Shutter speed might be less complicated than aperture, but the effects of this setting can play a big role in your photographs. The shutter is your cameras barrier to the world. When the shutter is open, the world is flowing onto your camera sensor, or film. Knowing how long to let this detail past your shutter is what makes shutter speed an intricate part of the exposure triangle.
Before we dive into this article, I will only be talking about shutter speed. There are more nuances to this mechanic that play a role in choosing a shutter speed. For now though, we will look at what shutter speed does, and why you would play with this aspect of photography. I also want to note that I use light and detail as interchangeable terms.
There are two main reasons many people will want to play with shutter speeds. The first is to portray motion in a still image, while the second is to control the flow of light. Let’s dive into each of these setups and look at their use and why you might consider one shutter speed over another.
Starting off, the control of motion is quite possibly the most widely used trick for shutter speed manipulation. Shutter speeds come in measurements of time. For example, you might see a photos metadata listing a shutter speed of 1/125. This means the photo was captured at 125th of a second. Shutter speeds can range from hours, to fractions of a second as quickly as 1/8000th of a second. Read More→
This is where you would expect me to tell you about my life, how awesome I am, or why I am so superior to other people in this line of business. I would enjoy telling you how I have wrestled grizzly bears 10 feet tall. Maybe you would like hearing how I have taken on Velociraptors in my days as a young man. Even better is the story how I have traveled to the furthest reaches of space to stop catastrophic alien invasions. The problem will be that you might not believe my awesome stories.
I will keep these awesome stories for the campfire though. I’m just a man, taking pictures, trying to make a living. I ditched my education in computers in favor of pursuing my passion for photography. I enjoy a good cold beer on a warm day. I have a fondness of the outdoors.. I have enjoyed years capturing life’s unscripted moments. Hopefully, I can enjoy many more years of slacking off without fear of those grizzlies taking me out before my time.
My Philosophy is to capture those non-scripted moments. To capture the little details that this world really has to offer. From weddings to insects, I enjoy capturing the life, the details, and the moments that come and go in a flash.