So, I have to offer a big, big, apology. I have been totally off my game on this photography series. I got the other two parts down right away, and then life (and no naps) happened.
If you missed them check out part one and part two.
So, today we are going to be talking about shutter speed.
It’s pretty self explanatory, but shutter speed is how long your shutter stays open for. The longer your shutter is open for, the more time your sensor in your camera is exposed to light.
Have you ever taken a picture only to go back and see that it is too dark? We call that underexposed, and it means not enough light reached your sensor.
When the lighting is darker, you need to lower your shutter speed (so that your shutter stays open longer) to allow more light to reach the sensor.
In the above pictures my shutter speed was too fast, which resulted in a too dark (underexposed) picture. By decreasing the shutter speed I allowed enough light to reach the sensor.
On the other hand when you have a lot of light you need to raise your shutter speed (so that the shutter is not open long) so that your sensor isn’t exposed to light for too long. Letting too much light in will result in an overexposed picture.
In the above pictures I had my shutter speed WAY to slow for a sunny day. See how washed out that first picture is? By increasing my shutter speed I was able to properly expose the picture.
So, besides exposure, how else does shutter speed affect your pictures?
Fast shutter speeds freeze motion, while slower speeds blurs motion.
Take a look at these pictures of Tahquamenon Falls (located in the UP of Michigan).
The picture on the left shows a slow shutter speed of 1 second (on my camera 1 second looks like this: 1″). Notice how the water seems to be flowing?
Then look at the picture on the right, with a fast shutter speed of 1/2000 of a second. See how it looks like the water has stopped moving?
Here are two more example showing how your shutter speed affects motion.
Notice how the paddle gets blurrier the more time the shutter is open?
A final example of shutter speed in relation to motion. Notice how at 2 seconds the lamb is just a streak?
So whats the take away?
Low light needs a slow (longer) shutter speed while lots of light needs a fast (shorter) shutter speed.
Slow shutter speeds blur motion, fast shutter speed frezees motion.
So what happens when you need to use a fast shutter speed (i.e want to freeze motion, or are taking a picture of a toddler who is always on the move), but are in a low light situation?
Then you need to start adjusting your aperture (if you missed my post about aperture check it out here).
Aperture and shutter speed go hand in hand when taking pictures.
And that my friends, is a lesson for another day. 😉