High Speed Photography To Stop Motion

High Speed Photography to Stop Motion

by William Lulow

High speed photography involves shooting images rapidly in succession in hopes of getting an image that stops all action and freezes the action so it can be studied. It’s kind of like slo-motion videos or film that helps analyze a particular motion that would otherwise be imperceptible. In the days of film, this required a MOTOR DRIVE camera which was capable of making the exposure and advancing the film in split-second timing. These days, it can be accomplished using a high speed shutter and high speed sync with electronic flash units.

In 1878, Eadweard Muybridge set up 24 cameras in order to capture a horse’s gallop. He strung threads across a race track and when the horse passed each one, it made an exposure on a piece of film. Muybridge then put the images together to prove that a horse’s feet were all off  the ground at once. (Look up Muybridge on the internet and his examples will be shown).

Today, advanced digital cameras can accomplish the same thing although in a different manner. Many cameras can record at 24 frames per second (fps) and the technology can far exceed that rate with specialized equipment. (As a matter of fact, most motion pictures capture movement at the same or similar rate. So, movies are really the illusion of multiple still photographs strung together and projected at that same rare. ) Usually, you can set your digital camera on the setting for “high speed” and it will take 60 or so frames per second (fps). I made several shots at the Sailor Circus in Sarasota, Florida recently, because a friend of mine’s daughter was performing there. Here are some of my efforts (settings were ISO2500, f/3.5-5.6 at 1/1250 of a second):

These images were all made with the camera set to high speed shutter and made just seconds apart in most cases. You need a shutter speed setting of at least 1/1000th of a second to be able to stop any action and render it sharp. So, that’s what requires the higher ISO settings as well. You still want to be able to stop the lens down one or two stops to ensure you have enough depth-of-field to make sure everything is sharp. I have had opportunities lately to stop action with my granddaughter’s swimming meets, soccer games and now these shots at the circus. All the images were made at ISO 2000 or more (in the case of the swim meets, it was ISO4000), and the shots were sharp enough for good 8×10 inch reproductions. Here’s another image from a swim meet:

When we used to shoot film, we talked about something called “sharpness in grain.” That referred to an image that was technically sharp, but grainy due to pushing the film in a fine grain developer and shooting sometimes wide open. This technique is perfectly acceptable in today’s digital age. “Grain” in film is referred today as “digital noise.” But you can still get sharp pictures like the one above using this method.

You might want to try shooting in this mode whenever you are trying to capture some action. It’s always hard to make one shot that captures the exact movement you want. This is a way to assure you get many frames from which you can work. You have to keep in mind though, the lessons about the “TRIANGLE OF EXPOSURE“! Whenever you want to isolate one setting, the others have to be adjusted accordingly.