Freezing motion with rear-curtain sync, flash photography, shutter drag.

“The key to this creative lighting technique is mixing studio strobes, a constant light source, camera movement, and shutter drag.

“Creative In-Camera Motion Blur”

Step 1: Use a strobe to light your subject. Anywhere that the strobe illuminates will be frozen in place.

Step 2: Introduce a constant light into the scene. This can be a modeling light, a work light, an LED, a flashlight… etc! In this case, I have chosen a Nanlite Pavo because it is inexpensive and has a full RGB range (plus it’s quite bright!)

Step 3: Change your shutter speed to a long/slow shutter speed. Start with somewhere around 1/8 to 1/20 of a second.

Step 4: Turn off all ambient light in the room (other than your purposeful constant light). This includes overhead lights, covering windows, and turning off modeling lights.

Step 5: Take a photo and move your camera or subject. Try zooming your camera, wiggling it side to side or a combination of both. This will create streaks of light across your image.

Pro tip: Select clothing or jewelry that has sparkle/shine. This is the best way to pick up the reflections of the constant light!”

Thank you, Adorama & Lindsay Adler for these great videos!