Although I’d like to pretend it’s Tuesday and I didn’t COMPELTEY forget to blog yesterday, the truth of the matter is that Wednesday is closer to date night so I’m going to stick with Wednesday (because I have the power to change the day of the week like the government changes the time of day?!) Ok, no more sinicism. I’m hoping this blog will make sense because I’m feeling all over the place today.
Did you practice using your camera in manual ISO settings last week? Woohoo! (I’m pretending or assuming you said yes).
Let’s talk a little today about shutter speed. Shutter speed is simply how long your shutter opens up for. So if you have a faster shutter speed, your camera is opening up quicker and therefore not letting in as much light. If you have a slower shutter speed your camera is staying open longer and letting in more light.
Ok, this is how I look at it. When I want more light…darker settings and my subject is fairly still then I make the shutter speed number on my camera be a low number. Be careful not to let that number get to low if you are not using a tripod. The human hand on average can only hold the camera still enough to get a sharp (not blurry) image down to 1/60th of a sec.
***It may get a bit confusing when I say low number. In practical terms that shows up on my camera as the number 60. I have to remember that 60 is 1/60 and so 4000 is 1/4000 and therefore 60 is great then 4000. I’ve always been a wiz at math! So a slower shutter speed is a larger number then a faster shutter speed but on my canon cameras it shows up as a lower number because to save space they leave off the fraction. I’m sorry if this is confusing but I said my mind works in practicality, not in technicality.
Another example:
When it’s daylight and bright outside or I’m shooting in snow (lots of brightness) I get my shutter speed number number up pretty high 1/4000 (showing on the camera as 4000). Also, if I’m shooting movement like a 2 year old or a soccer player, then I need a “smaller” number to appear on my screen.
Ok, feedback please. Do I make sense? I’m really trying to write like I think. That’s a little scary! Happy Wednesday!
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