When everything is ready and set up, it’s time to start photographing!
You’ve already read Before Starting, so you know that while photographing your drawings, the camera and the tripod have to be absolutely stable. Watch out! It’s easy to kick the table and tripod by accident.
Take the first picture of the sequence with everything arranged just as you’ve set it up. Then, slightly move the figures that you want to animate and take the next photograph. Move the same figures again and take another photograph. Keep doing this until all your figures have done what you want them to do. It is very important to make small moves between taking each picture. Experience will help you get a better feeling for how much to move you figure each time.
It is much easier and fun to work with friends! If there are two of you, one can take the photographs and the other can move the character figures. If you are three, one can take the photos while the other two each move a figure.
When you have finished photographing your entire sequence, remove the camera from the tripod. Transfer your photos into a folder in your computer.
It is a good idea to name your project folder with a name which reminds you of the activity you have just photographed e.g. swimming fish.
Your characters and figures appear to move when you view the photos you took very quickly one after the other.
For this you will need to use video editing software. Many computers have this software already installed and, if not include a program that can be downloaded from the internet. Read about how to edit your film in the Before Starting chapter.