It’s time for more photography tips by Cali from Cali Stoddard Photography. This time we are talking about shutter speed.
Make sure you’ve read part 1 about EXPOSURE and part 2 about APERTURE!
SHUTTER SPEED: The length of time the camera’s shutter is open. (Measured usually in fractions of seconds)
The shutter is what “clicks” when you take the photo, and the length of the shutter is what determines how much light enters your camera.
The LONGER the shutter stays open: the MORE LIGHT enters the camera
The SHORTER the shutter is open: the LESS LIGHT enters into the camera
Just like the purpose of Aperture is to determine how much of the photo is in focus, The purpose of shutter speed is to capture motion.
Slow shutter speeds capture motion:
Fast shutter speeds freeze motion:
Make sure and practice with various shutter speeds! When I am taking pictures of my kids, I never go slower than 1/80– because if you do, the picture is sure to be blurry. Keep your shutter speeds as fast as possible to freeze kid motion. If there’s not enough light when you are already at 1/80, lower the aperture as much as possible.. and if there’s still not enough light… hike up that ISO! (which we’ll talk about next time!)