Shutter Speed explained

How is the manual setting working for you?  Have you started to get the hang of it?     This is part three of our trilogy of Aperture, ISO and Shutter Speed.

Shutter Speed is exactly how it sounds…. it controls the speed in which the shutter opens and closes.  The longer it stays open the more light is let in.  The shutter speed is an important aspect in this ratio because there are so many different ways that you can use it.

If you want to capture an action shot in a “freeze frame” sort of way you will need to set the shutter speed to a fast speed to capture the action.

 Pretty simple right?  Just remember all that we learned before about the Aperture and ISO… then you can adjust those accordingly along with your shutter speed.

These next few pics will show what the different shutter speeds can help you achieve.

This first shot was taken with a 1/4s shutter speed.  You can see that this speed was WAY too slow for the action I was trying to capture!

This next one was taken at 1/200… much better!  Each step faster on the shutter speed doubles the speed.  So you can see how much faster this speed is than the last.

 These next two photos we took on a camping trip about 3 years ago.   This was super simple to take.  The shutter speed here was 10 seconds long.  It was pitch black outside and my husband had a flashlight.   When I said go he took the flashlight and waved it around in shapes.  I just made sure that I stayed really still so I didn’t get a lot of camera shake, but next time I will use a tripod.  Here is the heart:

 Here is the love pic.  It’s funny to me that we ended up naming our 3rd daughter’s middle name Love and here we were, writing her name with a flashlight, before she was even known! 😉

 The next photography tips will be about the meter… so stay tuned.  I can’t promise when that will be because I obviously took my time getting this one out! 😉

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