'blurring' properly

deemk

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i'm wondering about taking some shots in low light, during a musical performance in a cafe. it won't be completely dark, but it will be inside at night. i want to end up with some unique shots. i want some that are blurred but i don't want them to look like camera shake. is there a way to keep the person in focus, but sort of streak the lights behind them? or will it just end up blurring everything as i slow the shutter speed down?

thanks.
 
i'm wondering about taking some shots in low light, during a musical performance in a cafe. it won't be completely dark, but it will be inside at night. i want to end up with some unique shots. i want some that are blurred but i don't want them to look like camera shake. is there a way to keep the person in focus, but sort of streak the lights behind them? or will it just end up blurring everything as i slow the shutter speed down?

thanks.

Are you referring to having a shallow depth of field?
 
It depends how close you are to the performace...if your close enough..use your flash and drag the shutter for some pretty cool effects ;)
 
I think you're referring to something like this:

downtownnight-29-Edit.jpg


It's a simple technique where you use flash (ideally off camera) to freeze the foreground subject and a long exposure to blur the background.
 
YES! Thanks jcolman! that's exactly what i was thinking of! thanks for the info! do you know how slow the shutter speed needs to be for this? would a tripod be required? i'll be sitting fairly close to the band, but probably won't be able to set up a tripod in front of them. will prob just have to experiment with hand held shots...
 
It is called flash REAR sync (or rear sync flash). If you are permitted a flash there, this is possible. If no flash is allowed... it is not doable perse.
 
Your best bet is to use the rear curtain sync (if you can) and an exposure time somewhere between 0.5 and 1 second. Experiment with the aperture but usually i would keep it around f5.
 
YES! Thanks jcolman! that's exactly what i was thinking of! thanks for the info! do you know how slow the shutter speed needs to be for this? would a tripod be required? i'll be sitting fairly close to the band, but probably won't be able to set up a tripod in front of them. will prob just have to experiment with hand held shots...
You don't need a tripod. I shot the above pic hand held and moved the camera on purpose during the exposure. Set your camera to rear curtain sync if possible. Also, if you can get your flash (or flashes) off camera, the results will be much better. I used two off camera flashes for the above pic.
 

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