If you trying to perfect taking action shots with your digital camera, you may have encountered motion blur. Even some of the top-rated digital cameras experience this problem. But how do you stop motion blur on a digital camera? Keep reading to find out.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- If you are looking to stop motion blur with digital photography, start by steadying your hands or by placing the digicam on a tripod.
- Another way to reduce motion blur is to raise the shutter speed to its maximum setting.
- Lower the ISO to reduce the camera’s sensitivity to moving objects. This could ultimately lower the number of blurry action shots you take.
What is Motion Blur?
As the name suggests, motion blur is when an image becomes blurry due to an increased level of activity in the shot. Motion blur can happen when the subject of the image moves or even when the photographer moves. Motion blur can be a great creative tool when it is used on purpose, such as with capturing light trails, but it can totally mess up an action shot when it creeps in by accident. Photo-viewers tend to enjoy a crisp and sharp image, after all. Motion blur will prevent you from learning cool stuff like how to take a double exposure with a digital camera.
Insider Tip
Motion blur can happen when the subject of the image moves or even when the photographer moves.
How to Stop Motion Blur
Here are some tips to help you stop motion blur in your action shots so you can adequately illustrate a sense of speed or a sense of motion without increased blur.
Keep Your Hands Steady
The easiest way to reduce motion blur is to keep your hands steady or to use a tripod. You cannot control the subject in all cases, but you can control your own hands. Do your best to minimize shaking and don’t hesitate to invest in a professional-grade tripod. You’ll be blown away by the results.
Insider Tip
The easiest way to reduce motion blur is to keep your hands steady or to use a tripod.
Increase Shutter Speed
An increased shutter speed is necessary when capturing moving objects, though it has a nice side effect of reducing motion blur. Using a faster shutter speed is a great tool in any action photographer’s arsenal, even though slow shutter speeds have their place. A slower shutter speed, for instance, can be great for a landscape with a camera placed on a tripod. However, if you are doing something like sports photography, press the shutter button until it is on its fastest setting. If your camera doesn’t have a manual shutter button, dive into the settings.
Lower the ISO
You can switch to a lower ISO setting to reduce motion blur, especially if the subject moves. A camera’s ISO refers to the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor, so a lower ISO will be less sensitive to a moving object. This will result in stunning photos with a significant increase in image quality. Some cameras offer an auto ISO functionality that may have to be disabled before shooting. You may also want to know how to shoot wide angle lens w digital camera if you are going to shoot a lot of detail.
Warning
Motion blur can be a great creative tool when it is used on purpose, such as with capturing light trails, but it can totally mess up an action shot when it creeps in by accident.
F.A.Q.
How to capture motion blur in photography?
If you are looking to use motion blur as a creative tool, you can basically do the opposite of the steps suggested in this guide. Lower the shutter speed and move your hands as you take shots, taking care to follow the subject.
Can you remove motion blur after a photo has been taken?
It is possible, though image quality may suffer. Most photo editing tools and software apps allow for the reduction of motion blur but do so at your own risk.
Which shutter speed will blur motion?
There is no exact answer to this question as it will largely depend on how quickly the photo’s subject is moving. If the subject is moving quite slowly, lower the shutter speed to match. Eventually, you will find that sweet spot and, with it, motion blur.
STAT: Worldwide camera shipments dropped by 87 percent between 2010 and 2019, wiping out four decades of growth. (source)
