Round And Round

Alright you budding professional photographers! Here’s a fun little tip that you can use to create some images guaranteed to get a ‘ooohh - cool!’ reaction from your friends! 

This is how it turns out, as taken by a wedding couple of mine from last year:

It’s actually very simple to do, but you’ll want to practice it a few times first. First off, you’ll need a camera that supports either Shutter Priority (sometimes labeled Tv - the ability to change the shutter speed) or full Manual mode. All DSLRs will support this, and most pocket cameras will. You’ll also need a flash, whether it’s a built-in or a hot shoe flash. I’ve done this technique with DLSRs and pocket digital cameras, and the results are great.

Got all of those? Good! Here’s how to do it:

1. Find a location that has lights behind you like sconces or hanging lamps.

2. Set your ISO high if you are taking the shot in the evening. For the shot above, I set it to 1250. It was taken under an outdoor tent at night. For pocket camera users, I’d start with an ISO a little bit lower (perhaps 800). Pocket cameras produce a lot more noise at high ISO levels, so you will get better picture quality at a lower ISO. You may want to bump it up, though, if the picture looks too dark.

3. Set your camera to Shutter Priority (Tv). This will let you control the shutter speed while it sets the aperture for you. Set your shutter speed to around 1/5th of a second to start (that’s what it was set to above).

4. Make sure the flash is set to On (not Auto), as you will need to make sure that it fires.

5. Hold the camera at arm’s length and eye level. While keeping the camera in this position, start to spin around slowly. While you are spinning, take a picture!

It’s important the keep your arms level and extended throughout the motion. You don’t have to spin around too fast, either. Usually, a full turn will be enough time. Keep spinning until you are sure that the camera has taken the shot, and then take a look! If the picture is too dark, either raise the ISO or lower the shutter speed. The biggest factor in this shot is getting the shutter speed to somewhere around 1/5th. Everything else can be set to auto if you are happy with the results.

Once you get good at it, you can teach other’s how to do it as I did above. Just be sure that you trust who you are handing over the DSLR too

I’ve created a video of this technique using a spinning chair and a barf bag at http://www.ShootTheBaby.com/episode-11-what-goes-around/ . Be sure to check it out, and I hope you enjoyed this tip!

Eric Doggett is a photographer in Austin, Texas. He has a site specifically for baby photography tips at ShootTheBaby.com, as well as BoxOfficeBaby.com, a site where you can order custom birth/party announcement posters - a unique gift newborn children can keep forever. You can reach him at babydaddy -at- ShootTheBaby.com.