Shutter Speed Fun For DSLR Newbies #Photography

DSLR photography is my new hobby, and of course my favorite subjects are my boys! I am still learning a lot about the different aspects of getting great shots, and after having fun with aperture last time, I turned to shutter speed this last week.

Shutter speed has incredible affects on photography, and this last week I’ve had fun playing around with the shutter speed of my DSLR camera and seeing what kind of results I can get. I always assumed that when it comes to shutter speed, the faster the better (because super fast shutter speeds produce sharper pictures, less blur from movement). In a nutshell, shorter shutter speeds = sharper pictures and less time light hits the sensor, and longer shutter speeds = more time light reaches sensor, lighter exposure, and more capture of movement.

Then I learned that blur is sometimes a great thing in photography (and not just in the background), especially when you are using pictures to tell a story and want to show movement (or the implication of movement) in your pictures. So, to test it out, I went out last night and took a bunch of photos from a highway overpass at different shutter speeds.

Please note: I didn’t have the benefit of a tripod (all these photos are handheld) so if they seem shaky…well, they are, especially at the slower shutter speeds, but the results are still obvious- the slower you go, the more blur from movement you get!

Taken at 1/200 (this high shutter speed freezes movement; the cars look like they are parked):

1/50 (shows blurring at this slower speed, but not really the effect I’m looking for):

Taken at shutter speed 1/4 (shows more “implication of movement”):

Taken at shutter speed 2″ (amazing creative effect, movement is captured at this very slow shutter speed- because the shutter is open for two whole seconds, all images, movement, and light that hits the sensor during the time is captured):

Isn’t that cool? I love discovering that aperture isn’t the only way to make your photography more artistic, and that shutter speed can help to create incredibly fun photos as well. This effect of implication of movement would be fun at a race, capturing a plane, photographing a beautifully lit moving ferris wheel at night, waterfalls, etc…anywhere that the implication of motion would make an interesting photographic effect.

Shutter speed is the second part of the exposure triangle. I discussed aperture in photography last time, and ISO is the final aspect of the exposure triangle (stay tuned for a post about that). The combination of these three factors in balance create “correct” exposures- not over or underexposed- and a sensor on your camera determines how close you are to a correct exposure. By adjusting one of the three to create a specific result or effect, and adjusting the other aspects to maintain the ratio or balance, you can have a range of correctly exposed photos of the same subject, all looking very different…it’s wonderful!

Stay tuned for more DSLR photography tutorials, including some fun tricks I’ve been learning with my facebook photography group!

PS After seeing these photos, my husband said I can go ahead and invest in a good tripod 😉