Judo and motion blur

[AgingEyes]

Hi all:

Unlike racing shots, I think it's kind of hard to achieve that sense of motion in a Judo photo that a panning shot can do to a speeding superbike one. So, I've been experimenting with motion blur in photoshop. It seems to me that instead of simply blurring the background, I can also let some parts of the competitors blurred and still can obtain some decent result. Below is an example of it. What do you think?



The other thing I can think of is to use a slower shutter speed. But then, comments I got on those shots were the competitors don't look sharp.

[brmill26]

The effect here looks great to me. I looked at the picture first (of course) and thought it was real until I read your description. To me, getting a sharp result is the most important, so if you have to use a high shutter speed to ensure that, then this post-process might be a good alternative.

[dhyravy]

I have to say that it does have a certain asthetic appeal in this shot. I like that the only face is sharp and it gives the impression of the speed that these competitors move at.

[Homer]

I think with this type of action the blur will work with some and not others, depending on the shot. In this case the blur shows the quickness of the take down and can go either way in my opinion.

Jim