It's all a matter of taste. Some people like blur, others dislike it. I personally rarely like it, but that is just my own taste.
When done well, it can be very effective. When done poorly (which is most of the time), it hardly seems worth the effort.
If your question is about this particular shot, I'd say that much is too much. Like bokeh, motion blur as an artistic effect is hard to replicate in post. Even if your settings and technique are dead-on, you'll still have a high reject rate when attempting panning motion blur.
I do some intentional camera movement stuff once in a while but am by no means an expert. In my opinion, you have a mixed blur in this image which is more distracting than calming. You have the blur of the background mixed in with the double or triple exposure feel of the two birds. People will often choose to pan here getting the birds sharp and blurring only the background. Choosing to blur the birds as well feels like more of a mistake than an enhancement of the overall blur. Cropping differently may have helped--putting the birds more evenly in the frame--but you also seem to have cropped some of the one bird's shadow.
With most effects I believe and prefer to have 'non-effect' visible in the composition to show that it is not a total mistake but a designed result.
With your second shot Tom I think the blurred waves behind the righthand rail spoil the shot, showing what you did to achieve what otherwise would have been a 'magical' effect. It demonstrates also how movement up close needs a faster shutter speed than similar further away though I maybe wrong there in assuming the waves to her right were moving in a like manner.
It is interesting how the defect/distortion of the WA lens adds to the effect with matching body/railing angle ... very nice
I don't mind some subject motion blur - like the propellers of an airplane spinning or an object being panned with a blurred background. However, I have never seen an image with camera motion blur, excepting panning, that I liked and would want to replicate...
The guitar. Somebody jarred the photog?
looks like you were taking a picture of the couple enjoying the sunset, when suddenly this girl crossed just as you clicked.
just me.........
Last edited by nimitzbenedicto; 9th June 2013 at 01:38 AM.
Was the blur done in pp? It looks like her right hand and left foot are in focus.
I kinda like both camera movement blur and subject motion blur. Do, however, agree, that the blur's gotta feel "by design", not accidental.
Canon XT/350D, 24-105L. @55mm. iso 200, f/8, 1/6s. Blur introduced with deliberate "flicking" of the camera.
Canon Powershot S30. @12.3mm (60mm equiv.), f/3.5, 2/5s. Ultrapod.
Tis is how I photograph birds. They are always flying away from me so I gave up trying to get them sharp. It's how I see them now; a flash of white against a moving background caught out of the corner of my eye and camera viewfinder.
Isn't that just as legitimate view of reality as any?
As for calming, I don't mean the images to be calming. I want people to be a bit on edge and somewhat disturbed.
As for putting the birds more evenly in the frame. How conventional. How boring. How ...... not me.
Just stating my opinion. It is nice to know that blurring the birds is your intent or style--the why. Now calling my suggestion conventional and boring. That is going too far!
I was holding back, Brev. I was told to behave myself. After all, you did tell me how to crop my picture. That's like telling me to cut my hair the way you like it. I don't post pictures here for people to tell me how they would do it. If it gets to this stage I'm happy with it. I'm sure you didn't mean to offend me. No me, you. I had my tongue firmly imbedded in my cheek at the time but there isn't a smilie for that facial expression.
I think that a person who doesn't want critique on his/her images should say so, just as someone who desires critique should also express that desire. That would probably solve any ruffled feathers (pun intended) before they are ruffled...
I personally, have no problems with anyone commenting on or even re-processing my images and posting them. I may not alway agree with the comments or reprocessed images but, qute often the points are valid.
We all have our own ideas of composition. What is good for one photographer is not necessarily what another photographer likes. I usually try to phrase my comments in "I messages!" I would never say. "You should have cropped this way or shot at a different angle!" However, I might say "I would think about cropping the image in this manner!" or "I like an image in which the horizon is level!" Or even, "Have you thought about composing the image in this manner?" The answer to that could be:
"No, I didn't think of that!" or "Yes, I considered that and didn't like it!" or even, "No I didn't consider it but, I don't like the image as you suggested!" An answer could even be, "I think a tilted horizon provides a more dynamic image!"
After all, all of our images are our own. They belong to us and we are the final judges of how the images should look!
Sometimes, however, I do need to bite my tongue. Like when my sister in law said, "It's too bad the entire picture isn't in focus!"
Last edited by rpcrowe; 9th June 2013 at 04:57 PM.
When you asked "How much is too much blur?" I thought you were inviting comments. Even suggestions or other forms of critique. LIke you were looking for feedback. I was wrong. I did not know the question was rhetorical and the image had your complete approval. I apologize and will try my best not to open your threads in the future.
Gee, Larry, no need to spit the dummy. Tis is a discussion between adults, not school kids in the playground. I was just letting you know where I stand. There are many ways to discuss photography. Telling people how you would take their picture or change it is only one way. You could discuss all sorts of things without changing the image to suit your taste. After all, that's a very personal thing and isn't a big help to the photographer.
For example, you could have given some examples of how you manage blur. I would like to see that.
I am aware, as Richard is, that some people think blur is a big no-no. I was endeavor ring to open up a discussion regarding how others might use it as a compositional element. There are many very famous photos that have effectively used blur to achieve a very satisfactory result. There are techniques which are regularly used to exaggerate it or at least incorporate it in photos. Post processing software has filters which produce it.
I was wondering what your thoughts are on its use in your own photography. Do you use it? Have you exaggerated it to give a certain feeling? Are there times when you accidentally get it and think it looks OK?
I know people here expect to have others criticize their photos in the manner you have done here. That is to suggest how they might have taken it or how the photographer could or should have taken it. I'm still dealing with that. It's not what I am used to so I have to bite my tongue, sometimes not hard enough it seems.
What I am suggesting is an alternative to discussing photographs that might assist people in their path to getting the image they want. Judging by the PMs I have received of late, there seems to be a need for that sort of approach for some people.
Maybe my question want direct enough. I could have started the thread with 'Discuss Blur' and left it at that. The example was one I pulled off my teaching files which I have used many times as a starting point for discussion.
Don't give up on me, Larry. I'm still learning.
Somehow I feel, if the poster doesn't say he/she wants CnC, perhaps it is best if we hold back CnC until we are clear what the poster wants.
There were even some viewers/readers just wading in and editing the poster's image without asking permission?! Maybe a little respect and politeness given to the poster will avoid problems in the future.
But, each to his own. Someone even posted before, he will edit a poster's image with or without the poster's permission.
Good thing Tom didn't encounter this guy.
As they say, "different folks - differnt strokes"
I think it can be used effectively and not just in sports/motion scenes. I find it very pleasing in some of the street images you have posted here... So, I would like to know your own technique for producing, particularly in a shot like the last you one posted above (some museum) with some people in focus and others blurred.