The click.

Shutter Speed.

One of the really cool things about learning to use manual settins on your Digital Rebel are the creative modes.
I've decided that i'll kind of show you how to work your way around the dial until we end up at the big fat M. Yippee!
So, Right after the P mode we were shooting in last week, we see Tv. We're not watching the boob tube....we're working with shutter speed! Yeeee-Haw!!

The TV mode will allow you to select the shutter speed while the camera chooses the rest of the settings for you. Why would you want this? Why not just full auto?
Let me tell you =)
Shutter speed will both allow more or less light to reach your sensor and it will control how sharp the picture will be.

Say you're taking a picture of a boy on a bicycle and want to show motion..if your on auto and the camera is choosing settings, chances are it will take a pic in full focus. Some blur can be a very good thing!

For right now, we'll focus on the amount of light. If you're out and about taking pictures at night of lights, candles, anything bright and you don't want it to be super bright, you'll want to shoot in TV mode. Let it glow!

For our excercise this week, Set your camera on a tripod, table, whatever. Just something to hold it nice and still. Set a candle on a table and set up a shot. When you are in TV mode, your dial on top will control your shutter speed. To the left is slower, to the right is faster.
The slowest shutter speed on the DRebel is 30 seconds. For my samples the fastest shutter I used was 1/400 second. Pretty quick. Take a picture of the candle with a fast shutter speed. Then move the dial a few clicks to the left, take another exposure. Work your way down until you are doing a 30 second exposure. See the effect shutter speed has?
shutter speed can be used to make your christmas tree lights twinkle, to make birthday candles glow..to record lights in traffic as a blur..your imagination is the only limit!

Some samples of light and shutter speed....






try it out and show me!

This week, think of some ways to use shutter speed in your pictures...maybe a child riding by on a bicycle, traffic whizzing by, fireworks, water dripping...see what you can come up with! I can't wait to see!

Some more samples of using shutter speed to get the desired effect...








Notice in the last one there is a blur in the bottom right corner..yeah, that's my kid! lol. Remember, if your shutter is long enough, people will disappear!

Have fun! (and i'll resize the too big pics shortly!

posted by Steph @ 7:43 PM