How to Do Moving Photography on a Digital Camera

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Updated Jun 27, 2022 11:12 PM

If you have been experimenting with a DSLR digital camera, you may be wondering how to do a couple of things. For instance, you may wonder how to do moving photography on a modern digital camera. Don’t worry. That’s where we come in.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Capturing a moving subject without any blur is a must for wildlife photography, sports photography, and many more types of photography.
  • To minimize blur and get a good moving image, take care to anticipate the shot and follow the subject as it moves.
  • You should also set the focus and exposure in advance. Remember to set the focus on where the subject will be when you snap the photo, not where it is when you set the focus.

What is Moving Photography?

Essentially, moving photography is the art of capturing a moving subject with your camera for creative effect. This is especially useful in a wide variety of scenarios, including wildlife photography, sports photography, and more. They ensure consistency in the quality of photos taken, it may be useful to learn how to do depth of field on a digital camera.

Insider Tip

Essentially, moving photography is the art of capturing a moving subject with your camera for creative effect.

Why Capture a Moving Image With a Camera?

Still photography is great and all, but sometimes you want to capture a moving subject while minimizing blur and distortion. That’s where the art of moving photography comes in.

How to Do Moving Photography on a Digital Camera

Here are some guidelines to help you make great shots of moving subjects with your digital camera. There are hard and fast rules here as, first and foremost, photography is an art.

Set Focus and Exposure in Advance

Before you actually take your first shot, take some time to lock in the focus and exposure. Set the focus to where the image will be, not where it is when you set the focus. The same goes for exposure. To minimize blur, go with a shorter exposure and a faster shutter speed.

Insider Tip

Before you actually take your first shot, take some time to lock in the focus and exposure.

Anticipate the Shot

No matter how fast your digital camera is, there will be a slight delay between the moment you press the shoot button and when the camera actually takes the shot. In other words, anticipate the shot and track the subject to the best of your ability.

Experiment With the Flash

You may want to use the flash, even if it is a daylight shoot. Why? Accessing a digital camera’s flash will force the camera into a higher shutter speed, which will make it better at freezing action without any blur.

Use a Lower Capture Resolution

This may seem counterintuitive to capturing great shots, but the lower the capture resolution is on your camera the quicker the device will be able to save the digital image to its memory. This will significantly cut down on the time it takes between pushing the shoot button and the image being saved.

Turn Off Instant Review

Make sure you turn off the instant review function of this camera, as this mode typically disallows taking additional photos before the first one has been reviewed. Additionally, ensure you know how to fix a digital camera that has a white screen to avoid disappointments while taking your photos.

F.A.Q.

What techniques are there for showing motion in a photo?

Beyond simple captures, you can use panning, zoomed-in lenses, purposeful blurring, and a variety of other techniques to show motion.


What are the types of movement photography?

Generally speaking, movement photography falls into three categories. Suspended movement, which is when you capture a still of the subject, motion blur, which is when you use blur on purpose for creative effect, and visual flow, which is when you take multiple exposures to indicate motion.


What shutter speed will blur motion?

If you are looking to blur motion, your camera should be set to shutter priority or a manual mode with a shutter speed between 1/15 and 1/60 sec. This depends on the speed of your subject, of course.



STAT: The number of digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera shipments worldwide has been on a downhill ride since 2012. In 2020, a total of around 2.38 million DSLR cameras were shipped by CIPA companies all over the world. Despite the decline in shipments, the average price of digital cameras per unit will continue to remain stable. (source)

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