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

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:

  1. Use a tripod.
  2. Stabilize yourself against a wall, on a table, or sitting down with your elbows on your knees (my favorite). 
  3. 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 agrees. In addition to creating blur via a shallow depth-of-field, you can use your shutter speed to create some sweet art!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 firing my flash.

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 soften the light, then dragged the shutter to record the Christmas lights.

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.  

It's ME again! Taken by a family member!

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 splashing water.

A fast shutter speed freezes my daughter while she is pushed by her cousin.

A fast shutter speed freezes my daughter while she is pushed by her cousin.

Child Photography, flickr Group of the Week

Here at MBP, we like to feature great baby and kid photos from groups on flickr. This week we picked a group called Child Photography.

Child Photography is “a place to share your pictures and discuss photographic techniques. Where those wanting to improving their picture taking of children can come together to discuss techniques, share tips, critque each others images, and generally other support for each other.”

Shawn Zinke, Mike Costolo and moderator Rebecca Pettigrew have managed to build a healthy membership of over 7,000 members and 80,000 photos. They are open to everybody from amateurs to the more professional and encourage sharing tips and your creations with others.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the group:

The dreamer

It's raining men

Poseprints for Baby Shower Invitations and Birth Announcements

Today I got a tip to try out Poseprints. This site allows you to build caricatures using different features so you can create a likeness of your pregnant friend for a shower invite or make a cute cartoon of your baby for a birth announcement.

How It Works
Say you’re shopping for baby shower invitations. Start the design process by choosing the background. Then the fun begins! The choices are almost limitless. Choose a blonde ponytail or a dark brown shag. Maybe your shower honoree is a redhead with wavy long hair, yep, there’s an option for that, too. With choices like blue doe eyes, green almond eyes, big brown eyes, you can find the right match. Then go on to lip hue and smile type. Next, you guessed it, clothing. Is she a black turtleneck kind of girl? Maybe she’s the strappy maternity dress type. The colors and designs allow you to dress her in the style to which she’s accustomed. Accessories? Check. Make her a girly girl with earrings and bangles, show her studious (or nearsighted) side with eyeglasses, or give her movie star glamour with sunglasses. You can even give her dimples. Now, if your friend is really a diva, for the crowning touch, give her a tiara. Maybe she’s more the type to wear a hair band or flower in her hair, those are available. For couples showers you can opt to add a second person to represent Dad - and if you like, dress him up and give him a mustache!

For birth announcements, no likeness could possibly compare to your beautiful baby’s. However, if you’re going for something a bit quirky and clever, read on! Again, you begin by choosing the background, then the skin tone, complete with rosy cheeks. Next is hair color and style, with choices like light brown fuzz, blonde baby pigtails, or a single curl on top. For the totally bald baby, you might choose a hat in pink, blue, or ivory. Then, the eyes have it - sorry, I couldn’t resist! Options include closed eyes, big eyes, almond eyes, and small eyes in your choice of color. For baby’s mouth, give her a passy or a wide, open-mouthed grin. If you’re a procrastinator like me, and send the birth announcements when your child is six months old, you may opt for a smile that includes a top or bottom tooth. The toothed smile is also a good choice for a first birthday party invitation. Dress the baby up or down, choosing from overalls to frilly gowns. For further detail, add dimples, hair bows, or a headband for the baby girl with not much hair. 

Perhaps you don’t see the exact hairstyle, hair color, or face shape you need. Simple requests, like an existing hairstyle in a different color can be quickly added to the site. Custom features, like specialized clothing or backgrounds can be created for an additional, upfront charge.

 User friendliness

Poseprints is extremely easy to use, not to mention addictive! From choosing the background to making design decisions, you’ll find no complicated processes. Adding text is simple with a lined template. Before placing your order, you can preview your card for the final proof.

Baby Girl Thank You Notes

Questions/Technical Support

Having a problem? A frequently asked questions section may help. If you don’t find an answer there, call or e-mail customer service for a fast response. My e-mailed question was answered within FIVE minutes with a courteous response from a human being - not an automated do-not-reply, “here’s your case number” deal.

Shipping times

According to the frequently asked questions tab, you should allow 3-5 business days for processing your printed order. You choose the shipping method for the speed and price that best suits your needs. Overnight delivery is available (after processing).

Baby & Sibling Birth Announcement

Price vs. Value

For the purposes of invitations or announcements, the cards are 5 ½” x 4 1/8″ printed on heavy white matte paper. The cost is $2 per card, including envelopes, which for this type of service, is hard to beat. Poseprints also offers packaged cards at the same rate - think thank you notes or stationery, as well as notepads (5″x7″ size, you get 4 pads with 50 sheets each).

If you’d like to send your “pose card” electronically, you may do so at no charge. There’s also an option to save your design for your MySpace page.

Check out Poseprints. If you’re like me, once you see it, you’ll be hooked. You’ll be thinking up reasons to have a party! Happy Hunting.

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