Week 5 photo

Shutter Speed

The Shutter Speed is the amount of time that the shutter curtain remains open to let thelight pass through and reach the sensor.

Shutter speed is measured in seconds, ranging from thousandths of a second to a number of seconds. This speed determines the clarity of your image. Your shutter speed scale might range from 1/4000th second to 30 whole seconds (shown as 1/4000 and 30”on most cameras)The longer the shutter is open for, the more light the sensor is exposed to. A shutter speed of 1 second allows 30 times more light in than a shutter speed of 1/30th second.

-A long (slow) shutter speed will ‘blur’ any action inan image and show movement.

-A short (fast) shutter speed will ‘freeze’ any motion.

There is no correct shutter speed in any given situation but rather it depends on what effect you want toachieve.

Very fast shutter speeds (1/500,

1/800, 1/1000) areoften used in sports

photography to freeze motion in

the subjects.

How fast your shutter speed is will vary depending on how fast your subject is. Very fast subjects need faster shutter speeds to freeze motion.

Developing an intuition for what shutter speed needs to be used to freeze different subjects takes time, but with plenty of practice and experimenting you will get a good idea of what works.

Fast shutter speeds have an interesting effect on

water. Very fast (1/1000 or more) will freeze water

drops.

Long Shutter Speeds….

In most cases you’ll probably be using shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second or faster.

This is because anything slower it is very difficult to use without getting camera shake. Camera shake is when your camera moves while the shutter is open and results in blur in your photos, and should not be mistaken for intentional blur. Through practice and special techniques such as bracing the camera, arms, or body to minimize camera movement longer shutter speeds can be used without blur. If a shutter speed is too slow for hand holding, a camera support- usually a tripod - must be used.

Settings…

Go into London or St Albans and take a series of Photographs using a a range of shutter speeds. It would useful to take a number of photographs of the same subject to see the difference.

PANNINGWhen photographing a moving subject, a panning technique can be used to keep the subject in the same position ofthe frame and freeze motion whilst allowing the background to blur due to the motion of the camera.

NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY.

This week……-Present your ‘Depth of Field’ photographs. Annotate what F stops they are and explain about Aperture settings.

- Create a double page on a photographer who uses shutter speed effectively

- Complete your shutter speed task and bring in memory card and camera.

Deadline: Tuesday 10th October(you will need your DSLR camera + SLR camera on this date!)

Extra marks… -Try ‘Panning’ or‘Night Photography’