Shutter Speed
The SLR Camera
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As you do this, you notice the image briefly disappear from the viewfinder. There is also the familiar sound of the "camera click" as the whole mechanism works.
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The Shutter |
The shutter and the aperture |
Camera Controls 2
Shutter Speed
Now you have taken control of your camera what will you do with it. Have a look at some of the examples below where shutterspeed plays an important part in the technique the photographer uses.
Slow Shutter Speed by Robert Mapelthorpe
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Fast Shutter Speed
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Fast Shutter Speed by Philippe Halsman
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What is Shutterspeed?
The shutter speed, then, is just how long that barrier stays open to let light into the image. Shutter speed is how long an image is exposed to light — it can be milliseconds, or even minutes. As one of three elements that affect how light or dark an image is (called exposure), understanding shutter speed is essential to taking full creative control of the camera. If the shutter is left open for a long time, the lens will let in a lot of light, and unless you are shooting a very dark scene, the image will be too bright, or overexposed. If the shutter speed is too quick, on the other hand, the photograph will be too dark.
So what’s the right shutter speed? That depends on how much light is in the scene. Outdoors on a sunny day, you’ll need a quick shutter speed, like 1/500. Indoors, you’ll need to slow it down a bit — perhaps 1/100.
So what’s the right shutter speed? That depends on how much light is in the scene. Outdoors on a sunny day, you’ll need a quick shutter speed, like 1/500. Indoors, you’ll need to slow it down a bit — perhaps 1/100.
How to set up your camera
If you are having problems making this work make sure your camera is set up correctly. This may mean you have to get out your manual to find out how to change your settings but it will be worth it. Make sure your camera is set to focus on the centre spot and lock focus. On most cameras this is called One Shot
Share Your Best Images
Take time to share with the group a couple of you images from the "In and Out of Focus" project. Perhaps you are particularly pleased with some of your results, or perhaps something went specularly wrong and you don't know why. Either way it helps everyone if we share our High points and a low point so we can all learn together. Click on the link to the shared Google Photos folder and upload a few images to get the conversation started.