Lesson Two: Shutter Speed

This lesson from Two Peas focused on Shutter Speed. These images are shot in the TV (Shutter Priority) mode on my DSLR camera.

Your shutter speed controls how fast your shutter will close in order to capture your image. A faster shutter speed with freeze motion, where as a slower shutter speed will appear blurred. The higher your number.

(excerpt from TwoPeas:) When you set your shutter speed on your camera, you’ll see numbers like 60, 120, 250, 1000 and so on. These actually represent 1/60th of a second, 1/120th of a second and so on. So the higher the bottom number on the fraction, the faster the shutter speed. The smaller the number, the slower the shutter speed. You will also see shutter speeds for seconds, indicated by inch marks ("). For example, if the display says 1"5, that indicates a shutter speed of 1½ seconds. If the display says 30", the shutter will be open for 30 seconds. If you are below 1/60th, you should use a tripod.

Here are my example photos:

Shutter Speed: 1/1000; Aperture f/4.5; Focal Length: 50mm; ISO: 3200

Shutter Speed: 1/60; Aperture: f/7.1; Focal Length: 80mm; ISO: 1600

Here are a few more examples, these were taken with an external flash (the above were not). Take note of how the water stream appears more detailed as the shutter speed increases....

Shutter Speed: 1/2"; Aperture: f/25; Focal Length: 140mm; ISO: 400

Shutter Speed: 1/40; Aperture: f/5.6; Focal Length: 140mm; ISO 400

Shutter Speed: 1/100; Aperture: f/5.6; Focal Length: 145mm; ISO: 400

Shutter Speed: 1/200; Aperture: f/5.6; Focal Length: 145mm; ISO: 400

So the basic thing to take from this lesson is this: "The faster the shutter speed, the faster the camera will take the photo. The slower the shutter speed, the slower the camera will take the photo."

PS: I recommend doing this lesson somewhere that offers a lot of natural light. I did this on a crappy, snowy day - as a result the photos were craptastic!