Week 5 – Shutter Speeds

Picture 1 – Long Exposure setting – slow shutter speed emulator Picture 2 – “Burst” setting – fast shutter speed emulator

The second photo is an example of a fast shutter speed, which is capable of capturing dynamic movement with minimal to no blur, as opposed to a slow shutter speed, which allows more light to enter the camera and creates more of a blur affect. This is because the shutter speed is the amount of time a camera shutter is open when capturing an image, which determines how much light is exposed to the camera sensor. As seen in the second photo, a fast shutter speed allows a large amount of photos to be taken quickly, almost freezing a moment in time.

Another way to capture light is by raising the ISO setting on a camera. This can be less effective when trying to capture certain professional images, since increasing this also affects the graininess and overall quality of your pictures. ISO sensitivity also goes up in numbers, for example 100, 400, 1600. Most modern cameras have an an “auto” mode, which guesses the necessary setting for the lighting conditions you’re in. This works just fine for most conditions, however it may need to be manually changed if you’re in a very dark or light location.