It's About Time

There's just something about a photograph. It captures a moment in time. Future generations may, in turn, be able to experience that very moment you were behind the camera. But how long that moment was -- well, that's up to you. It's one of those creative liberties you're able to take as a photographer.

This is where you'll find Time Value (TV) or shutter priority mode helpful. In this mode, you select the shutter speed, and your camera automatically chooses the aperture. In fact, you can customize anything in TV mode except aperture.

You can convey a sense of movement by choosing a slower shutter speed. This will effectively blur your subject's movement. The image above was taken at 1/100th of a second. My camera was mounted on a tripod, so there wasn't any camera movement. However, the blur of the subject's hand helps to imply action. Had I used a faster shutter speed, such as 1/1000, the subject's movement would have been as frozen as the landscape. Implied action is a creative element in photography, and the way use it is to shoot with a slower shutter speed.

You can also pan the camera while shooting at a slower shutter speed, as I did above. Just make sure you follow the subject carefully. This image was taken at 1/100th of a second, but the blur is more evident because of the camera movement. The result is a more artsy-looking photo in my opinion. 

A few other ways to play with shutter speed: zoom the lens while using a slow shutter speed. Experiment using one of two techniques: either hold the camera still and twist the lens to zoom it; or, hold the lens still and twist the camera to zoom. This produces two completely different, abstract-style images.

You can also use an extremely slow shutter speed to transform a nighttime landscape into day. This is because the longer your shutter remains open, the more light hits your camera's sensor. Keep it open long enough and darkness will become light.

Note that there are a couple of things that will limit your choice of shutter speed. The first is the amount of ambient (or surrounding) light in your scene. If you're taking pictures in an extremely bright area, you'll be able to use much faster shutter speeds. However, if you're in a low-light situation, you'll have to use a slower one. The second thing that will limit your choice of shutter speed is whether or not you have a tripod with you. If you're holding a camera and shooting at 1/15th of a second, your image will be blurred simply because your heart was beating. Blur can occur because of subject movement or camera movement. The camera movement problem can be solved simply by mounting your camera on a tripod. Bottom line: use a tripod if you're in a dimly-lit area.

So what happens if you're not happy with your camera's available shutter speeds?

• Scenario 1: You're taking a picture in low-light but don't have a tripod available. Your camera only allows you to take pictures at very slow shutter speeds. If you hand-hold the camera, the image will be blurry. Solution: Raise your ISO setting. This in essence makes your camera more sensitive to light. But be aware that a higher ISO setting will introduce additional noise to the image. That's the trade-off.
• Scenario 2: It's a bright, sunshiny day. You want to blur the water in a cascading city fountain. Your camera won't let you take pictures at the really slow shutter speed you desire. A few solutions: lower your ISO setting, which makes your camera less sensitive to light; Use an ND (neutral density) filter, which is like putting a pair of sunglasses over your lens; or simply wait until later in the day, when the sun isn't as bright.