How to Create a Motion Effect in Photography Using Continuous Light and Flash

In this image I wanted to freeze the motion of the model and at the same time feel the movement, and I therefore mixed flash light and continuous light. To see the blur of the continuous light it is important to have a dark background and a model with bright clothes. Neither the continuous light nor the flash light do influence the black background.

The exposure time is 1.6”, while the model is moving, a continuous light (in this case the modelling light of a Pulso-G head, with 650W) illuminates the back of the model, while his face remains dark. As the modelling light of the Pulso-G is a tungsten light, the colour temperature is much warmer than the one of the flash. To avoid different colours in the image, the photo is taken in black and white. It would of course be possible to use conversion filters to avoid different colours.

To freeze the motion and see the model’s face, a flashlight in the Para 88 illuminates his face and front. The flashlight, which is flashing three times from the Para, has a short flash duration of about 1/5000 s and no modelling light. The Scoro (where the Pulso-G is plugged in) is programmed with a delay of 0.3”, a sequence of 3 flashes and an interval of 0.4” between the flashes.

This picture is shot with a 35mm format camera and a focal length of 73mm.

The exposure time was 1.6” and the aperture f/13