Manual Tutorial #4 ~ Shutter Speed

Have you ever been trying to take a photo of your child as they go running by and all you get is a blur? Or you are trying to take a photo of a waterfall, but it keeps "freezing" the water so it looks choppy rather than flowing and showing movement.  Shutter speed is the key to addressing all of these issues.

When I am getting ready to take a photograph, I decide which is more important: movement or depth of field.  If my priority is to freeze action or show movement, I will set my shutter speed first and aperture second.  Alternately, if my priority is depth of field, I set my aperture first and my shutter speed second.  When I am at my son's soccer game, I am going to want a fast shutter speed.  I need to make sure that my camera will capture the movement and freeze it.

The two photos below show a fast shutter speed and a slow shutter speed.  When you are looking at the numbers underneath the photo, pay attention to the last number.  This will tell you the shutter speed used while taking the photograph.

Fast Shutter Speed

Dancing Couple

Jazz Age Lawn Party, NYC

ISO 200 ~ 53mm ~ f/5.6 ~ 1/200 sec

© Corrie M Avila

In the photo taken above, the couple was dancing quickly to the 1920's era Jazz music.  I knew I needed to have a fast shutter speed to capture them and freeze the movement.  If you look down towards the man's shoe, you can see that it is slightly blurry.  I should have set my ISO to 400 (rather than 200) so that I could make my shutter speed just a bit faster.

Slow Shutter Speed

Pianist

Jazz Age Lawn Party, NYC

ISO 200 ~ 125mm ~ f/5.6 ~ 1/25 sec

© Corrie M Avila

In the photo above, I wanted to show the fast movement of the pianist's hands.  I set my shutter speed slower so that the movement would show.  The piano keys are crisp while the hands are blurred.  Had I used a fast shutter speed here, you would not visually "feel" the movement of the music.  I set my shutter speed to 1/25 sec.  This is much slower than I would recommend hand holding.  You should always use a tripod or something to set the camera on if you are going to go below 1/60 sec.  

Think back to Tutorial #2 where I gave a brief introduction to the three compenents of exposure.  While describing Shutter Speed, I gave the example of your eye.  When you blink quickly (fast shutter speed), not much light enters your eye.  When you stare and leave your eye open for a while (slow shutter speed), a lot of light comes in.  When you set your shutter speed to a fast number, it does not allow a lot of light to enter.  Therefore, if you want to set your shutter speed fast (to freeze movement), you will need to make sure there is enough light coming in to accomadate the quick shutter speed.  If there is not enough light coming in, you can put your ISO higher so that your shutter speed can be set faster.  Remember, all three components (shutter speed, ISO, and aperture) are connected.

If you are taking a photograph of a bird in flight or a race car rounding the last lap in a Nascar race, you are going to need a very fast shutter speed at around 1/1000 sec and up.  Here is a good website from Kodak that explains shutter speeds and what you would generally use them for (scroll down to the bottom for the Shutter Speed graph).

Homework for Tutorial #4

1) Locate where your shutter speed is on your camera.  Get comfortable with this setting so that you are able to adjust your shutter speed with ease.

2) Put your camera in TV mode.  (This is shutter speed priority).  Again, do not get comfortable here.  This is just for now to allow your camera to figure out the other settings while you adjust your shutter speed.  Set your shutter speed to 1/25 sec.  Take a photo and listen to the shutter as it opens and closes.  Write down the settings so you can compare.  Now change the shutter speed to 1/100 sec.  Take a photo and again listen to the shutter as it opens and closes.  Once more, write down the settings on a piece of paper.

3)  Compare your photos as well as your settings.  What did you notice about the aperture and/or ISO as you changed your shutter speed?  Was your first photo blurry as you handheld it?  Was your second photo more crisp?

As you get more comfortable with the individual components of exposure, you will be able to put them all together and take that perfectly exposed photo.  I promise, we will get there and you too will have your "aha" moment.  Hang in there!!  Once we are done with all three components (aperture is remaining), we will start working on the light meter and start applying what we have learned.  As always, if you have ANY questions at all, PLEASE comment, email, or message me on facebook.  I am here to walk you through this and to help you understand these concepts in any way that I can!

Continue forward to Aperture

Capturing the Moment,

Corrie <3

Link to Manual Tutorial #1

Link to Manual Tutorial #2

Link to Manual Tutorial #3

Manual Tutorial #3 ~ ISO

I can be honest with you, right?  I'm about to admit something completely embarrassing and you have every right to laugh at me.  Back in the film days, I always thought the number on the film was how good the film was.  Perhaps it was because a higher ISO film always cost more, so I just assumed it was "better"?!?  I would purposefully choose film that was 400 or 800 and then wonder why my photos were grainy.  Granted if I were shooting indoors, that would have been a good choice.  But the majority of my photos were taken outdoors on bright sunny days... yeah, totally not necessary to have that high of an ISO.

ISO is not a higher quality of film, but rather how sensitive the film (or digital sensor) is to light.  In the film days you were limited to choosing one ISO number for your entire roll of film.  Now with DSLR's we have the option to change our ISO at our whim and desire.  ISO has gone from a thorn in my side to being my best friend.  It is the easiest of the three components of exposure to understand, but it is also the most important (in my opinion).  When you fully embrace and understand ISO your creative opportunities will open up.

The higher the ISO number, the higher the sensitivity to light.  Think about being in a dark room with one small light on.  If you wanted to capture anything in your photo other than a black room, you will need to have a high ISO number.  By putting up your ISO, your camera is more sensitive to light and you will be able to see more in the photograph.

The lower the ISO number, the lower the sensitivity to light.  Think about being walking outdoors on a really sunny day, WITHOUT sunglasses ~ yeah...  You are going to squint your eyes so tightly, they may as well be shut completely.  This is the same thing with ISO... You would want a lower ISO number (100 or 200 usually).  This makes your camera less sensitive to light.

Sounds good, right?  Well, here is the catch... Yes when you raise up that ISO you are able to see much more in the photograph, but that means more digital "noise" or "grain" in your photos.  There are ways to process some of it out through computer software ~ but often times it is just the price you pay.

Comparison of Different ISO Settings

Look at the comparison of these three photos.  Can you see the grain (noise) in the yellow background?   How about the black of the police officer's uniform?  In the first photo it is solid black but by the time you get to the last photo it is pixelated and spotty.  Do you see any other differences between the photos?

I am going to take this a step further and give a few different examples.  Lets look at the chart I used in Tutorial #2 again.

All three componenets of exposure intersect and affect each other.  When you change one, you have to also adjust the other parts in order to have a perfectly exposed photograph.  One of the reasons why you would adjust the ISO is to have a higher shutter speed.  For example, say you are taking a photograph of your child indoors.  If you were going to have a perfectly exposed photograph, that would put your shutter speed lower than you can handhold it (remember 1/60th of a second is the lowest you want to handhold it ~ any lower and you really need to have it on a tripod.)  In order to take this photo without pulling out the tripod, you decide to raise your ISO.  By raising your ISO, you are able to also raise your shutter speed.  Problem solved.

A general rule of thumb is that you really don't want to have your ISO higher than 400.  Any higher than that and you will begin to see noise in your photos.  But you can make that decision in the moment as to what is more important.  Sometimes there is just not enough time to pull the tripod out.  Or you have the time to pull out the tripod, but your "subject" won't stay still... causing blur in your photos.  By raising your ISO you are able to have a shutter speed high enough to freeze the action.

Homework for Tutorial 3:

1) If you haven't already done this, locate where ISO is on your camera and how to change it.  Pull out your owner's manual and get comfortable with it. 

2) Put your camera in "P" mode.  This will figure out all your settings for you, but you can adjust the ISO and a few other things.  Don't get comfortable here (remember our goal is to be in Manual Mode), this is just for now...  Put your ISO to 100 and see what settings your camera says.  Write them down.  Then change your ISO to 400.  Look at your settings again and write those down as well.  Look at how they compare.  Go ahead and write your settings in the comments below along with any other observations you may have.

I hope this is starting to make a little sense, but if it isn't don't worry, you are not alone!  If you have any questions at all, PLEASE comment, email, message me.  I am here to walk you through this and help you understand these concepts in any way that I can!

If you haven't yet entered the giveaway ~ look to the upper right hand corner of the blog (it won't show up on mobile devices) and click to enter.  You have a chance to win a FREE puzzle featuring a photo by Traveling Hearts Photography.

Continue forward to Shutter Speed

Capturing the Moment,

Corrie <3

Link to Manual Tutorial #1
Link to Manual Tutorial #2

Manual Tutorial #2 ~ Introduction into the 3 Main Components of Exposure

In this post, I am going to briefly introduce the three main components of exposure.  If you haven't read Tutorial #1 yet, start here.  If you are up to date on previous posts, continue on my friend.

I am normally a pretty modest person, so I don't know why trying to explain photography keeps leading me to discussing topics that are making me blush!  Let's see if we can keep this tutorial out of the gutter so to speak :)

Three Components of Exposure  

ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture

Remember these charts from school?  I know, I hated them too... but I think it gives a good visual representation of how these three are related.  When you make a change to one of the components, you will have to adjust one or both of the others as well.

ISO ~ This is how sensitive the camera is to light.  The lower the number, the lower the sensitivity.  The higher the number, the higher the sensitivity.  For example.  If the sun is shining bright, you will want to use a low number like 100 or 200.  If you are inside the house or shooting outdoors on a cloudy day, your number will be higher.  As I've said before, I do not leave this setting on automatic.  I manually set it based on what I think will be my approximate settings and adjust from there.  I've had more than my fair share of photos ruined because my camera jacked up the ISO and I forgot to check.  If I have to adjust it, I am always responsible for the settings.

Shutter Speed ~ This is how fast or slow your shutter opens.  Think of your eye.  When you blink quickly, not much light enters your eye.  But when you open your eye and leave it open for a while, much more light enters.  When there is a lot of light available, you can set your shutter speed fast... this is good for sports, movement, quick toddlers... but when there is dim lighting, your shutter speed will need to be slower (leaving your "eye" open longer to allow more light to enter).  But with this comes the possibility of blurry photos.  As a general rule of thumb, if you are hand holding your camera, you do not want to have your shutter speed lower than 1/60 sec.  And that is just for camera shake.  If you have something moving, it will be blurry with such a slow shutter speed.

Aperture ~ Think of this as the pupil of your eye.  When you go into a dark room, your pupil dilates (gets larger) to capture more light.  When you step out into the sun, your pupil constricts (gets super small) to minimize the amount of light entering your eye.  Now this is the part that confused me to no end.  A higher aperture (letting in more light) is actually a lower f-stop number.  If you want to restrict the light, you would use a higher f-stop number.  There is something else that plays into this and that is depth of field.  The f-stop number you choose will determine your depth of field.  This is that natural blur that you see in photographs that when mastered can create visually pleasing and gorgeous photos.

If your head is spinning, don't worry.  I will go into each one of these individually and walk you through them.

Homework for Tutorial #2

Put your camera in Manual Mode.  Do not worry about having a properly exposed photograph at this point.  I just want you to listen to your camera.  Set your shutter speed to 1/8th of a second (which is very slow) and press the shutter.  Now set your shutter speed to 1/500th of a second.  Can you hear the difference?  What do you think is happening in each of the shutter speeds.  Which one will have more light entering and which one will have less light?

Continue forward to ISO

Capturing the Moment <3

Corrie

Manual Tutorial #1 ~ Becoming Intimate with your Camera

Don't worry, we will keep this tutorial PG rated (okay G rated)... but there is a level of intimacy you need to learn and become comfortable with your camera.  I once read that the test to see if you truly know your camera is to take it into a dark room and be able to manage the settings.  When I first read this I laughed out loud... I mean really laughed out loud... because I could barely understand my settings with the lights on, let alone in a dark room.

Let's compare the relationship you have with your camera to the relationship you have with someone you are dating.  When you go on a first date, it is often clumsy, awkward, and tense.  As you begin to establish a relationship, you start to know their likes/dislikes and what makes them laugh.  When your relationship moves to a more serious level such as engagement or marriage, you often feel lost without your partner.... as if your hand was made to wrap around their hand, and your heart becomes connected to their heart ~ you become one...

Nothing Better to depict L.O.V.E. better than HEARTS

Instagram

© Corrie M Avila

This is the level of intimacy I am talking about.  When you first enter the world of photography, the camera feels heavy in your hand, you don't understand any of the settings (let alone how to turn the camera on and off), and trying to take photos becomes a stressful experience rather than an enjoyable one.  As you become more seasoned with your camera, you practice techniques, have a lot of trial and error, become frustrated, but always fall back in love.  When you and your camera move into a deeper level with each other, there is a moment of intimacy where there is no distinction between the casing of the camera body and your hand.  The lens becomes an extension of your eye and performs exactly how you want it to.  This is the moment where you and your camera are one.

Where are you at in your relationship with your camera?  Your homework for Tutorial #1 is to locate where on your camera these three settings are:

1. aperature
2. shutter speed (f/stop)
3. ISO

If you have an owner's manual, pull it out.  If you don't have one, look it up online and bookmark the webpage.  You are going to need it.

When you feel comfortable moving forward ~ move on to the second tutorial here.

Capturing the Moment

Corrie <3

Anyone Else out there Dealing with the Winter Crud??

It has been non~stop over here with cooties, cooties, and more cooties.  And no, I don't mean the game cooties.  It seems like as soon as one kid gets over being sick, a day or two later it is the other one.  Back and forth like a twisted game of tennis.  It is unseasonably warm here in the Washington DC, Northern Virginia area, but I have not been able to get out with my camera due to the black plague (slight over exaggeration) that has fallen on our house.

On a more positive note, I wanted to share with you a photo I took a week ago of my favorite American Bald Eagle.  The pair was there but by the time I grabbed my camera and changed my lens, there was only one.  I am learning with taking photos of the Bald Eagles in this tree, I have to over-expose my shot, otherwise it ends up being too dark.  What does this mean?  Well, if you are looking at your light meter, your camera "thinks" that when your cursor is in the center, it is a perfectly exposed shot.  This is a good place to start, but it is not always accurate.  Certain lighting situations require you to put that cursor a stop (one number -1) to the left (underexposing it) or a stop (one number +1) to the right (overexposing it).  I will go into this in greater detail with the tutorial I am putting together for learning how to shoot in manual.

American Bald Eagle

January 2013 

ISO 100 ~ 300mm ~ f/13 ~ 1/80 sec

© Corrie M Avila

If you are interested in obtaining FREE Facebook cover page photos, head over to Traveling Hearts Photography on Facebook!  First "like" the page and then comment on which one you want and I will send it your way.  (This photo above of the bald eagle is included.)

Hoping you are not battling the Winter Crud as badly as we have over here... but if so, know that you are not alone!  I raise my can of lysol to you and say "cheers!"  <3

Capturing the Moment,

Corrie <3

Let me ask you a personal question...

Don't be mad.  Don't be offended.... I feel like we've known each other for a while now and it is time to get it all out in the open and ask "THE" question....

What settings do you use on your camera??  

There I asked it....  Phew... 

Instagram Photo

© Corrie M Avila

I don't know why, but for some reason this seems to be such a personal question.  When I first started taking photos I used the presets.  I would move my little dial around to match the icon with what I was taking a photo of.  This wasn't because I was super happy with the results.... it was because I didn't understand the technical part of the camera.  I was overwhelmed with the settings and it all seemed to be in another language.  I read books, watched tutorials, had my husband explain it to me with drawings and everything... but I still could not figure it out.  I became REALLY frustrated because I knew what I wanted to do composition wise, but I never EVER was able to achieve the results I wanted.

Then one day I meet a photographer who offers to help (insert angels singing and rays of light shining down on this moment :).  Little did she know I would take her up on it (buahahaha).  Seriously though, she has been a God-send.  We planned a photo day and I remember sitting together on a rock near a river.  We both had our cameras out.... she would tell me what settings she was using and then I put my camera to the same settings.  She walked me through it step by step and showed the patience of a saint. I would not be where I am today if it were not for her.  So now I am paying it forward.

I will be starting a series of tutorials on how to shoot in "M" (manual) mode.  I personally use a Canon, but the basics are the same whether you have a Canon, a Nikon, or something else.  I hope to explain the basics of your camera to you in an easy to understand way.

I did not get the full concept immediately.  I took what I learned that day home with me and practiced.  I remember the exact moment I took a photo completely in manual mode.  I was sitting on my couch watching my son play with his toy truck on the coffee table.  The light was shining though the window on the truck and was creating a reflection on the table.  I grabbed my camera, gritted my teeth, and gave it a whirl.  It took a few shots to achieve the look I was going for, but I did it :)  I'm not gonna lie, I did a little dance!  And just like that... everything clicked and I had my lightbulb moment.  My hope is that you will have yours as well.

My Son's Toy Truck and My FIRST Manually Exposed Photograph :)

ISO 2500 ~ 75mm ~ f/11 ~ 1/20 sec

© Corrie M Avila

If you don't know what those settings mean now, you will by the time we finish the tutorials.  Basically, I still had no idea what my ISO should be (so I left it in automatic ~ hence the number of 2500).  It should really be no higher than 200 in this situation.  And my aperture (f-stop) should be a much smaller number... This photograph is raw in it's chemical make-up ~ with a high ISO, a too small aperture, and highlights that are blown out... but it is mine :)  Everyone has to start somewhere and this is my pride and glory.

Now it's time to buckle up, sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy the ride!  I look forward to starting this journey with you all <3

Capturing the Moment

Corrie <3