Let's Expose . . .SHUTTER SPEED

1st lesson on shooting in Manual Mode. BEAR WITH ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!!


The combination of shutter speed and aperture is exposure. In this lesson, we will focus on shutter speed.

Shutter Speeds are written as fractions of seconds - 1/x s(seconds). The shutter controls the amount of light that reaches the film (or digtal sensor) with the time it remains open. For instance, 1/16 s allows light to reach the sensor for 1/16th of a second.

1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1,2, 1 full second

Shutter speed on the left of the spectrum let in very little light whereas the speeds to the right let in more light. As the fraction size increases, more light is let in.

For example, 1/250 of a second lets in half the amount of light that 1/125 of s second lets in. And simliarly, 1/125 lets in twice the amount of light as 1/250 lets in. See the relationship of halves and doubles?

With shutter speed, you control the amount of movement (blur) by choosing the appropriate speed.

So everytime you take a picture, you must decide which shutter speed to use based on wheter you want a sharp subject of a picture that shows movement or blur.


HOMEWORK: SHOOT OUT SIDE IN THE SUN. You will be taking 2 different pictures of a moving object. One picture will show an example of a moving object that is SHARP (use a fast shutter speed) and the second one will be BLURRY (use a slow shutter speed).

YOU MAY NEED TO REFER TO YOUR CAMERA"S MANUAL TO SET SOME SETTINGS. Set your camera to it's MANUAL mode. Set ISO to 100 (the digital equivalent to FILM SPEED). Set your F/stop (more about f/stops next lesson) to f/16. Now, change your shutter speeds to see what happens when you let more or less light in as you take each picture.

FYI, in case it's too hard to see, the shutter speeds go from 1/60, 1/100, 1/200, 1/400 and the f stop stays at 16.