Mastering Slow Shutter Speed Photography Effects (part 1)

On 05.12.09, In Tutorials, by Barry

Slow shutter speeds are easier when the light is low (in my opinion) as the shutter can be kept open for longer without over exposing the image. A tripod oir bean bag is required as any camera movement whilst the photo is being taken will result in a blurred image.

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River Weir

weir-21

The above image was taken with the following settings;

Exposure – 8.0 seconds
F-Stop - 11.0
ISO – 100
WB – Auto

Slow Shutter speed waterfall effect

Evening River

waterfall-15

The above image was taken with the following settings;

Exposure – 3.2 seconds
F-Stop -22.0
ISO – 100

I would also recommend ‘ND’ (Neutral Density) filters for use with slow shutter speed photography which act a sunglasses for the camera and alow the shutter to stay open longer in lighter conditions without over exposure, these are inexpensive (EBay) and ar an invaluable addition to your kit bag.

Once you have selected a suitable location for your photos set your camera to ‘Manual’ or ‘Shutter Priority’ and set it up on your tripod.

If needed (and if you have them) attach an ND filter. On my camera (Canon 50D) I have ‘Live view’ and so can see how the photo is effected by the different shutter speeds, light conditions and filters. Once you have the scene in your cameras sites take a few photos with slightly differing shutter speeds. Try changing the ‘F-Stop’ on your camera and also the filters if you have more than one until you get that shot that looks right.

You may find in certain cercumstances that that you get ‘Hot Spots’ on the image where because of the length of the exposure you get over exposed areas on the image that appear white. These can sometimes be rectified in the post processing.

If photographing the surface of water, say on a river or lake, you will get a more misty, smooth effect if there is some movement (caused by wind etc). This is beacuse the exposure will capture the movement and merge the higher water levels with the lower one.

Some comments from around the Web regarding Slow Shutter Speed technique;

From ePhotozine;

“A long shutter speed can be set at night to record car headlights as trails. Choose a position on a suitable bridge over a busy road and tripod mount the camera. Then fire the shutter with a speed of between one and 15 seconds depending on the length of streak you require.”

From Bright Hub;

“Some tricks and general rules to go by:

To stop most motion, set your shutter speed to 1/500. For very fast objects, you may have to shoot at faster speeds than this, but 1/500 is fast enough to get a good picture of something moving quickly. This is especially helpful when doing sports photography.
To eliminate shakiness from hand-holding your camera, your shutter speed should be the inverse of your focal length or faster. That is, if your lens is set to 50mm, your shutter speed should be set to1/60 or faster.
If you are shooting at a slow shutter speed, use a tripod. If possible, also use a remote trigger. This will add stability and further eliminate camera shake.”