Workshop Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!!  It’s time for another episode of Workshop Wednesday where I bring my workshop to you in weekly lessons!  I am having so much fun with this!  This week I will also be posting a Photoshop tutorial on Friday so make sure you subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss out.  I will be doing a quick and easy photo edit that you can use on any photo.  Perfect for your everyday photos!

Last week we covered the first of 3 SETTINGS that you need to know to give you that PERFECT PICTURE-  ISO!  If you missed last weeks lesson you can find it HERE.   The next but equally important is the SHUTTER SPEED!  Let’s talk about SHUTTER SPEED!

What is SHUTTER SPEED?   This is the speed at which the camera’s shutter opens and closes to take an image, just like the blinking of an eye.  The shutter allows light in to reach the sensor.  A slow shutter speed means the shutter is open for a longer amount of time, letting more light to hit the sensor.  A fast shutter speed means the shutter opens and closes quickly, allowing less light in.  Slow shutter speeds are especially helpful in low-light situations, like a candle lit dinner or outdoors at dusk.

The faster the shutter speed, the easier it is to freeze movements.  Slow shutter speeds can mean blurry pictures, especially if there is motion in the image.  If you are shooting a sporting event or an active toddler, you will generally want to use a fast shutter speed.

Okay so let’s give this a try!  I am hoping that you are all trying to shoot in Manual Mode. If you are not ready to switch all the way to manual, there are modes on your camera where you can start to get creative, a partial manual mode.   For shutter speed priority on most camera’s dial it says TV.

If your camera doesn’t appear to have a TV setting, check your camera’s user guide to find out what the shutter speed priority setting is called.  While you’ve got that user guide out, also look up which dial on your camera will change the shutter speed.

So simply turn that dial to TV, and change your shutter speed to a setting that will freeze the motion, and shoot.  Have some fun!!

If you’re still experiencing blur, increase the shutter speed. If you’ve captured the blur but your photo is dark, try reducing your shutter speed by one click, and try again.  If your photo is too bright, you have the freedom to increase your shutter speed even further.  Experiment until you get the right balance of good exposure of frozen motion.

So what do the numbers mean?

Shutter speed is represented as fractions of seconds that your shutter is open after your press the button.   1/6 equals one sixth of a second. 1/250 is 250th of one second. 1 is, quite simply, 1 full second.  A shutter speed of 1/250 is faster than a shutter speed of 1/6, and so on.

Here’s a few examples of where you should set your shutter for different situations.

Child running toward at their top speed                    1/1000

Child jumping (eg. cheerleading, track meets)          1/800

Child kicking a football                                                  1/500

Child hitting a  baseball                                                1/350

This will obviously vary depending on how fast the child is at these activities, but it’s a good starting point.   There you go!!! Now go freeze motion!  Please let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below!

Don’t forget if you would like a copy of my PERFECT PICTURE workbook to follow along you can purchase it below!  Happy Wednesday and don’t miss our PHOTOSHOP tutorial this FRIDAY!