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Home » blogging 101 » photography

Photography 101: Shutter Speed

Published: June 9, 2014 | Updated: October 23, 2016 | By Ashlee

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What is shutter speed?

Shutter speed sounds like what it is, how fast the shutter opens and closes. It is measured in fractions of a second. The slower the shutter speed, the more light that will enter your lens, while a fast shutter will let in less light.  I the example below you can see a perfect example at how shutter speed affects the light.

how-shutter-speed-affects-light(*The most important thing to remember is there is no magic number, in every situation your shutter speed will vary depending on the outcome of what you want.  Below is just an example of light, I can shoot outside on a sunny day and my shutter speed will be way faster than 1/250 and will not be dark.  Your ISO, your Shutter Speed and aperture will work hand and hand together, we will get there eventually!)

Motion

Shutter speed not only affects light, it also affect the way you capture motion.   Fast the shutter speed the more you freeze motion.  Think about your blinking eye while watching a child running toward you.  The faster you blink the less changes, the slower you close you eye the more motion you get in each frame.pinwheel-shutter-speed

How can I know what my shutter speed is on my camera?

On the back of your LCD screen it will look something like this.

where-to-find-your-shutter-speed

If you set your camera’s dial to either S (Nikon) or Av (Canon) it gives you the ability to control your shutter speed while your camera picks the other settings. Except ISO you still determine the ISO settings on all creative modes.  You can read about ISO HERE.

How slow is too slow?

This depends on what you are trying to do.  But for sure if you are hand holding your camera never go below 1/60th of a second, you hands have natural shake to them. If you plan on having a slower shutter speed than that use a tripod, and at times even a timer, or remote so that your hand pushing the shutter doesn’t cause movement.

Personally I rarely like my shutter speed to be less than 1/125th or so. OR if I am shooting with my 70-200mm lens, its big, its heavy and my hands shake, so I don’t like my shutter speed to be under 1/400th.  This means that if I need my shutter speed to be 1/400th, then I may have to raise my ISO higher to help bring in more light.

Here are some examples:

Slow Shutter Speed captures the flow of the water creating that soft look as well as the car lights, and writing those messages in sparklers. These would all be best with a tripod set on very low shutter speeds!

shutter_speed_2014_001 shutter_speed_2014_003shutter_speed_2014_005
Fast shutter speeds capture and freeze the motion, so you can see each drop of water more clearly.
shutter_speed_2014_002shutter_speed_2014_006shutter_speed_2014_007

 

Related Posts:

  • Understanding Google Analytics
    Understanding Google Analytics
  • Photography 101: ISO
    Photography 101: ISO
  • Introduction to Photography 101
    Introduction to Photography 101

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About Ashlee

With the right tips and tricks, I believe YOU can make, bake, or create anything. This is what I love to do - make some awesome, teach you how, and give you that boost of culinary confidence you need to rock your own kitchen! Read more...

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  1. Carrie

    June 15, 2014 at 7:22 pm

    Oh my gosh, I so look forward to your posts! A lot of this stuff I already knew, but it’s nice to have it drilled in my head :).
    Not only is just a plain ole bubble cool, you could use it to reflect whatever, maybe a family picture?!!! (If you could get the bubble to stay still long enough lol 😛 )

    Reply
  2. Kari

    August 26, 2015 at 8:46 pm

    When is your next blog/lesson? Like the above comment, I too already know most of this.. I have been too busy and have neglected my camera for a year now. This refreshes everything and is oiling up my creative gears and is making me crave more. 🙂

    Reply
  3. adam

    October 17, 2016 at 7:39 am

    this website is cool

    Reply
    • Ashlee

      January 29, 2017 at 1:10 am

      thank you so very much!

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