Shutter speed | contest

This is the speed with which your shutter (this is like a little curtain that opens and closes to let light fall on your sensor) closes to take a shot.

Or the other way around: this is how long your lens is open to let light in on your sensor. Depending on your circumstances you need a fast shutter speed of maybe a really low shutter speed, like trying to take a picture of the stars! Your light circumstances are very important in this. For instance: if it is a bright sunny day there is a lot of light around you, so changes are you only need a short shutter speed. But when it is evening or cloudy your lens needs to open longer to let enough light in.

But besides the weather, your subject also determines your shutter speed: if you want to picture a running cheetah, you can imagine your shutter speed has to be pretty fast as well, while that is of less importance when you take a picture of the mountains. You will see that when your shutter speed is slower than the movement of your subject you will still see this movement in your picture. This, by the way, is not a bad thing! Contrary: it can make your pictures a lot more dynamic and interesting! Try it out!

See the effect of shutter speed on the waterfall:

In the picture on the left we have used a fast shutterspeed, fast enough to “freeze” the falling water. However, in the right picture you can see the water becoming “soft” because the shutter speed is slower than the speed of the water.

So…..if you have paid attention, you now know that both aperture and shutter speed influence the amount of light that falls on the sensor, right? So, where do you start? It is all about prioritizing what you want. Do you want to shoot a portrait, than you know depth-of-field is most important and you start by choosing your aperture. The shutter speed is secondary. Only when it gives you troubles (for instance check out the section about unwanted movement) you need to reconsider.

Scenario 1: portrait
You would like to have the focus on the face and blur out the background, so you know aperture is the most important feature now.
- choose Av
- set you aperture between F3 and F6
- your camera decides the shutter speed
- when you find it is over or underexposed you can adjust the ISO

But when you are at the football field and you want to capture some good action, you know shutter speed is the thing to go for first.

Scenario 2: sports
You know people will move fast so you decide that shutter speed is the most important feature.
- choose Tv
- set it on 1/800 to start with (adjust that depending on your subject: race cars might need a faster shutterspeed for example)
- your camera decides the aperture
- when you find it is over- or underexposed you can try to adjust the ISO