How to take great levitation photos and trick photography by reducing motion blur Written by Jim T May (http://trick-photography.org)
The most common way to destroy a great levitation photo when you're doing trick photography is to take a blurry photo of the floating subject. The trick is to remove any tell-tale signs of how the effect is achieved. Any blurring especially on body parts like hands and legs is undesirable unless you can use it to further confuse the viewer. That is why you will notice that the subject (levitating objects or people) are always ultrasharp in the best levitation photos. So the following are some ideas on how to avoid taking blurry photos that can hinder your levitation effect.
Motion blur
In most cases the blurring is due to camera or subject motion. This is important because if you're attempting to take a levitation photo by jumping, you are making a lot of movement in a short time frame. Not only that, if you held the camera by hand, you'll also be introducing more blurring. All of us have the experience of shooting photos just to find that they look blurry. If you use a telephoto lens then the problem is compounded when you zoom in.
Usually movements are small and for that reason in high shutter speeds the camera or subject does not have an opportunity to move enough to cause blurring. But if your camera shutter speed is low, even the tiniest movement will result in blurring. So if you're planning to take levitation photos indoor or in low light conditions which requires a slower shutter speed, then you have to be extra careful with blurring.
Reducing camera motion
Most people take photos when the camera is held in their hands. The hand is an unstable platform and tends to move quite a bit. Fully stretch your hand forward and
hold it there for a few minutes and you'll see what I mean. Our cameras have also gotten lighter and smaller every year, making it that much harder to keep it stable. To remedy this, you need a firm and comfortable grip and support yourself or the camera against something solid. We tend to forget that the picture is taken the moment you push the button, so if you push too hard or slam that button with your finger you get more movement and blur. Slowly rest your finger on the shutter button and squeeze until you hear the click.
Using a tripod
Even if you have a sniper's steady hand, you will not be able to totally eliminate camera shake if you take levitation photography in low light conditions. As a general rule photos that are taken with slow shutter speeds or high zoom values should be taken using a more stable platform than your hand. It can be anything like a table, shelf, chair, or even a rock. But nothing beats the humble tripod. Tripod comes in many varieties of size, weight, price, height, articulation, and more depending on your budget. But in general you should pick one that is sturdy in construction and simple to use.
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Jim blogs about trick photography and special effects techniques, that people use to create stunning photographs. You can sign up at his Trick Photography site to receive a free report on the top 10 trick photography ideas for travel photos. Jim also has written an in-depth review of Evan Sharboneau's Trick Photography ebook. Please feel free to share this document with your family and friends if you think it始ll interest them, thanks!