Light, Lines & Color

S is for Shutter Speed

Nikon D60: 1/1250 second at f/4.5 and ISO 100

The third part of the photography triumvirate is Shutter Speed, one of the three primary functions of your camera that you can use to make the image you want. We've covered Aperture and the circumstances under which you would choose to shoot in Aperture Mode, and we've touched upon ISO - the light sensitivity of your camera's sensor, now for Shutter Speed. When would you choose to shoot in Shutter Speed Mode? When you want to control the look of something that is moving. You may want to stop something that's moving very fast like that hungry seagull and thus will select a high shutter speed.

Nikon D60: 1/15 second at f/25 and ISO 100

You may want to give the sense of movement for your subject like the water in this rushing river so you would select a slow shutter speed.

Nikon D90: 1/1250 second at f/5.6 and ISO 200 (lowest on D90)

You could be on a moving vehicle, like a steamship, photographing a moving object like this parasail and want to stop everything including you and the camera shake being caused by the boat's vibration, so once again you'd go for a higher shutter speed.

Nikon D60: 1/800 second at f/5.6 and ISO 100

And you may have assigned yourself the challenging job of shooting waves one day and you start, as always, shooting at the lowest ISO your camera will allow. On the Nikon D60, that I used this day in Puerto Rico, that's 100. But, with the telephoto zoom lens at 180mm that would only allow a shutter speed of 1/800 second at f/5.6 which was the largest largest aperture the lens would permit. If I could have I would have opened the aperture wider, letting more light in and forcing the camera to adjust by giving me a faster shutter speed, I would have but that wasn't possible. So my only remaining option, using the same lens, was to increase the ISO, thus increasing the sensitivity of the camera's sensor and forcing the camera to increase the shutter speed.

Nikon D60: 1/2000 second at f/6.3 and ISO 400

And look, it worked. More action was stopped at 1/2000 second and I got a boost in my depth of field from f/5.6 to f/6.3, which really helped in this shot of a long wave.

Are you beginning to understand the give and take between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO? Are you beginning to think like your camera? Are you asking yourself what the camera needs to make the picture you want and getting an answer these days?

It's meant to be a pretty nice weekend, get out and try some shutter speed shots. You can always share them in the Light, Lines & Color Google+ Community. If you're not a member yet, just ask, I'll be happy for you to join the party. Happy shooting! 

 

M is for Motion

Nikon D60: I chose Scene Mode = Sport and Auto ISO 
Camera's Scene Mode selected 1/1000 sec @ f/5.6; Auto ISO chose 160

Let's face it, our world is one of motion. We move, our vehicles move, and the elements around us move. Try to stop a plane in mid-air, a sailboat underway from another moving vehicle, horses stretching for the finish line, a flower bending in the breeze, or water cascading over rocks in a stream - our challenge as photographers is how to either stop the motion or portray the motion, and it's all a lot of fun.

Nikon D60: I chose Scene Mode = Sport and Auto ISO 
Camera's Scene Mode selected 1/1000 sec @ f/5.6; Auto ISO chose 125

Most DSLR's have programmed Scene Modes of which my favorite is Sport. Setting the camera to one of these modes, given a selected ISO and the lighting, the camera will make decisions for you to maximize the possibility of capturing an acceptable image for the situation you're in, like creating a portrait, shooting a landscape, going for a close-up, or capturing a moving object.

Nikon D90: I chose Scene Mode = Sport and ISO 200 
I was on a moving paddle boat, shooting a rapidly moving jet ski on a sunny day.
Camera's Scene Mode selected 1/640 sec @ f/5.6

It seems I photograph a lot of moving objects or I travel on a lot of moving objects while shooting, thus I frequently use the Sport setting. Sport will select a fast shutter speed, given the selected ISO and lighting, which will generally stop the action. It also will mean a fairly large aperture like f/5.6 and thus a shallow depth of field. The latter doesn't usually bother me because I really want the moving subject to be in focus and don't mind if the background is blurred.

Nikon D90: I chose Scene Mode = Sport and ISO 200 
I was on a moving sailboat, shooting a moving sailboat on a sunny day.
Camera's Scene Mode selected 1/640 sec @ f/5.6

Another mode for capturing moving objects and motion is Shutter Priority mode which allows you to select a fast shutter speed to stop the action or perhaps a slightly slower one to acquire some blur and sense of motion. 

Nikon D90: I chose Shutter Priority 1/800 second and ISO 200 
The camera selected f/5.6
I wanted to "stop" the horses "in their tracks" and figured the shallow depth of field at f/5.6 would work for "wall" of horses as they rounded the corner.

There's a fun technique that you can use to intentionally emphasize motion and it's called panning. You set your camera to a slow shutter speed, focus on your moving object and pan right along with its motion, thus creating a truly blurred background. Shooting in continuous mode, i.e. capturing multiple shots per second, can increase the likelihood that you'll capture an image you like. I practiced with this technique last summer at the races in Saratoga and am quite pleased with this result for my first time out!

Nikon D90: I chose Shutter Priority 1/60 second and ISO 200 
The camera selected f/7.1
I felt confident that I could hold the camera "steady" while panning at 1/60 second but nothing less.

Flowers are beautiful but shooting them can be a challenge when the wind is stirring. Selecting a shutter speed that will provide an acceptable aperture at the chosen ISO is a good place to start.

Nikon D90: I chose Shutter Priority 1/400 second and ISO 400 
The camera selected f/5.6
This iris was in the shade and a shutter speed of 1/400 second at ISO 200 resulted in the "Lo" error message in the aperture field. Given the breeze, I didn't want to shoot at a shutter speed below 1/400 second so my only choice was to increase the ISO. At ISO 400 and 1/400 second, the camera now produced it's largest aperture for the lens I was using, f/5.6.

Finally, when shooting flowing water like a stream or water falls, you can choose to stop the action cleanly and crisply, resulting in what I like to call "hard water" ...

Nikon D60: I chose Shutter Priority 1/800 second and ISO 100 
The camera selected f/5.6

or, you can choose to capture the feeling of flowing water by shooting at a slow shutter speed, resulting in what I call "soft water".

Nikon D60: I chose Shutter Priority 1/13 second and ISO 100 
The camera selected f/25
I wanted the greatest depth of field in order to ensure the image would be in focus, front to back, while intentionally showcasing the soft blur of the flowing water.

There's a lot in this chapter but one or two of these examples may fit the exact motion you're trying to shoot, and to that end I hope this helps. If you have any questions or comments, please enter them in the comments section below. We love feedback and blogging is all about interaction.

Happy shooting!

 

Flowers and Snow

With all the weather we've had, it's been very busy . The next weekly chapter will be J Is For JPEG, but .... in the meantime, I hope you all can enjoy this image that I was able to capture on this very snowy day. 

Nikon D7000, 170mm, ISO 400, 1/250 second at f/18

 

CHEERS EVERYONE, SPRING MUST BE NEAR!

 

E is for Exposure

Exposure - Photography is all about exposure to light and our tools to create an exposure that matches the image in our mind's eye are the triumvirate: Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO. Let me focus first on Aperture and Shutter Speed.

I never shoot in the fully automatic setting available on my Nikon D90, rather I select Aperture or Shutter Speed depending on what I'm shooting. If I'm shooting a landscape or something static I will select aperture and then begin the thought process of how I want the image to look. If the background is messy I might want a shallow depth of field to throw the mess into a colorful blur so I'd select a low f stop number, or I may want as much of the image in focus as possible as it may all contribute to the story in the image so to maximize the depth of field I'd select a high f stop number.

Let me give a simple example of an image that is the same exposure but with differing results. For ease of demonstration, all of theses photos were taken on Aperture Priority with an ISO of 200. The only setting I changed was the Aperture; the camera adjusted the shutter speed accordingly to achieve a good exposure. Can you see the difference in the depth of field?

1/30 second at f/22 
Notice the blur of the moving palm fronds but the detail in the background. You can see the ocean especially in comparison to the last image below.

1/60 second at f/16

1/125 second at f/11

1/250 second at f/8.0

1/500 second at f/5.6
Notice the soft background resulting from the shallow depth of field created by the large aperture. You can hardly see the ocean.

"The same exposure can be achieved with different combinations of aperture and shutter speed. Fast shutter speeds and larger apertures freeze moving objects and soften background details [like the last image above], while slow shutter speeds and small apertures blur moving objects and bring out background details [like the first image above]." This is directly from my camera's manual and I can honestly say I "get it". Do you?

 

C is for Camera - Think Like One

Think like your camera ... This is often the only way I know how to set the camera's aperture, shutter speed and ISO. I ask myself (as the camera), "What do I need to do to make the image she wants to make?" The basic tools in our arsenal are the triumvirate: Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO.

Aperture, the size of the hole allowing light to enter the camera, is expressed in something strange called f-stops. The smaller the f number, e.g. f/2, the larger the hole and the larger the number e.g. f/22, the smaller the hole. (Note: the choice here also determines an image’s Depth of Field, but more on that later.)

Shutter Speed, how long the shutter will stay open, allowing light to enter is expressed in seconds, or fractions thereof.

ISO, the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor to light is expressed in round numbers from 100 to 6200 and higher. The lower the number the less sensitive the sensor, the higher the number the more sensitive.

Lower ISOs create the least amount of "noise" in an image - trust me on this for now, that's bad - so I most often start by setting the ISO on the lowest setting the camera allows, usually 100 for my Nikons. Now, how do I choose between Aperture or Shutter Priority?

If I'm shooting a landscape, I know I want as much of the image to be in focus as possible, the flowers in the foreground, as well as the barn in the background, so I know I want the greatest depth of field and thus a fairly high aperture. Set to Aperture Priority, the camera allows me to select the aperture for the greatest depth of field while still shooting at a shutter speed that would be safe for a handheld shot (which this one of a foggy field in early morning was).

 Taken with a Nikon D60 on Aperture Priority - f/18 for 1/100th second

If I want to capture a child running at the beach, my camera will need to stop the action and thus I'll set it to Shutter Priority and choose a speed that I think should work like 1/1000th of a second. The camera might then give me a wide aperture which will result in a shallow depth of field, but I really want to focus solely on the child's action so depth of field means little to me here.

Taken with a Nikon D60 on Shutter Priority - 1/1000th second at f/5.6