Whether you are home or away for the summer, it’s a great time to get out there and capture some vibrant, interesting shots of the city.  What does this mean?  It means looking for something different in the ordinary and learning to capture movement without making your photograph look unpolished and ‘an accident’.  Its about capturing movement but with purpose.

The first thing to remember is that you can take these photographs in the day or night – it doesn’t matter as long as there is some movement.  The second thing to remember is that you will want to capture movement strategically so you get the sense of energy.  Too much movement and your photograph will look blurry.  Too little and it’s not clear what you are trying to achieve.

One good tip is to look for movement to contrast with the static.  For example – people are always moving and buildings are always static.  Take a photograph with your camera mounted on a tripod for security and take an image with a slower shutter speed than usual (experiment with this), say 1/30th to see if you get enough movement in the shot.
The result is a shot of a static building with blurry traces of people moving around it.  It also works well with areas of public transport especially if you are in a big city (i.e. the yellow cabs of New York, the red buses of London etc.) and can work with one person or a group.

This technique also works very well with traffic against something static.  Traffic trails, best captured at night, show long glowing lights from the headlamps.  Choose a slow shutter speed and once again put your camera on a tripod, using a remote to take the photograph.  Notice how the moving cars create a sense of activity and vibrancy.

If you don’t have a tripod with you, you can hand hold a shot but you will need to choose a reasonable shutter speed so that your image doesn’t become a blurry mess.  When the light falls a little, try a shutter speed of around 1/125th and handhold the camera.  Don’t shoot from a distance, move close into the action to get clear outlines of the people walking by and their movements.  You may not get the same amount of blur as when you use a tripod but it should be enough for you to capture them moving in front of you and therefore a sense of action.  You want enough blur to distort their faces but you still want to be able to make out their body shape (ie. outlines of the legs and arms).

Note that generally speaking, 1/30th – 1/8th are normally the best speeds for taking photographs which are neither too blurred or too static.  If you ever find it hard to steady yourself, just try and find somewhere to lean, on a wall or steady your arms on something or someone.  Remember the sense of movement should always be captured strategically, with purpose.
Don’t forget composition!  Wide angles and standard lenses will give you the most control over the shot.  With wide angles you can really capture a sense of drama and fit whole buildings in and lots of passing people.

• Creative Camera Movement Part 3 (0)
• How to Shoot Moving Subjects (0)
• Creative Camera Movement Part 2 (0)