repetition to get a strong result.
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