There are a number of different reasons why you might want to shoot a photo of people at a very slow shutter speed. Motion blur from water and other things can be very artistic, but how do you get your shutter speed down that slow, without your photos / subjects starting to blur?

Well, grab a tripod (of course!) and then watch this video for a few tips on how to keep your subjects sharp during slower shutter speeds.  ;-)

Of course the main element of sharpness is a tripod.  That is going to sound like a no-brainer for any landscape or nature photographers, and to be honest this video is probably going to make you laugh.  However believe it or not, but many portrait and wedding photographers might not even own a tripod, let alone use it regularly!  And it is not as simple as simply “using a tripod”.  (Which is why this video has some tips for you!)

Don’t get me wrong.  In my opinion always shooting without is fine, but it does limit your ability to think creatively.  You’re locked into “hand-holdable” shutter speeds, …or intentional motion blur and/or strobe flash use.  If this is you, then you should read our article HERE about how to hand-hold a camera!

Indeed, often I find myself in situations where motion blur is desirable, but subject blur is not.  There are many different techniques and tips on how to accomplish this, of course, and this video only covers some of them.  Please feel free to contribute more of your own tips by commenting here, or by heading on over to our forums!

Take care,
=Matthew Saville=

(3 second exposure)

(1/2 second exposure)

(1/2 second exposure, 100% crop)

All images are processed using the SLR Lounge Preset System for Lightroom 4, and using techniques from the HDR Workshop DVD.  Click for more info!