What Shutter Speed Should I Use

– shutter speed is ‘the amount of time that the shutter is open

Back in the days when all you had was film before the world of digital cameras shutter speed was the length of time the film was exposed to the your subject. In digital photography it is very much the same. It is the time your sensor sees the scene you are shooting.

I will try to explain this further.

• # Shutter speeds available to you on your camera will usually double (approximately) with each setting. As a result you’ll usually have the options for the following shutter speeds – 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8 etc. This ‘doubling’ is handy to keep in mind as aperture settings also double the amount of light that is let in – as a result increasing shutter speed by one stop and decreasing aperture by one stop should give you similar exposure levels (but we’ll talk more about this in a future post).
• # Some cameras also give you the option for very slow shutter speeds that are not fractions of seconds but are measured in seconds (for example 1 second, 10 seconds, 30 seconds etc). These are used in very low light situations, when you’re going after special effects and/or when you’re trying to capture a lot of movement in a shot). Some cameras also give you the option to shoot in ‘B’ (or ‘Bulb’) mode. Bulb mode lets you keep the shutter open for as long as you hold it down.
• # When considering what shutter speed to use in an image you should always ask yourself whether anything in your scene is moving and how you’d like to capture that movement. If there is movement in your scene you have the choice of either freezing the movement (so it looks still) or letting the moving object intentionally blur (giving it a sense of movement).
• # To freeze movement in an image (like in the surfing shot above) you’ll want to choose a faster shutter speed and to let the movement blur you’ll want to choose a slower shutter speed. The actual speeds you should choose will vary depending upon the speed of the subject in your shot and how much you want it to be blurred.
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• # Motion is not always bad – I spoke to one digital camera owner last week who told me that he always used fast shutter speeds and couldn’t understand why anyone would want motion in their images. There are times when motion is good. For example when you’re taking a photo of a waterfall and want to show how fast the water is flowing, or when you’re taking a shot of a racing car and want to give it a feeling of speed, or when you’re taking a shot of a star scape and want to show how the stars move over a longer period of time etc. In all of these instances choosing a longer shutter speed will be the way to go. However in all of these cases you need to use a tripod or you’ll run the risk of ruining the shots by adding camera movement (a different type of blur than motion blur).
• # Focal Length and Shutter Speed - another thing to consider when choosing shutter speed is the focal length of the lens you’re using. Longer focal lengths will accentuate the amount of camera shake you have and so you’ll need to choose a faster shutter speed (unless you have image stabilization in your lens or camera). The ‘rule’ of thumb to use with focal length in non image stabilized situations) is to choose a shutter speed with a denominator that is larger than the focal length of the lens. For example if you have a lens that is 50mm 1/60th is probably ok but if you have a 200mm lens you’ll probably want to shoot at around 1/250.

I hope this helps you understand shutter speeds a little better.

This article was taken from www.digital-photography-school.com. This is a great source for photography tips, and trick. I am sure you will be able to find what you are looking for here if you have any questions pertaining to photography.

Until Next Time,
Duke

 

Shooting On Location

I have a lot of photographer friends that swear the only way to shoot is in a studio. I don't subscribe to the idea. I have been a location shooter since I started in photography, and I love being outside during a shoot. This is not to say I will not shoot in a studio. Because I have many times with great results. But to me there are so much more you can do on location that you can not do in the studio. I guess that works both ways not that I think about it, but I am still sticking to location shooting.

• Before You Show Up For The Shoot -Before you meet your model on location it is always a good idea to visit the location and walk the area to get a sense of what your surroundings are going to be for the shoot. You want to know what and where you want to shoot with your model before you get there. You want to know what is around you because you could be missing out on a great spot just a few feet from you if you don't know it's there.
• Know the type of people that visit the location-When you visit your location take note of the type of people walking around or just hanging out. You don't want to show up for a nude shoot and there are families have a picnic right in the middle of your set. I know this from experience. I let a model pick a location once, and never visited the site before the shoot only to find several families hanging out in the exact spot  where we were supposed to be shooting erotic images. We were able to find another location in the park within in an hour that would work for what we were doing, but it could have been avoided if  I had visited the park, and taken note that it was a family friendly park. 
• Shooting Nudes-Most people know that it is illegal to be nude in public, but we photographers, and models push that law everyday. You have to be prepared in case someone walks up on your set. I always have an assistant with me to look for passerbys, and police. I always have my model bring a cover up that we keep within arm reach in case she needs to cover up before someone reaches you. The last thing you want is for someone to call the police and ruin your shoot. Know what you want to shoot, and how you are going to shoot it before the model is naked. This limits the chance of someone walking up on you, and being offended by your model being nude in public. Take your shots, have the model cover up, review your shot, decide if you need to shoot more. I now this can break the flow that a model and photographer achieve during the shoot, but it will keep everyone out of jail. I like to use 10-15 minute sets before cover ups. Move to a new location and come back to this location if need be. You don't want to stay in one area too long in case someone has seen you from a far. 
• Use The Trees-Trees work as a natural diffuser for your flash. Yes, I like to use a flash outdoors, during the day as a fill flash. Shooting under a canopy of trees will cut down on the harsh light from the sun, and limit shadows. You many need to make EV and shutter adjustments in order to achieve and evenly lit image. 
• Time Of Day-Typically, lighting is softer (more diffuse) and warmer in hue, and shadows are longer. When the Sun is near the horizon, sunlight travels through more of the atmosphere, reducing the intensity of the direct light, so that more of the illumination comes from indirect light from the sky (Thomas 1973, 9–13), reducing the lighting ratio. More blue light is scattered, so that light from the Sun appears more reddish. In addition, the Sun's small angle with the horizon produces longer shadows.
  
  “Hour” is used here quite loosely. The character of the lighting is determined by the Sun's altitude, and the time for the Sun to move from the horizon to a specified altitude depends on a location's latitude and the time of year[2] (Bermingham 2003, 214). In Los Angeles, California, at an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset, the Sun has an altitude of about 10°–12°.[3] For a location closer to the equator, the altitude is greater (or the time less), and for a location farther from the equator, the altitude is less (or the time greater). For a location sufficiently far from the equator, the Sun may not reach an altitude of 10°, and the golden hour lasts for the entire day in certain seasons.
  
  In the middle of the day, the bright overhead Sun can create too-bright highlights and dark shadows. The degree to which overexposure can occur varies because different types of film and digital cameras have different dynamic ranges. This harsh-lighting problem is particularly important in portrait photography, where a fill flash is often necessary to balance lighting across the subject's face or body, filling in strong shadows that are usually considered undesirable.
  
  Because the contrast is less during the golden hour, shadows are less dark, and highlights are less likely to be overexposed. In landscape photography, the warm color of the low Sun is often considered desirable to enhance the colours of the scene.
  
  Film director Terrence Malick has used this technique in films such as Days of Heaven (Singleton 2000, 176) and The New World, and film director Stanley Kubrick made extensive use of the golden hour in "Full Metal Jacket" among others. (This segment taken from Wikipedia)

In closing shooting on location require just as much if not more set up time than studio shooting. But in my option the rewards are much greater. For one you get to be outdoors for a few hours with a beautiful model, and do something you love. Can you think of a better way to spend a day.