Photography Lesson: Why is Shutter Speed Important?

It's time for another important photography lesson!

If you're a veteran to photography, there's a really good chance you know exactly what shutter speed is and how to use it, and nothing I say here will help you. However.......if you're new to photography, one thing you must know is shutter speed is VERY IMPORTANT to proper photo composition. So let's dive right in.

First of all, what is shutter speed? Shutter Speed is the length of time it takes to snap a picture. That wasn't too hard, was it? Why so important, you ask? Well, faster shutter speeds will freeze the motion of whatever you are shooting. At a slower shutter speed, motion can still occur during the shutter click because the click is not immediate. However, slower shutter speeds also allow more light to enter the sensor, creating a brighter (therefore better) picture. Slower shutter speeds are used when light is scarce, similar to aperture.

So basically, it's always best to used the fastest shutter speed that your light will allow, right? Well, not necessarily. It all depends on the creativity you're going for. Have you ever seen those pictures of running water that looked fairy tale smooth? That is not a post processing trick, that effect is created by using a slow shutter speed.


1sec - f/22 - ISO100

The above picture was taken on a cloudy day in a heavily shaded area. What you'll notice about the photo properties is that 1) there is quite a long shutter click of 1 second 2) the f-stop is set at 22 to let very minimal light into the lens/sensor (remember the aperture lesson?) 3) the ISO is set at the camera minimum, so no extra light will be gathered or fabricated (if you don't understand ISO yet, it's ok, I'll do a lesson on it soon enough). So, because the shutter speed is letting extra light in, I had to adjust the other camera settings to combat that. Even though I don't consider this a very good picture, I still got lucky. The sun peaked back out, and even though it was shady where I was, this is the best I could get in broad daylight.


1/2sec - f/22 - ISO100

1sec - f/22 - ISO100

As you can see, the above pictures are very washed out in some areas, the water especially. I even halved the shutter speed in the first one to cut down on light but still had no success. These type of artsy, creative pictures are best taken at daybreak, dusk, or with heavy clouds or shade (just make sure you adjust your white balance accordingly). Also, special filters can be purchased to make long exposures possible in broad daylight.

As in all the above pictures, longer exposures will require a tripod. It's just too hard to hold the camera that still for even a second or two. Another tool I find very helpful is an shutter remote. This lets you click the shutter without touching the camera (therefore you won't bump/move the camera at all).

I'm not going to tell you how to adjust the shutter speed on your camera, since all cameras are different, but I do know that Canon (which I shoot with) has a shutter priority mode abbreviated Tv on the mode dial. I hope this lesson helped out with your knowledge of shutter speed. If you enjoyed reading and found this article helpful, please LIKE ME ON FACEBOOK and share photos of your new found shutter speed skills! I'll leave you with some crazy self-portrait type pictures that were taken at night with extremely long shutter speeds (5-10 seconds). These are the cool type of photos shutter speed practice can produce. The below photographs were not edited or post processed in any way. I took these photographs with a camera that I bought used for $60 and a cheaper lens. I'm only telling you this to stress it's not the equipment you use, but the creativity you use it with.

 

Until next time......

- Jarvis Creative