Since I’ve been a member of the Sasquatchers, the question I get asked most often is, “Wait you do what for a living?” The question I get asked second most often is “Why do I keep getting motion blur in my photos?”
It’s a common problem! Taking still photos of moving creatures in low light in the middle of the woods is pushing your equipment to its limits. Having the right equipment, assuming a solid stance with your legs spread apart, breathing out before you take the shot, and acting quickly are all things you can do as a photographer.
But it’s important to remember the Overseer’s role in all this, too. For starters: remember that your device has an accelerometer built in, so you want to make sure you grip the device tightly and hold it as still as possible. The accelerometer has absolutely nothing to do with motion blur, but these devices are expensive, so you want to make sure not to drop it!
What’s really important for the Overseer is planning, not execution. You want to have your photographer moving around as little as possible before taking a shot. That means bringing the cryptids to her, instead of moving her to get closer to the cryptids.
The Wrangler, Tank, has a bunch of skills that help with that. Cryptids are naturally attracted to him — his natural musk is honestly unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life — so they tend to gravitate towards him by default. If that’s not enough, he can use his “Lure” ability to kick up the attraction a notch.
In general, most cryptids seem to be attracted to people and to bright lights, so they’ll often come closer to take a look, but stay just outside of your light radius so that they can see you, but you can’t see them. And of course, sometimes they just look for the closest person to attack, who more often than not is the person holding the most expensive equipment and the least inclusive insurance plan.
Using the team to pull cryptids close — but not too close — is what lets your photographer move into place, ready to get steady and take a photo on the next turn. That’ll result in the clearest and most valuable photos. If you can fire off a shot before moving at all, that’ll even earn you a bonus for a steady shot.
Once you get used to it, it’s almost like a game! Maybe not your favorite game, but still pretty good.
Best,
Diane