What The Heck Is Shutter Speed?
Shutter speed is a pretty uncomplicated thing, that seems to complicate things easily. When it’s too high or low, your picture can look like nothing. When you aren’t in a bright enough place, a low shutter speed can make your baby blurry. When your picture is blurry, it can’t be rescued and must be scrapped… right? And how do we know what the right shutter speed is, anyway?
The questions will be answered today… read on.
What the heck is shutter speed?
It’s the amount of time your picture is exposed. If you are using film, it’s the amount of time light is hitting your film. If you are using digital, it’s the amount of time light is hitting your sensor.
How does shutter speed work?
Aperture Blades: Big and Little Openings
In your lens there are blades that form an opening. These are called aperture blades. Depending on your aperture/f-stop number, they will either make a big opening or a little opening. The bigger opening has a smaller number… the smaller opening has a bigger number. In other words, the more it closes, the bigger the number. An easy way to remember this is to think of body jewelry… a 14 gauge belly ring is much smaller than an 8 gauge.
When you choose your aperture number, you are telling your camera how much to close the blades. I will talk more about this in a separate post. Your shutter speed and ISO work together to let the right amount of light in to make your picture. Your shutter opens and light coming through the lens expose your film.
When choosing your shutter speed, you are deciding how long you want your picture exposed for… how long you want your shutter to open.
Avoiding Blurry Pictures
There are usually two sources of blur when your shutter speed is low = the photographer is moving or the subject is moving. A third source of blur is the environment itself, but that is not a concern in most cases. More about that later.
To control blur from yourself, you can do several things:
- Use a tripod.
- Stabilize yourself against a wall, on a table, or sitting down with your elbows on your knees (my favorite).
- Use a shutter speed that is at least equal to your focal length. If you are shooting at 50mm, use at least1/50th of a second. If you are shooting at 200mm, use at least1/200. If the lens is heavy or does not have IS, you probably want to go even faster.
To control blur from your subject, use a faster shutter speed. You will need to open up your lens more (larger aperture = smaller number) and/or raise your ISO. Every time you double your ISO, you can double your shutter speed.
Sometimes blur is not a bad thing! I enjoy a little blur every now and then… sometimes a LOT! The great thing about photography is that you can capture something in a single frame in a way that is never seen in person. You can convey a mood, tell a story, etc.
Bring On The Blur!
Henri Cartier-Bresson said, “Sharpness is a bourgeois concept.” Anyone who owns a Lensbaby
Documenting Movement
Use a shutter speed that is fast enough for you to hold the camera, but slow enough to show some movement of your subject. The is easy to do with babies, since they make quick, jerky movements when they are excited. All you have to do is stay still while your subject moves.
This shutter speed was quick enough to catch her smile and slow enough to capture her excited movements.
You can also do this in reverse - the technical term is panning. Instead of staying in one place, you move with your subject to capture background movement. It takes some practice.
I moved around with this guy while he swung wildly to capture this milestone moment.
This technique is a lot easier to pull off if you are on the moving object with the subject.
A slower shutter speed was used to capture this Willy Wonka-esque candid photo in a smokey train tunnel. I propped my elbows on the back on my seat.
This is ME! Taken by a friend. :D
Let Your True Colors Shine Through!
In What The Heck Is White Balance? I talked about color temperature. There are times when using only available light is not flattering (or bright enough) but you still want to capture that beautiful ambient light. You can use a longer shutter speed to pick up the available light after the flash has fired. I do this in manual by starting with a setting of about 1/60 and checking my histogram. I dial the flash up or down until it looks right and then raise my ISO and change my shutter speed until I record enough of the ambient light to satisfy me.
At this wedding, I used a long shutter speed to pick up the disco lights after using just a little bit of flash.
I fired a 580EX through an umbrella to soft the the light, then dragged the shutter to record the Christmas lights.
Painting With Light
You can drag the shutter late at night to create and/or capture some patterns can can’t see otherwise.
ME AGAIN! Taken by a family member. :D
I could do this forever, I really love long shutter speeds. But they are not always appropriate…
Freezing Action!
A fast shutter speed serves one purpose: to freeze action!
A fast shutter speed freezes splashing water.
A fast shutter speed freezes my daughter while she is pushed by her cousin.
