As I mentioned before in our previous Photo Tip Friday getting good exposure has several aspects. Today we are going to touch on shutter speed. The shutter speed controls the ability to blur or stop action. It is also puts a value on how long the exposure will take. (Another way to say this is how long or short the sensor of your camera is exposed to light.)

Shutter speed can be found as a dial on your camera. (Each camera has this dial in a different place so use to manual to find yours.) Once you have found your dial and if your camera is set to manual mode you will see it moves numbers from 60 to 80 to 100 and up. It also goes down. The important thing to remember if you are new to adjusting shutter speed yourself is that high numbers stop action and low numbers blur action. Finding the right shutter speed for your image is up to you, and what you’re shooting. Your lighting situation can also play a factor in what you choose. If you are shooting action shoots and you want to freeze the motion you will need a shutter speed that is very high, think around 500. If you are shooting images of people who are not moving then it can be lower. (My rule of thumb is never to go below a 100 for this.) Also, if you want some blur to your image, to capture the movement of an object, dropping down to 60 and lower will accomplish this.

Now, as you may remember aperture plays an important role in good creative exposure. But once you start to also understand shutter speed you must decide which of these two elements is most important to you when exposing your image. Personally, I think shutter speed should be your first priority when the scene offers action and you want to capture it.

I realize this is a lot to think about, to really learn more, and get some hands on practice we are hosting our next Camera Camp on January 14th. Click here to register.

Finally, we have another family to share from our summer of beach sessions. Enjoy!