Accelerated photography is a classic tool used to capture everything from urban traffic to cloudy skies. Read this article to make great time-lapse videos, whether it’s your first time or whether you’re a seasoned professional.
What is Accelerated Photography?
Accelerated photography is a cinematic technique in which a photographer takes a series of still images of the same image at regular intervals over a period of time. For more information, look these up. Indeed, individual photos taken of a flower that grows over time become a video showing how it moves from seeding to full bloom. The purpose of accelerated photography is to create the illusion of a high-speed movement, by manipulating time to give the impression that the subject is moving quickly. Accelerated photography is most often used to capture slow processes that would not normally be very visible if observed only with the human eye. For example, sunrise and sunset, the movement of stars during the night or the growth of plants. However, time intervals can also be used to capture fast movements and make them look even faster (for example, a waterfall, a crowded sidewalk in a city or a busy highway).
What equipment do you need for accelerated photography?
Accelerated photography requires only some special equipment such as:
- A camera: although technically any point-and-shoot camera or smartphone can be used for accelerated photography, the easiest to use are DSLR cameras or mirrorless cameras. Some even have a built-in camera intervallometer (often called time-lapse or time-lapse).
- A tripod: a tripod is essential for accelerated photography. Indeed, the camera must remain perfectly still in order to emphasize the regular movement of your subject and to avoid photos that are too blurry.
- An intervallometer: an intervallometer is an external device that tells the camera to take photos at specific intervals for a specific period of time. This saves you from having to stand next to your camera and manually press the trigger every second. Other equipment such as neutral density filters and high capacity memory cards can also be mentioned.