What is this frame-by-frame style of action photo called, and how is it made?
Asked 7/25/2021
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I’m referring to images that show multiple positions of a moving subject in one final photo, such as runners appearing several times across the frame. Is there a standard name for this style, and what are the basic shooting and post-processing techniques used to create it?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
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This is called "sequence photography".
The easy way to achieve one is to shoot a video and extract the relevant frames, but you work with video definition.
For true photography, with some luck you can use the camera burst mode, or you use an intervalometer to take shots at regular intervals. You cannot shoot faster than the camera burst mode and this means that you have a decent idea of the required interval (which can be obtained by using the video technique first).
Using a tripod will spare you the re-alignment of all the frames.
Using manual mode for exposure and focus may avoid variations between frames.
Having the subject overlap itself like in the picture above makes it a bit more difficult since you need a proper cutout of the subject. On the other hand since you have other images where the subject is not in that spot you can obtain a selection of the subject using the difference between the two images.
Originally by user75947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75947
4y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This style is commonly called chronophotography, and it’s also often described as sequence photography.
To make one, you capture a series of images of the subject moving through the scene, then combine the frames so the subject appears multiple times in a single final image. Common ways to shoot it are:
- burst mode for a rapid series of stills
- an intervalometer for regular timed shots
- video frame extraction if lower resolution is acceptable
A tripod helps keep the background aligned, which makes compositing much easier. Using manual exposure and manual focus helps prevent changes between frames. Planning the timing matters, especially if you want clear separation between positions or need to handle overlapping subject positions.
In post-processing, the usual approach is to align the frames if needed, then mask or cut out the subject from each frame and combine those subject positions onto one background. Overlap between positions makes the masking more difficult.
As with most action techniques, good results come from testing and refining your timing and setup.
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