Have you ever heard the term ‘dragging the shutter’? You might know it from wedding photography, especially when capturing people dancing at a wedding reception. But did you know you can also use this technique for art nude and boudoir photoshoots? It’s a fun and creative way to add movement and energy to your pictures!
I first learned how to drag the shutter while working as a wedding photographer. Clients would often ask for photos with this style because it creates stunning images with lots of motion and light. The best part is, dragging the shutter is easy to try, and you can get great results with some practice!
Why should you try 'dragging the shutter'?
Trying new photography techniques is always exciting! Adding dragging the shutter to your skill set will help you create more dynamic and interesting photos. The cool thing is that you can combine this technique with others to get even better effects.
If you love learning new things, mastering this technique will feel amazing when you start seeing your photos come to life!
What is 'dragging the shutter'?
In simple terms, dragging the shutter means you capture a clear, still subject while also recording light trails and motion in the photo. This creates an awesome effect where you can see both movement and a frozen moment in one image. It’s perfect for showing energy in a photo, whether it’s someone dancing or creating unique boudoir and art nude shoots.
The technique works best for adding movement to your photos, making them feel more alive and energetic!
How to 'drag the shutter' in event photography
Here’s how I used dragging the shutter for wedding receptions:
- Set Your Exposure: Start with an f/8 aperture and a shutter speed around 1/8th or 1/13th of a second.
- Find light trails: With your base exposure dialled in, try to capture light trails from things like fairy lights or disco lights. Move your camera until you get these lights registering in a way that looks good – think bright streaks across your photo like the purple light above. Adjust the ISO to make the trails brighter or darker.
- Add Flash to Freeze the Subject: Once the ambient light exposure looks good, add a flash to freeze the subject in place. I usually point the flash directly at the subject, even though it can feel bright or harsh. I use flash on auto and tweak brightness as needed.
- Put it all together: As you press the shutter, make sure you really move your camera—pan it, rotate it, or zoom in and out. This movement will create beautiful light trails and blur around your subject.
Troubleshooting: common problems when dragging the shutter
Not sure why your results aren’t perfect? Here’s how to fix common issues:
- Not enough light? Increase your ISO for more ambient light.
- Not enough light trails? Slow down your shutter speed or move the camera more, many of my shots are at 1.0 shutter speed!
- Too many light trails? Speed up your shutter or move the camera less.
- Subject out of focus? Try a smaller aperture like f/11 or f/14.
Using a softbox and 'dragging the shutter' for art nude and boudoir photography
Dragging the shutter isn’t just great for weddings—it works wonderfully in the studio too, especially for art nude and boudoir photography!
In the examples in this article, I first used colour gelled lights to create light streaks on a dark background. The subject wasn’t visible at first, only the colourful streaks. Then, I added a softbox to light the subject and create a studio style portrait.
I asked the model to move and dance, and then took lots of photos while making a variety of different camera movements. The results were really interesting!
Should you try 'dragging the shutter'?
Definitely! Dragging the shutter is a super fun technique to try, and it will give your photos more energy and creativity. Whether you’re doing wedding, boudoir, or art nude photography, you can add this trick to your toolkit and create amazing images.
Feel free to email me if you try it out—I’d love to hear how it goes!
