Exposure 101: Part 2
The Shutter Speed

In the last installment, we looked at the functions of the aperture or f/stop. Now we can look at the second half of how a camera takes a picture: the shutter speed.

The shutter inside your camera blocks the light that is coming through the lens from reaching the camera's sensor. Think of it like mini-blinds on a window that won't allow any light through from outside. You are the "sensor" inside the house. When you push the button to take a picture, the shutter, opens and allows the light to pass through the lens and onto the sensor. The time it takes for the shutter to open and close is called the shutter speed. Shutter speeds can vary from hours to a fraction of a second. In fact, most photography is shot between 1/30th and 1/250th of a second.

The faster the shutter opens and closes, the more ability you have to stop, or freeze action. If movement is occurring in your shot, and a slower shutter speed is used, the movement will be recorded as blur. There is a point, usually anything slower than 1/30th of a second, when the shutter speed is too slow to handhold the camera and still get a clear picture, so the camera must be put on a tripod. Using a tripod allows you to shoot with slow shutter speeds because you have removed yourself, and any movement, from the camera when it's taking the picture.

Let's look at an example. You are at a sporting event, and just took some pictures. Reviewing your pictures, you notice that a picture is blurred even though you know the camera focused properly: The shutter speed was too slow to handhold the camera steady enough for a clear picture, or you moved while the picture was being taken. The next picture you look at has clear mountains, trees, people on the sideline, but the players on the field are blurred: The shutter speed was fast enough to hold the camera steady, but the shutter speed was too slow to stop the action.

Have you ever cut, gutted, and masterfully carved a fantastic jack-o-lantern for Halloween only to have your flash fire for the picture and ruin all the ambiance? How about that Christmas tree that looked so magical to your eye? This year is going to be different. Your camera needs to be held steady with image stabilization, or put on a tripod, with a slower shutter speed and the flash turned off to capture the lighting correctly. The only thing universal with cameras anymore is the tripod mount, (the hole where you screw the tripod into the camera,) so any tripod will work.

If you don't own a tripod yet, and you're considering getting one, I've recommended 2 compact tripods in the sidebar to the right; the mini-spider is tiny, so it will fit in your camera bag but it can't hold a larger point-and-shoot camera. The gorillapod is larger but more versatile because you can wrap the legs around a pole, tree branch, or your car window, and it can hold a larger camera too. A tripod opens-up a whole new world of photography, done at slower shutter speeds. With a little practice, you'll be ready for the holidays this year, and get the shots you want.

When you get a chance, get your camera out and push half-way down on the picture button, (also known as the shutter release,) until it focuses in front of you, and check to see if your camera displays the shutter speed and f/stop. If not, you can try pushing the display button, labeled DISP, a few times to change the different information displayed on the screen.

In the next installment, we will explore the balancing act between the shutter-speed and the f/stop. It's a dance of time and light that come together to form a memory.

Many thanks to all who have responded so positively to this new project.

Stay tuned, we're almost through the meat-and-potatoes, and then it's on to dessert!