6 Ways to Use Shutter Speed Creatively

In many ways, shutter speed is an inaccurate term. I read an article a few years ago and the photographer referred to shutter speed as shutter time. The logic was spot on. A shutter always opens or closes at the same "speed". The key value is how long the shutter stays open, hence shutter time. On Canon cameras the shutter speed function (shutter priority) on the mode dial is abbreviated to Tv, which stands for "Time Value", and is a more accurate description of what this article is about. I am going to refer to shutter time as opposed to shutter speed, it sounds crazy, but it will make more sense. The reason this definition is important is because, we are going to be looking at how you can use the time that the shutter is open (and gathering light onto the sensor) creatively.

In a sense, shutter time is a bit like time travel. You camera's shutter can open and shut in 1/8000th of a second. Think about that. Take one second, divide it by 8000 and one of those units is the time your shutter was open. That is very quick. On the other end of the spectrum, you can shoot super long exposures of 20 or 30 minutes. That means the shutter stays open for that length of time. Again, amazing. Think of all that light falling onto the sensor during that time, and the images that can be created doing so.

The shutter time becomes more than simply a moment in time, it could be a split second (literally) or a few seconds. The resulting image will capture and freeze the moment or, with a longer shutter time, there will be blurred movement. This is the fun part of photography. In many ways, your camera can "see" events that happen which you cannot. The camera can capture a frozen moment and suspend your subject in that moment forever, this is like magic. The compelling images are amazing to see and are reasonably easy to make, so let's take a look at a few of them and see how they are done.

6 Ways to Use Shutter Speed Creatively

1. Freezing the moment

These are the images we all know about; ones that have captured a frozen moment in time. Normally these are sports images, the winning goal, or the knockout punch connecting. They are intriguing to most people and are compelling because we can't freeze the moment in our eyes. We see a moving, continuous rendition of the events happening in front of us. You have seen "slo-mo" shots of the winning goal; the frozen moment image is that equivalent.

These images take a bit of practice to get right. Lets assume for a moment, you are photographing a soccer match. It is great to get action shots, but you will want to get any shots of the teams scoring goals. You will then need to have the correct lens. In sports photography, it will be a pretty long zoom or telephoto lens. Most sports photographers will use 400mm and longer. You will also need to keep your camera steady. A tripod in these cases is somewhat impractical as you need to be able to move the camera quickly and easily to follow the game. A monopod is normally what works best.

Depending on the lighting conditions you need to make sure you have a shutter time that captures the players in mid-action. You also need to take the lighting into consideration. If you are shooting in an outdoor arena, the natural light may be sufficient, but if you are in an indoor arena, you might need to be more aware of your exposure. In that case, you may need to push your ISO up high enough to allow you to freeze your subject. In most sports 1/1500th of a second is the starting point for freezing action. In very fast sports like ice hockey, soccer, rugby and so on, you may need to be shooting at even faster speeds than that. This is how you set up the shots.

Technique

How to do it: Set your aperture to an aperture setting of f/2.8 or f/4.5. This will allow for a quicker shutter time, which will in turn freeze the action. If you are shooting a sporting event in the sunlight, you may need to have your shutter time set to 1/1500 or faster. If this is still not freezing the action, make the shutter time even quicker. Try and anticipate the action and release the shutter at the moment you think it will happen. Be aware that your focus will need to be spot on. With a wide aperture, you run the risk of misfocusing and missing a shot. I once heard a sports photographer say this " If you see the goal in your viewfinder, you missed the shot". When you do get that shot though, it will be worth it.

2. The decisive moment

Henri Cartier-Bresson coined the phrase, "The Decisive Moment". Do a google image search on Cartier-Bresson and the decisive moment, you will see many of his great images. He was well known as a street and people photographer, and he believed that you need to choose the precise moment when something happens to hit the shutter release. As you can imagine, this is not easy. Sometimes this might mean you need quick reflexes.

Most of the time, it requires patience. He would often set up the shot, get the framing right and then wait. You don't want to wait for hours, but be patient, sit there for 20 or 30 minutes and watch the scene. Take note of how people are moving into, and out of your frame. When time is right, or the perfect subject (person, vehicle, animal, whatever you choose) moves into the best position, release your shutter at that moment. This will take practice and more than a few shots to get it right, but when you do, you will be ecstatic. The shot will look candid, but you will know what it took to get that image. Many people assume Cartier-Bresson's images were simply shot quickly from the hip, but much of the time they were planned and he waited patiently for the decisive moment.

Technique

How to do it: You need to think of a scene you would like to capture, visualize it. You may want to capture the comings and goings at a coffee shop in your city. You may want to have someone with a red coat sitting outside, sipping coffee. You should then set up and frame your shot, then sit there until the scene unfolds. Someone with a yellow jacket may sit down, which might work too. So be flexible, but be patient, sooner or later the shot will unfold.

3. Abstract and creative blur

As I said earlier, shutter time is a bit like time travel. You can capture an infinitesimally small slice of a moment, and in other cases you can capture seconds, or even minutes. When the shutter is open, light is coming through your lens and falling onto the cameras sensor. If you allow this to happen for a long enough time, some part of your image will blur. Sometimes blur in an image is unwanted. This happens when your shutter time is too long, your camera moves unintentionally, and the image is ruined.

A close-up image of a flower, shallow depth of field blurs the background, but the yellow stamens are in focus.

The kind of blur I am talking about here is intentional blur. This technique can be used to make slightly, or completely, abstract images, depending on the shutter time. The longer the shutter time, the more movement there is, and the more blur you will see. Blurring can be the result of your subject moving, you moving the camera, or both. If your subject is moving and the camera moves, the blur can be very dynamic. If your camera is on a tripod and the subject moves, this creates a sense of speed.

Technique

How to do it: Set your aperture to f/5.6 or higher (smaller opening). Attempt this in low light conditions, just before and just after sunset. Set your shutter time to 1/10th of a second or longer. Release the shutter and move the camera quickly from left to right. You can rotate the camera, move it up and down, or even just shake it in your hand while the shutter is open. In this technique, you will be moving the camera and the scene could have moving elements in it too (i.e. a car or a bus could be driving past, or people could be walking in the scene). The results will be random and unusual, but with practice, you can create some pretty compelling abstract images.

Camera swirl, this image was made by rotating the camera anti-clockwise while the shutter was open

4. Low light exposures

The goal in low light exposures is to have the scene in focus, and only one part in the scene moving. This is particularly interesting at night when you get light trails from a vehicle driving through your scene. You can do this in the early evening or evening if it has become dark. These images are compelling because the light trails from the vehicle seem to hang magically in the air while the vehicle itself is invisible. Another great time to shoot longer exposures is during the blue hour; the 20 to 30 minutes of soft blue light that fills the sky after the sun has set. This is a great time to do longer exposures too as the sky will look blue and your subject (a city or a landscape scene) will be well lit.

Technique

How to do it: Set your camera up on your tripod. Select an aperture setting of f/8 to f/11. Set your shutter time to expose correctly for the scene. Depending on the light your shutter time could be anywhere from 1/10th of a second to three or four seconds. As it gets darker, your shutter time will need to increase. Set yourself up in a position where something will be moving - cars, boats or even people can work well for this. Take a few shots to see how it is all working and make any adjustments. The important technique here is timing. If you want to get a shot with the car lights streaming through your shot, time it so that you release the shutter as the car is in the best place in your scene, similar to the decisive moment.

This scene works well because the light trails add some dynamic interest to the image

5. Long exposures

As the name suggests, these are longer shutter times. In some cases, they may be 20-30 seconds long, but for some really interesting images, you will want keep the shutter open for 15-20 minutes. Long exposures require the use of a 10 stop Neutral Density filter. This filter will block out the light sufficiently to allow you to open your shutter for long periods of time. The results can be amazing. You can use the ND filter in the day to make your shutter time longer. "Why would I want to do that?", you might ask. You might have a scene with a windmill in it and you want to blur the movement of the windmill as it rotates. You might also want to create a seascape scene where the waves look silky and smooth. In these cases, an ND filter will be very useful.

Technique

ISO 100, f/11, just under 13 minute exposure.

How to do it: Set up your camera on a tripod. Set your aperture to anywhere between f/11 and f/16. In these images, you will want to have an exposure time of 15-30 seconds and longer. You will need a cable release to go beyond 30 seconds on your exposure. You want a lot of movement in the scene, whether it is light trails or clouds moving across the sky. The longer you have the shutter open, the more surreal the image will become.

If you have an ND filter, set up your shot first, use autofocus to get everything in focus, then switch your camera to manual focus. The reason is, once you put the ND filter on your lens, the scene will become very dark. If your camera is on autofocus, it may struggle to find a focal point. If that happens, your lens will "hunt" for something to focus on and you won't be able to get the shot, or it may be out of focus. So, once you have focused your image, switch to manual focus and mount the ND filter onto your lens to make the shot. Be aware, long exposure photography can really eat up battery life, so carry spare batteries if you have them, especially on cold winter evenings!

This image was exposed for four minutes, which softened the water and the clouds

6. Panning

This technique, when done correctly, can produce amazing results, but it's not easy. Panning is when you focus on a subject that is moving, and you move your camera in a horizontal plane with them. During that movement, you will release the shutter. Your exposure time will depend on the subject and the light, but in this technique you don't want to freeze the action, you want to suggest movement. A longer shutter time is preferable, so you may be shooting at 1/30th or slower. To pan effectively, you will need to practice a few shots, here are some pointers.

Technique

How to do it: Firstly, stand with a wider stance than normal. When you pan with your subject, move your body from the hips up. Timing is key, release the shutter when you think the subject is in a good position in the frame. Follow through, don't stop the movement when you release the shutter, keep moving with your subject (and at the same speed as the subject) until the shutter closes (think golf swing).

A panning shot creates a very unique sense of movement.

The next step is to go out there and get these shots. I would recommend you make an effort to try at least 20 to 30 shots of each of these techniques. Play with the settings, see what works and what doesn't. Let me know what you think and maybe even put some of the results in the comments, lets see what you get.

The post 6 Ways to Use Shutter Speed Creatively by Barry J Brady appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Finding Great Subjects to Photograph Close to Home

You don't need to take expensive and exotic trips to make good images. So if staying at home is more your thing then a few simple ideas can help you create beautiful images. What you might view as commonplace and bland can still be photographed in an imaginative and skillful way to produce an image that shows a far more striking aspect of the subject or scene. I am not suggesting you get all creative with software manipulation either. I am suggesting explore your imagination and creativity; perhaps push your technical boundaries a little and this will further enhance your photographic skill.

The ability to take an everyday scene and construct from it a superb image will require your application of some or all of the following:

• vision to see the various elements that might be included in an image
• concentration and time to develop the idea and assimilate all the components
• awareness to recognize the potential of a color, shape and form
• observation to study the scene and time enough to mentally collate the aspects of the image and to try them out in camera
• willingness to try something new

This skill of making the mundane magnificent is not dependent on the type of camera and lens you use, it works with anything. My particular interest is nature and wildlife, but the skill can readily be applied to most of your chosen genres of photography.

Getting started

To start you should be looking for a spark or catalyst to kick off the mental process. This can be anything that takes your fancy such as color, shape, pattern or motion.

Once you have selected your particular environment, and isolated some elements for a composition, then take some time to arrange and rearrange them in your mind. Walk around, kneel, lie down and test different perspectives. Work the opportunity and let the image evolve, don't rush it. You may get a few strange looks in certain circumstances, but that is the price you pay.

Something simple like a field of rapeseed (or field of other flowers or crops depending on where you live) is a common, beautiful, bright yellow sight which also heralds the arrival of summer. The endless fields of yellow can be monotonous, but they can provide you with a colorful subject in their own right, or a backdrop for a smaller subject. You can use the color, the size of the field and the detail of individual flowers. Look about for a subject, choose a perspective and include other elements such as: blue sky, clouds, a tree, a car, a sunrise or sunset, or all of the above. Let the image unfold.

Finding subjects close to home

The images here are all taken this year, with this article in mind, all within a couple of miles of my house. This is to demonstrate that there is much on our doorsteps that might keep our photographic needs satisfied, well some of them at least.

Choose any patch of grass on a dewy morning and have a look for a good collection of dew drops and try a backlit shot. The sparkles and perfect shapes of the droplets make an intriguing subject. Here I have turned the image into a black and white just to emphasize the shape and patterns, but often you'll want to keep the lovely green of the grass.

Garden birds are probably the most accessible wildlife for you budding nature photographers. With some simple skills you can go beyond just taking a record shot, but can create lovely images. Place a bird feeder in a good position, with a decent background, and a thoughtfully placed perch and sit back and wait. Change the perch and change the background at will and you have a whole suite of different images available to you.

A sunrise over a meadow may be a regular occurrence in your home patch, but to make it a little different get down low in the vegetation. Here I have obstructed the sun with a tree at the edge of the meadow, and thus broken the sunlight up into many light sources coming through the foliage. The background is formed by selecting an aperture that provides sizeable circles of confusion (out of focus light sources) behind the subject. The subject is just a few seeding grass heads, but you can turn the simple into the stunning by constructing an image.

Vast fields of cultivated crops can provide you with a wonderful opportunity. A bright yellow rapeseed field for example. Look for something to isolate within the vast swathe of yellow that provides a point of interest in an image full of color. Sometimes it is simply a color that can spark your thinking, but spotting a dewy web provides a focus for the image. Prowling the edge of the fields on a bright and sunny day will also yield a lot of insect life, which could become your whole new world.

You can choose a different day and different weather to change your image. On a foggy day dewdrops collect on spider webs and can give you an abstract view of the rapeseed field. The spark here was the pattern effect of the drops and then the gorgeous yellow background.

This image was created by using a long lens that can accommodate a lot of foreground (has a lot of reach and you can stay back from the subject) and can throw the background and foreground out of focus with a shallow depth of field, while filling the frame. If you shoot into the sun, then the sunlight passing through the green foliage will bring out the bright, and almost luminous, green of the leaf with which you can compose the foreground and background. The spark was the beautiful color of the backlit green foliage, completely different from the front-lit color.

Sometimes simplicity is the only catchword you need to remember. Find a patch of wildflowers, pick the most concentrated spot and shoot away, picking various subjects. The color and the profusion will give you all you need to create an intriguing and colorful image.

Spring and summer are obviously the prime times for encountering wildlife, and therefore photographic subjects for your nature images are abundant. Unless you live in the tropics, the winter season can be a lot more mundane, so you are probably going to have to work harder. Colorful weeds and insects are always a feature of summer. Putting them together works a treat, although it may take some patience.

It is not all about your hands and knees or the hedgehog perspective, so a few leading lines and an old barn will give you a far superior image to a snapshot of endless cultivated fields. Throw in a few colorful wildflowers in the foreground, a dark stormy sky and the farm fields you drive past routinely may take on a new perspective.

A very sparse little patch of flowers, with color being their only redeeming quality, can still provide you with a good opportunity. This technique is purely an in-camera one and utilizes controlled motion of the lens. Slow the shutter speed (low light, low ISO, dull weather or a combination) and zoom in or out by hand while the shutter is open gives the resulting motion blur. This can be used in a variety of ways and once you start your imagination may take hold. If you don't have a zoom do the same with your prime lens but twist the camera in your hands.

So just to show you that you can make great images close to home with a little effort.

Do you have any other tips or tricks for finding ordinary things and making great photos? Please share in the comments below.

The post Finding Great Subjects to Photograph Close to Home by Richard Taylor appeared first on Digital Photography School.