Online Tutorials: Shutter Speed
Darren Smith Photography's photographic tutorials are aimed to teach anyone interested in photography the basics in how to operate their camera and what to consider when you move beyond taking "snaps".
This video is all about the shutter of a camera or device and how it affects your photographs.
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full transcript of the video above
Hello and welcome to the Darren Smith photography tutorials.
This video is how you the shutter speed of your camera affects your images.
The shutter speed is a measure how long the shutter remains open when the picture is taken, another name of this is the exposure time.
Traditionally a set of thin lightweight shutters that normally block the light from the media is moved away temporarily to allow the correct exposure to be made. With modern technology such as the use of mirrorless cameras and mobile phones, you and may not always be a shutter, however when the sensor is recording your image it is known as the shutter speed
Shutter speed can play a major role in the creativity of your photograph, and is not always about being precise, slowing the shutter speed can give the appearance of motion blur representing speed and movement in your image. Speeding up the shutter can freeze a fast-moving object to make it look as if time is stopped.
When photographing the same scene a slow shutter speed will let more light into your sensor, compared to a faster shutter speed, so, if you are changing your shutter speed you may also need to adjust your aperture and your ISO settings to achieve your desired results otherwise your photograph may not be exposed correctly. A little practice goes a long way to get the desired results the shutter speed of your camera is based on a scale that allows one stop of light between each setting
I do hope this is obvious, a shutter speed of 160th of a second will allow half as much light as one 80th of a second as it is exactly half the amount of time on your camera.
There is often an extra setting on the camera shutter speed dial called the bulb or B setting this is used to set an exposure time of over thirty seconds. This allows the shutter to remain open for as long as the release button is held down, this is very useful for night photography or Astro-photography as they require long shutter speeds to allow correct exposure.
If you choose to use this setting you need to have a consider the factors such as the aperture, how to make sure your camera does not move and any movement of the object you are photographing. If you are taking photographs with a standard range lens then a shutter speed of 160th of a second or faster then it is okay for you to handhold your camera, it is generally useful to consider the focal length to get the most appropriate shutter speed the general advice is your shutter speed should be one divided by the maximum focal length of your camera so if you have a 300mm lens you should have at least one three hundredths of a second shutter speed.
Modern lenses and cameras are also equipped with some form of vibration compensation which prevents camera shake, allowing more accurate photographs at slower shutter speeds, personally even with this technology, I always will use a tripod if my shutter speed goes below 1/40th of a second,
One serious bit of advice though about using vibration conversation is that you should always turn it off when securing your camera to a tripod or other fixed surface
If you are using slow shutter speeds in other words, longer than 1/40th of a second, then you should be thinking about using a tripod or something else to make sure your camera does not move. A good tripod will secure your camera and allow you to change your settings easily, when travelling, I will sometimes use a small beanbag to secure my camera especially if I cannot use my tripod. Alternatively, I could use a bag of rice. You will also need to minimize vibration when you press the shutter, so I recommend you make use of a remote shutter release to prevent your camera from moving this can be done using a cable a remote control or with modern cameras via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi with a smartphone app. Your camera probably also has a timer.
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