Using Motion Blur for Dynamic Wildlife Photography
How is it that two photographers can be standing in the exact same place, photographing the exact same subject, yet come away with completely different photographs? Despite the same point of view, the gear and settings which they choose to use, can significantly alter the end result.
Unlike almost all other genres of photography, those of us pursuing wildlife images face certain limitations when it comes to choice in gear. Only during rare occasions will the opportunity present itself to use anything but long telephoto lenses to capture our subjects. More often than not, wildlife will not tolerate a close approach - and if they do, closing in may not be safe for either party. This can really limit the diversity in perspectives we’re able to achieve. With that said, we still have the ability to alter the aesthetic, intended narrative, and overall impact of our photographs by simply altering our settings. Differentiating one’s work from other artists is one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd. Apart from that, experimenting with your settings and their impact on the resulting photos can simply be a fun way to challenge yourself artistically.
When looking at camera settings, there are seemingly infinite combinations one can decide upon to achieve a “correct” exposure for a given situation. Typically, those photographing wildlife will settle upon using a wide aperture to let in a significant amount of light, and a relatively high ISO to allow for a fast shutter speed. This is the basic recipe that gives us the best chance at creating sharp images of our often frenetic subjects. As you might imagine, with so many images taken using approximately the same settings, a recurring aesthetic can begin to form in one’s portfolio - or even across an entire community of photographers. Perhaps this is your intent, and the consistent look is what you’re after. Let’s say however, that you’d prefer a bit more diversity in your imagery and you’d like to create shots that most photographers might not think to attempt. One of the ways we can do this is by introducing motion blur into our photographs. If this idea seems like a complete anathema to what you’ve previously been taught about wildlife photography, you aren’t wrong. The truth is, we all obsess about the sharpness of our images and go to great lengths to avoid blur from marring an otherwise perfect shot. I even wrote an eBook on the subject! However, in my experience, what often results in a truly memorable photograph that goes above and beyond the ordinary, is using that very important knowledge about how to create a textbook image, then pushing the envelope, getting creative, and accepting some risk. Incorporating dynamic elements of your subject’s surroundings, or better showcasing its movement or interesting behaviours through motion is one such way to do this.
As you can likely imagine, it’s very easy to fill a card with failed attempts that leave you discouraged and even more apprehensive about trying something new in the future. It’s important to bear in mind that this is normal, and many of the images you see below are the results of very low yield situations; with around 1 out of 100 shots turning out the way you intend, perhaps less!
With that said, considering a few key points on this subject can really help you come away with successful images that incorporate motion…
How does one achieve these types of shots?
Essentially what we’re doing is rather than freezing everything by using a fast shutter speed, we select a relatively slow shutter speed in order to showcase the motion of either our subject, or its surroundings. As a rule, we hope to incorporate motion while still retaining a varying degree of sharpness on our subject. At times we may take more liberties and render the entire image as a pleasing blur with little context, or conversely we may choose to retain as much detail as possible on our subject.
There are basically two methods used to create these sorts of photographs…
Technique 1
Shooting a Stationery Composition
The first of two techniques requires us to completely lock down our composition. Implementing this technique requires our subject to remain perfectly still for the duration of the exposure, while some element of the surrounding landscape is in motion. The use of a slow shutter speed will reveal this motion, while sharpness will be retained on our subject.
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Costa Rica
Canon 7D Mark ii, Canon 500mm f/4 IS with Canon 2x Teleconverter iii, 0.6 sec, f/16, ISO 100
The backstory: While leading a photography workshop in Costa Rica, my group and I discovered this Bare-throated Tiger-Heron hunting in the rapids of a shallow river. We got to work making some images as it moved from boulder to boulder, searching for a spot to hunt. Knowing that these birds are ambush hunters, I predicted that at some point, the heron would settle and wait, remaining amazingly still. The combination of a completely stationery subject and the dynamic surrounding of turbulent water made for the perfect opportunity.
The biggest challenge with this sort of photography is the risk of overexposing the image in an attempt to drag the shutter. Even when selecting the lowest possible ISO and a very small aperture, using a slow enough shutter speed to achieve your desired look will often result in an overexposed image. The solution to this would be to utilize a neutral density filter to block out some light. Thankfully, peak wildlife activity generally coincides with lower light levels, so this is not always necessary.
Quick Tip: Avoid using very small apertures above ~f/22. The effects of diffraction will noticeably degrade the sharpness of your image. Small apertures also reveal microscopic dust spots on your sensor that would otherwise be invisible while shooting with a larger aperture.
Black Bear, British Columbia
Canon 5D Mark iii, Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS ii, 0.5, f/20, ISO 100, Circular Polarizer
The very same technique seen above was used here in this example of a Black Bear resting atop a boulder, surrounded by rapids. An opportunity to incorporate water motion into my bear images only came about once this individual settled. Even slight fidgeting can eliminate the potential for success, so it’s important to watch carefully for brief moments of pause.
Cobalt-winged Parakeets, Ecuador
Canon 7D, Canon 300mm f/2.8 with Canon 1.4x Teleconverter, 1/40th, f/5.6, ISO 160
Waiting for a pleasing formation of parakeets to enter the scene, framed by the shadowed interior of the cave was an important part of bringing this image together.
Coastal Giant Salamander, Oregon
Canon 5D Mark iii, Canon 17-40mm f/4, 0.5 sec, f/22, ISO 1250, Circular Polarizer
With the salamander at my minimum focus distance, a tiny aperture was necessary to bring the background into focus. A shutter speed of 0.5 sec revealed motion while still retaining some texture in the water.
Key Pieces of Equipment
Cable Release
Using a cable release enables you to trigger the shutter without making contact with your camera body. This is critical to avoid camera shake that might disrupt the sharpness of still portions of your image. While this can also be achieved using your camera’s self timer, the ability to react quickly to your subject momentarily holding still is extremely important.
Sturdy Tripod
The number one piece of equipment that more photographers need to invest in is a proper sturdy tripod. In effort to save money and weight, many people opt for smaller, entry level models. While shooting with heavy telephoto lenses, achieving critical sharpness during long exposures will likely prove to be impossible without one. I personally use the Gitzo 3542LS carbon tripod.
Sturdy Tripod Head
Tying in with the tripod legs themselves, the head is equally important. Poor quality tripod heads can “creep” during long exposures, especially under the heavy load of large lenses. For many years, I’ve been using the Wimberley Gimbal Version II.
Key Technical Tips
Utilize Mirror Lockup
On DSLR cameras, when you take an exposure, the mirror that directs the image to the viewfinder flips up out of the way to allow the light to pass through the opening shutter and onto the sensor. As this mirror settles in place, the impact causes vibrations that can impact the sharpness of the resulting image. How much this affects the image will vary, depending upon a few factors such as camera resolution and focal length, and most importantly, shutter speed. Tests show that exposures between 1/100th and 1 second are most vulnerable.
Enabling mirror lockup allows extra time for these vibrations to be dampened, ensuring critical sharpness. Shooting in Live View Mode will also achieve this result.
For those shooting with mirrorless cameras, this will not apply.
Turn Off Image Stabilization / Vibration Reduction
When shooting a stationery composition with your hands completely free of the camera, there should be no camera shake influencing the photo. Should your image stabilization / vibration reduction be left on, it can enter something of a feedback loop, introducing blur as opposed to reducing it.
Technique 2
Shooting While Tracking Your Subject
As opposed to the first technique where our composition was locked down, this approach requires us to pan along with the motion of a moving subject, with a slow shutter speed allowing the surroundings to streak. Ideally, if your subject has remained in the same position within the frame for the duration of the exposure, it should be rendered relatively sharp. This can be achieved by either hand holding, or using a tripod. Not only can this effect better illustrate motion and speed, but it can also create greater depth and help to isolate your subject from the background.
Red-and-Green Macaw, Peru
Canon 7D Mark ii, Canon 500mm f/4 IS with Canon 1.4x Teleconverter iii, 1/40th, f/20, ISO 100
The backstory: While visiting this parrot clay lick, deep in the Peruvian Amazon, you’re confronted with an amazing spectacle of colour and sound. Parrots of several different varieties whirl past as they transit to and from the mineral-rich escarpment. Having visited this site on many occasions, I began noticing that despite how incredible the viewing was, it was quite a challenging place to capture successful images using an orthodox approach. The macaws often flew too close to the vegetation beyond and were thus in nearly the same plane of focus. The resulting images lacked in depth and were often very cluttered. In order to centre more attention on the birds themselves and to better illustrate the motion, I decided to use focus my efforts on creating a successful “pan-blur” image. As explained above, this involves tracking as best you can with your moving subject, while the shutter drags - blurring the surroundings. Certain subjects will lend themselves better than others to this sort of image. The more they hold a consistent line while in motion, the easier it will be to track them. Evidently, as the macaws flapped, their bodies would raise and lower slightly. As a result, I only came away with a handful of successful images out of several hundred attempts. It’s important to bear in mind that this technique has a very low hit rate, and you should be prepared to sift through a lot of failed attempts. One needs to also accept that the absolute critical sharpness you expect from fast shutter speed images isn’t a reality with this sort of technique.
Quick Tip: Concentrate on keeping your focus point hovering over the head of your subject as you track it. The more accurate and consistent you are, the better your results will be.
Sooty Grouse, British Columbia
Canon 5D Mark iii, Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS ii, 1/13th, f/6.3, ISO 100
Here’s another example of a pan blur helping to smooth out a bird’s surroundings. Had I shot this scene at 1/500th for example, too much texture would have been revealed in the background and foreground, distracting from my subject. At 1/13th however, all but the bird itself has been rendered as an impressionistic blur. This still allows for context of the grouse moving swiftly through a patch of wildflowers, but places more visual emphasis on him and his behaviour.
Key Technical Tips
Customize Your Image Stabilization / Vibration Reduction
Certain lens stabilization modes will perform better while panning on a horizontal axis. Sport Mode on Nikon lenses and Mode 2 on Canon lenses are recommended.
Experiment With Your Shutter Speed
The amount of motion blur is influenced by several factors: speed of subject movement, focal length, and shutter speed. Be sure to try out different shutter speeds to achieve your desired look. Too short a duration and the surroundings may not appear adequately blurred. Too long a duration and your subject may not be sharp enough.
Learning to Seek Out The Right Opportunities…
If attempting to showcase the movement of your subject, it has to be moving in such a way that you can predict its movements in order to accurately track it. A warbler flitting in random directions through the forest canopy for example, will be extremely difficult to to follow. Generally speaking, larger, slower moving creatures offer up better opportunities. To increase your odds, it helps to key in on behaviours that are repeated over and over, such as birds coming in to a roost site, or herd animals moving through a landscape.
If hoping to incorporate the movement of your subject’s surroundings, it’s critical that your subject remains totally still for the duration of your exposure. Species that naturally rely upon stealth or camouflage for hunting or roosting are good candidates. Be on the lookout for situations such as whitewater in creeks and rivers, foliage blowing in the wind, breaking waves, etc, that could serve as photogenic and dynamic environments. A convergence of the elements that make for a truly excellent opportunity are rare and often require a bit of luck, so it’s important to be patient and always on the lookout.