Shutter Speed: breakdown and exercise

Synopsis: This post features the importance of shutter speed, a definition and easily understood real life example, two photographs as examples of its effects, and basic information and an exercise suggestion which will allow you to go out, experiment, and learn on your own.


Intro:
Shutter speed is one of the first and most beneficial concepts to learn as a photographer. Sutter speed alone can completely change the look of an image. Understanding it will empower you to create an image that shouts your unique vision with intent and clarity. Adjustments to shutter speed can; articulate motion in an image, set a tranquil or surreal tone to an otherwise busy locale, and open doors to almost endless styles of image creation(such as light painting featured in my next post).

Definition and breakdown:
Let’s start by defining shutter speed and comparing it to a real life example in order to further understand it. According to photographer Benjamin Harte’s blog at http://benjaminharte.blogspot.com/2010/01/camera-basics-part-1-shutter-speed.html, “Shutter speed refers to the amount of time that the shutter is open (affecting the amount of light allowed into the camera) when the shutter button is pressed.” This may seem completely foreign or maybe it hasn’t been broken down well enough before. I think of it using a simple concept that anyone with eyes can relate to. You know when you look near or at the sun, maybe watching a bird fly by (I love, but do not recommend this), then shut your eyes and there are tracing trails of brilliant colors seemingly stained into your visual field? This is very similar to shutter speed. Your eye lids are the shutter, the sun is the light of the subject you are photographing, and the length of the trails represent the shutter speed. The longer you keep your eyes or the shutter opened while watching the bird fly by the sun the longer the trails are. To better understand let’s look at these two examples. I took two photos of the same fountain with the only difference being shutter speed.

Example 1:
The first image taken with a fast shutter speed seems to freeze the water of the fountain in place. Water droplets are well pronounced and are representative of points that float in air. The form of the springing water is shapely, momentary and irregular. The ripples in the water surface are glassy.

Example 2:
The second image taken with a slower shutter speed seems to capture the motion of the fountain. Water droplets are now represented as lines of trajectory. The form of the fountain spring takes a softer ghostly form. The water surface has less clear focus.

Basic exercise:
You don’t need to have a full understanding of shutter speed before you go out and experiment. Here are the basics that will help you go out and learn shutter speed hands on. There are many effects that can be achieved with the adjustment of shutter speed. There are also many different conditions that require faster or slower shutter speeds. Shutter speed is measured in time whether you are shooting with a digital or film camera. Long shutter speeds are measured in seconds usually from 1" to 30". Some cameras have a “BULB” feature in which the shutter stays open for as long as you hold the capture button down. Short shutter speeds are measured in fractions of seconds from 1/2 to about 1/4000. A good way to figure out shutter speed is to find a scene with consistent motion and experiment with these settings. A fountain or anything with a consistent speed will work best. Try shooting the subject with different shutter speeds and see what results. Ask yourself is the object blurry or clear? What does the background look like? Which speed looks best?