Shutter Speed Photography Quotes

The sucess of your people pictures depends not so much on your mastery of f/stops and shutter speeds, as on the grace and wit with which you handle this intimate interaction with you subject.

Photojournalism has frequently been lambasted for being the product of circumstance. In fact rarely are any of these images considered in terms of their composition and semantic intent. They are merely news, a happy intersection of event and opportunity. It hardly helps that photographs in general also take only a fraction of a second to acquire. It is incredible how so many people can constantly misread speed to mean ease. This is certainly most common where photography is concerned. However simply because anyone can buy a camera, shutter away, and then with a slightly prejudiced eye justify the product does not validate the achievement. Shooting a target with a rifle is accomplished with similar speed and yet because the results are so objective no one suggests that marksmanship is easy.

Something that I consider ‘my invention’, since I haven’t seen it done anywhere before is ‘Super-speed photography’. Now normal high-speed photography involves either a very fast camera at a high frame rate or the act of ‘freezing’ the motion using flash, while the actual exposure is actually quite long. For much of my high-speed photography with flash I was using shutter speeds of two seconds to give me time to break or shoot whatever my subject was and trigger the flash with a sound activated device. But then I started playing with the idea of using the flash trigger of the camera to actually cause the event.

As a beginner, the first thing to understand when taking pictures is exposure. Exposure is a term used to refer to the darkness and lightness of an image. It usually involves three elements: ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.

Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man.

Shutter speed and aperture are inversely related, so that a wide aperture requires a faster shutter speed under any given light conditions. The wide aperture lets in more light, and a faster shutter speed lets in less by reducing the time that the sensors are exposed.

Exposure value is a way to express the combination of aperture and shutter speed. A camera setting with an aperture of f16 and a shutter speed of 1/125s represents a given Exposure Value (EV). ISO is not a part of the EV equation. Other combinations of aperture and shutter speed will give the same EV. An aperture of f11 and a shutter speed of 1/250s will result in the same EV as an aperture of f22 and a shutter speed of 1/60s.

Guide for your ISO settings • 50-200 ISO For very bright sunny days or when you want the ultimate in smooth, sharp images. • 400 ISO A good all-round setting, suitable for overcast skies or when you need a fast shutter speed. • 800 ISO For interiors, low-light outdoor subjects or action photography when you don’t want to use flash. • 1600 ISO For night shooting or indoor low available light, or with very long lenses. Grain/noise may be a problem. Try using your noise reduction setting. • 3200 ISO Much the same as 1600 but with more grain/noise. The grainy effect of fast film can look great with black and white subjects.

Sometimes knowing what to shoot is a big relief. Other times, being extemporaneous is the way to go. I love to go out and see what the universe is presenting to me on any given day. Learning to be sensitive to what is out there with no preconceived idea is a wonderful way to discover new subject matter. But only looking for the shot that presents itself in the moment seldom creates new technical skills. In order to master the camera, I give myself special assignments. Giving yourself an assignment helps you to learn about photography and your equipment. By knowing what you want to achieve, you can plan things out. This way you can slow things down. Shoot and confirm. Take notes. Concentrate on getting the shot just right! You will learn to master Aperture Priority, shutter speed, ISO, manual settings, and more. Digital Camera, 2018