Sequence

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What is a sequence in photography?

A sequence, sometimes called an image sequence, is created by using editing software such as Photoshop, to combine all photos from a camera burst into a single image. This single image then shows the path of an object or subject.

This technique is often used in action sports photography in order to depict an athlete performing a trick or extreme feat that would be difficult to document or understand with a single frame photo. A sequence is created by shooting with your camera in burst mode to fire off a quick series of back-to-back photos.

Dan Carr Red Bul Illume
My own award-winning sequence of a professional skier.

Although popular with sports photographers, it can also be a fun technique to practice at home with your kids or pets as they run around outside or jump into a pool. For it to be effective, you should set your camera to shoot in a burst mode that shoot images at between 3 and 10 frames-per-second. Even though many cameras actually shoot faster than that, you simply end up with too many overlapping images and it greatly complicates the construction of the sequence in Photoshop.

Here’s another sequence that I created of the same skier.