4 Photography and Video Techniques which Make Use Of Time and Motion
In my humble opinion, some of the best photos and videos out there are those either containing time and motion or somehow using them to cause some sort of illusion. Because of that opinion, I would like to introduce you to some of these techniques and how to find examples and tutorials about them on the Internet.
In this article I will be covering speed photography, time-lapse photography, extreme slow motion videos, and stop-motion videos. Check out the links and be amazed!
Freezing Fast Motion (or high speed photography)
This type of photography consists of photos taken at the time of high speed activity. For example, have you seen those photos of fruit exploding or water balloons popping? That is speed photography. It’s done via a process using darkness, an external flash and a flash trigger, whether it’s triggered by sound, light, or actual contact with a trigger). The results of this form of art are very cool, freezing the object at the very moment of its action. Notice the photo above (by Avi Abrams) and how the photo was taken at the exact moment of impact? Very cool!
Here are some links containing examples and even some how-to tutorials showing how it’s done:
- Flickr: High Speed Photography – A great collection of high speed photographs by many different photographers
- DIY – High Speed Photography at Home (at diyphotography.net)
- Speed Photography – How to Photograph Exploding Fruit and Balloons Popping (Digital Photography School)
Time-lapse photography (or cinematography)
This technique consists of recording an event at a slower than normal rate but played back at a faster rate. The result is a video that is high speed. There are several forms this may take, like a crowd of people seeming to run very fast, fruit rotting at a rate that you can actually watch it (or flowers growing or opening), and even watching time pass quickly by recording the sky. There are even some instances where people take pictures of something once a day for a prolonged period of time and string them together to watch the changes occur right before your eyes. Also, check out this MakeUseOf article about a time lapse tool every parent should love.
Here are some YouTube videos showing time lapse techniques and also a how-to tutorial showing how it’s done.
Here’s a video showing security camera footage sped up of a man stuck in an elevator for an extended period of time:
This video shows the passage of time as years go by. The man took a picture of himself every morning and now the photos are strung together to make a time lapse video:
And the tutorial I promised: An Introduction to Time-Lapse Photography (also from DPS)
Extreme Slow Motion Video
A similar technique to time-lapse, slow motion video does the opposite. The video is recorded at a high rate but played back at a very slow rate. The result is almost like a video version of high speed photography showing many details that are normally missed at a normal rate of speed.
Here are some YouTube videos demonstrating extreme slow motion:
A lightning strike:
Water balloon to the face:
Slap in the face:
Stop-motion animation
This is a form of animation where actual objects are made to seem like they are actually moving. This is done by taking photos and moving the object between frames in a way that would make them seem to be moving on their own. There have been many cool animations made using this technique and I’d like to share a few with you.
This is actually a video tutorial showing how it is done:
Iron Man vs Bruce Lee:
Human Skateboard:
There you have it, 4 photography and video techniques which take time and motion and make something awesome out of them. What other techniques can you think of? Also, if you have anymore examples of these 4, let me know in the comments.
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