The Shot Chat | VIII. Turtle Motion Blur

Deliberate motion blur can yield extraordinary images, but the technique can also leave photographers scratching their heads in confusion. In this chat, reigning Underwater Photographer of the Year, Renee Grinnell Capozzolla shares with us the start of her journey into motion blur. Beyond the technique itself, there is much to learn from Renee’s attitude to her photography. Despite all of the awards, she retains a strong desire to learn, a willingness to fail along the way, and an admirably open mind.

Let The Shot Chat Begin…

Renee Grinnell Capozzola: This picture of a green sea turtle using rear curtain sync was taken in Maui, Hawaii in the middle of day at about 20-25 feet of depth. Motion blur is something I have recently played around with and would like to get better at. Although I understand the basic settings to use, I feel that I need some pointers.

Anyways, most of the time these turtles on Maui, who are accustomed to seeing divers and snorkelers, move slowly and do not make ideal subjects for rear curtain. But, this turtle was a younger one, and I observed it moving more quickly so decided to try this technique. My strobes were at full power by the way.

I am happy with the motion blur effect of the fins but do not like that the turtle's eye and head are also a bit blurry. I prefer motion blur shots where the eye is sharp and another part of the animal or frame is blurry.

I am aware that I could also try front curtain with accelerated panning, which may be a better option with slow moving turtles, but haven't really experimented much with this technique yet.

Shane Gross: I think, overall, this image works. Could it be even better? Of course...it reminds me of this image by little-known photographer David Doubilet.

I think the motion blur works, but where it could be improved is in the lighting and composition. I think the flashes are a bit bright on the underside of the turtle and could be a bit more naturalistic. And I would like to see the turtle above the coral rather than in it. I don't mind the bit of blur in the face, it's still sharp enough.

The top right quadrant doesn't add much to the image...might look better with some text or something there.

The closest fin's blur is beautiful! Overall, it's a decent image. Don't delete.

Henley Spiers: Don't delete? Gosh, that's as good as it get Renee!

I think that David Doubilet mention is very apt and my mind also leapt to his style of motion blur for your shot Renee. By that I mean a classy, understated type, one which could be be overlooked by many, and highly appreciated by some. Most of the motion blur imagery you see around at the moment involves front sync flash and accelerated panning of the subject where you start with it and then overtake it. It's very clearly motion blur in these cases, a high impact style which does tend to stand out. Here you've opted for rear sync and to rely on more of the turtle's motion.

The composition and colours work for me, the motion blur is not bad but leaves me a touch unsatisfied. I think the reason why is that you're halfway between the recommended use of front and rear sync motion shots. Everything is sharp enough where it needs to be, and the movement of the fins is indeed very satisfying but...I think its the face and corals behind which bug me a little. According to Alex Mustard's UW Photography Masterclass, the decision on front and rear sync boils down to: if camera is moving then front is better, if animal is moving then rear is preferable. In this frame, I have both camera and animal movement and it's a tiny bit jarring - if we are setting our aspirations for the highest forms of this photography. I either want to have the corals behind focussed and still, with the movement of the turtle set against it or to have big time movement blur across the frame, with key features of the turtle frozen by flash, by using front sync and accelerated panning.

I think what has likely happened is you gently swam with the turtle and that's the result in this frame. I'd be interested to see you experiment with the two ideas outlined above, I think you'll find that accelerated panning is actually easier to achieve than that more subtle, Doubilet / Skerry style of Nat Geo motion blur.

Your settings look good so no issues there, think it just comes down to decisions on front and rear sync and whether to move or not move camera.

I think one of the great things about motion blur imagery is it will never come out the same twice. We can all dial in the same settings with the same gear, but depending on how we move, and how the subject moves, it will come out different every time. That's part of the magic I reckon...

Renee: Wow Shane “don’t delete” and “David Doubilet” in the same set of comments?! To even have a Doubilet picture come to mind, that’s quite the compliment! My image needs some work and it’s inspiring to have his picture as a reference to make improvements! I agree with the strobes being too strong on the turtle’s underside, the younger turtles are very white on their undersides. I took some of the exposure down already in post but would be better to get this right in camera. I had my strobes turned up to full power in order to try and freeze the turtle and get the head sharp so I’m now wondering how to achieve that effect with the strobes turned on full power and bright subjects as I think if I turn down my strobes the image would be more blurry?

Shane: Ideally you'd have your left strobe on lower power and your right on higher to compensate...but that is really hard to do when working with a moving wild animal...but that would solve the issue. Also, time of day and depth. If you shoot in lower light conditions you dont need as much strobe power.

Grant Thomas: Great to see your first image Renee and nice choice! I love blur. Can I ask something technical - how did you get rear curtain sync to work with the Canon 5d mkiii? I always thought you could only do it with Canon speed lights.

I also immediately thought of Doubilet's image when I saw this so I'd say that's quite the compliment Renee! I think the blur you've created with regards to the turtle is pretty much spot on. The eye could be slightly sharper but for me it works. Where I think the image is falling down slightly is as others have said - positioning of the turtle with corals in the background. If the turtle was slightly higher up or you were a bit lower with the camera then we would have that lovely negative space surrounding the subject, helping it to pop off of the page. I also feel the composition is a bit tight and would prefer more space around the subject to let it breath and give us more sense of place however, I understand this would make strobe lighting more difficult if already on full power.

I can see your dilemma with strobe power vs settings. I guess the only solution is to shoot earlier or later in the day when ambient light is less. It looks as though you could maybe have been one stop less on strobe power to avoid burning some of those highlights on the turtles underside but I also understand this is hard to plan on a moving subject such as here.

Renee: Yes, Shane you are 100% correct! I should have turned down the left strobe. This all happened so fast and I was lucky to get the motion blur settings dialed in before this turtle swam off but in the future, I should be planning for that and adjusting if possible. I agree about time of day, I tried shooting just before sunset on another day and the lighting was definitely better for these motion blur settings.

Thanks for your insight Henley. Your comments are really helpful and I agree, I must have been moving myself when I took this picture. I remember seeing the turtle on the far side of the reef and noticed it was coming towards me so I quickly dialed in my rear sync motion blur settings as it came towards me and then when the turtle was right in front of me, I pressed the shutter. I must have been swimming towards it or moving alongside it. Alex Mustard's UW Photography Masterclass book has been a terrific resource for these techniques. Now I just need to get better at doing them! Thank you as well for the reference to David Doubilet's and Brian Skerry's motion blur style - I have a ways to go but am really inspired by this conversation and want to get better at these shots.

Yes Grant, the Canon rear sync option is really confusing! For my setup, which is a Nauticam housing and fiber optics, I was able to buy a Nauticam TTL flash trigger that takes a Canon rechargeable battery. Once this flash trigger is mounted to the hotshoe of the camera, the option to choose rear sync comes up in the camera's menu. I never shoot my strobes using TTL but can still use this TTL flash trigger and shoot my strobes on manual. For different setups with Canon, I believe there are other options available as well to enable the rear sync option on the Camera menu. Check out this link.

I agree with all your points Grant and would also especially prefer if the turtle was positioned higher up in the frame, in the water column. Thank you as well for that David Doubilet reference!

Henley: What's your evaluation and hopes for this shot Renee? Is it just stepping stone in fine-tuning the technique? Will you be putting it to use somewhere?

Renee: My hope for this shot and technique is that I can improve it over time. I will need to fine-tune some things, and will also experiment with different lighting conditions. Going out near sunset as opposed to the middle of the day should make things easier in terms of the lighting, even though that is not the easiest time for me to dive with my schedule. I will try to employ these motion blur techniques here in Hawaii, and hopefully elsewhere in the future.

Jade Hoksbergen: Hi everybody! Sorry I'm late to the party, seems like a lot has been said already in terms of constructive criticism, so I'll just sit here and appreciate the image for all its beauty. Yes Renee, please don't delete. I like the subtlety in your motion blur effect, it is more naturalistic, albeit less high impact upon immediate appraisal. Grant and Shane have mentioned that they might have preferred the composition if we had the turtle above the corals, and more in the blue... Now it feels a little weird to not agree with them and their great eye for composition, but I do like the positioning of the turtle. The turtle close to the corals feels more "calm", if he were in the blue, it would feel like he is swimming quicker and "travelling". Also, there is a good separation between the turtle and the coral background because of the turtle's lighter shade underside. I really like the image, but I think it is really difficult to take shots of turtles which stand out nowadays. Which is why I must applaud you on your picture which gained you a prize in UPY of the three turtles, where you were shooting up. Beautiful composition, great execution.

Renee: Thank you Jade again for your comments and compliments on my three turtles image! That is interesting what you say about the composition of the turtle and corals. It is encouraging that the positioning works for you. In terms of the rear curtain sync being a more subtle type of motion blur, I agree. Here is another rear curtain sync photo I took recently where the motion blur is even more subtle, so much so that some people may not notice it. The turtle's fin disappears a bit into the water, but it's not an obvious motion blur image so I don't know if it works:

Jade: Hi Renee, you know, credit where credit is due! It’s a fantastic image. Now about the last one: YES! I am all in for subtlety. I think subtle is very elegant and naturalistic. That is not to say I don’t like the more dramatic motion blur images. I do too. I think they are very artistic and reflect the photographer’s unique interpretation, but I have to say, I will probably say “bin it!” to 8 out of the 10 dramatic dramatic motion blur images Henley shows me. Oftentimes due to too much appearing out of focus. There is a fine line between, “that is tastefully done” and “it looks like he doesn’t know how to use his/her camera - why is everything out of focus?”... reminding me of the videos I take by accident with my phone where there is a lot of motion, and we can’t tell what is actually in frame.

So in response, this image definitely works for me. I like the subtlety and that the fin melts into the water. It is beautifully executed, however with how many turtle shots there are these days in competitions, I don’t think this one will stand out. But it is a pretty picture nonetheless.

Anita Kainrath: Hi there! Just read all the comments and I couldn't agree more with Shane and Grant. I think Henley mentioned that in pic #1 there's not enough contrast between the turtle's face & the coral in the background. I think so too - it would be nicer if there was a bit more space but it still works for me. I love the motion blur - I'm so bad at this technique so I really look up to everyone who is good at it! It's so much more artistic. And I really really love the 2nd picture! The colors are just beautiful and the lighting is perfect! I like that the fins are disappearing in the blue water- it's as if they're one. I can totally see this as a beautiful big art print in someone's home. Beautiful work, Renee!!

Henley: I much prefer the first image you shared with us to this one. My first reaction is actually "Is that turtle missing a flipper?". I think you've called it yourself in terms of bright conditions not being the ideal time to deploy slow exposures. It's a nice thing to keep in the back of your mind, on overcast days, or in murky water, that those are good opportunities to slow down shutter speeds and experiment with motion.

With your track record Renee, I anticipate you'll soon be taking this style of underwater photography to new and exciting places...Perhaps with those sharks and sunsets in French Polynesia...

Grant: I really like your second turtle image but maybe not as much as the first. I think the subtle blur is just the right amount but do agree that the because of the angle of the fin in relation to the bright background it takes away from the blur effect. Love the position of the turtle though with the snells windows effect which leads our eyes down to the subject.

Renee: Thanks so much again for your the additional comments on my second image and for the constructive feedback. These conversations with the entire Shot Chat group have been really insightful and taught me a lot! I am looking forward to trying more of these motion blur techniques when the conditions are favourable and hopefully, I will improve my shots. And, yes, I would love to try some motion blur on my next trip to French Polynesia!