Photography Basics

Lesson 3: Camera Basics

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter remains open once you take your photo. With the manipulation of shutter speed, you can show fast action frozen or blurred to varying degrees. A fast shutter speed - like 1/500 - freezes motion like a waterfall or a child swinging at the playground. A slow shutter speed - like 1/30 - shows water blurred on the waterfall and the child as a blur on the swing.

Each full stop shutter setting is half (or double) the time of the next one, and is marked as the bottom part of the fraction of a second that the shutter stays open.

1 (or 1/1 stands for one second) 2 (1/2 second) 4 (1/4 second) 8 (1/8 second) and so on for 15, 30, 60,125, 250, 500 B (or bulb setting) keeps the shutter open for as long as the release button is held down.

Again, use a roll of film to experiment with various shutter speeds. Using water coming out of the tap or a fountain, try various shutter speeds. Take note. Which ones did you enjoy? The blurred look of water or the frozen-in-time look?

Sporting events are another great place to practice with your shutter speed. Take note, and see where you prefer the action…frozen or a blurred streak across the field? How about people on bikes or someone on a jump shot? All of these will work.

You’ve been introduced to the timing and lighting components within a camera. Use these to think about the structure of a photograph. In our next lesson, we’ll address lighting a subject.

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