What is Shutter Speed? Learn the nuances of Shutter Speed and be Creative in your Wildlife work!

This video will hand hold you in becoming a Wildlife Photographer! In this video, you will learn the key to take a sharp image and a perfect shot!

Prerequisite Learning:

How to start wildlife photography?

3Pillars of wildlife photography?

What is Aperture?

What is ISO?

I am going to explain you the 3 Pillars of Wildlife Photography – ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.

Do you face any of these issues? then this video will fix these for you.

My photos are not creative!

My photos are not sharp!

My photos are blurred!

My photos are noisy / grainy!

My photos are dark!

My photos are washed out!

My photos are not looking good!

My photos does not look like lively!

My photos are boring!

My photos lack that wow factor!

WILD PHOTOGRAPHY

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Video Transcript:

Hello everyone. Welcome back to wild photography. In this video lesson we are going to learn about what is Shutter speed. This is part of the video series of three pillars of photography.

PREREQUISITE LEARNING

PRE-REQUISITE LEARNING

There are few prerequisite for this video and they are:

How to start wildlife photography
Introduction to three pillars of photography
What is ISO
What is Aperture

I have given the links to all these four videos down in the description of this video. Please have a look at it and then come back and watch this video, so that you’ll get a continuity of the topic.

WHAT IS SHUTTER SPEED

Let’s start with answering what is shutter speed?

To give a very simple explanation, it is a length of time the sensor is exposed to light as simple as that, it is a very technical explanation. So I’m going to give you one small example and then try to explain what is shutter speed?

WHAT IS SHUTTER SPEED

As you can see here there is a tree and there is a torch light and the light from the torch is hitting the tree. Now if I keep one box before the torch the rays will get cut off. If I remove that box away from the torch then the light will come back. So there is something very similar to this happened in camera as well. If we convert this into the terms of a camera the torch what you see is actually the sensor. And the cotton box what I have shown you that is actually the shutter and rays what is coming from the torch light is actually the light we just entering the sensor. The only difference is on the illustrative example that light goes from the torch light but in reality in a camera the light actually enters and reaches the sensor to capture an image. Now what happened same like the way I shown you the boxes kept and taken the shutter opens to let the light inside and then shutter closes and that completes an image. People tend to confuse shutter speed with frames per second. The length of time the shutter actually opens letting the light inside to hit the sensor that is actually shutter speed. That is other name to that is the exposure time. How many times a shutter can open and close that is actually the frames per second.

WHAT IS SHUTTER SPEED

Assume the shutter whatever I have shown over here can open and close 10 times in one second. What that means is, this particular shutter which is part of a camera has a capability to open and close 10 times within 1 second.
I’m going to explain you when a shutter opens and closes it took 1/1000 of a second.

These two are completely different.. The first one what I mentioned is the number of times the shutter is capable of opening and closing. The second one the capability of a shutter which opens and closes within 1/1000 of a second. The first one what I explained you this is basically frames per second. That means this shutter is capable of opening and closing 10 times within one second that means it can take 10 images within that one second. But the second one what I said 1000 of a second this is what is called the shutter speed, which is the point of discussion in this video. These two are completely different. I will probably make one more specific video on explaining both of this in detail with an explanation also to a DSLR vs. mirrorless camera, because I need a little more technical about what happens when you actually press the shutter button till an images taken that would be probably a little too much for a basics. I would keep this aside as an intermediate topic for now., so this is now clear to you. The frames per second and shutter speed are completely different and frames per second depends on what kind of a camera you are having. The top end camera you can go up to even 14 frames per second and shutter speed as well you can have a faster shutter speed like 1/1,000 or you can go for a longer exposure as well. We will see to that more in detail in the coming slides.

MULTIPLE SCENARIOS

MULTIPLES SCENARIOS

I’m going to give you multiple scenarios to be very specific. I’m giving you three different scenarios these are:

We have a bird which is a Baya weaver, which is going to enter the tunnel, which is the entrance to his nest. If you know about Baya weaver these are all palm sized birds and they go in lightning speed into that tunnel and we are perfectly frozen that moment in the first image.
It is a little bit laid-back image. It was very early morning there’s a small palm size bird on a flower nice and clean but there was actually a good breeze, so there was a slight moment of the bird as well, but there is no faster moment like a bird flying.
Cars moving on a road but as you can see only the lights are visible. I’ll explain you how all these three things vary in terms of the shutter speed.

To capture the first one the birds flight, to freeze some moment your shutter speed should be faster than that moment. On the first moment you need to have a fast shutter speed to freeze a moment of a bird in flight, and in this scenario I’ve used the shutter speed of 1/1250 of a second that is absolutely a faster shutter speed to capture that moment. Second one I’m going to explain about the lights what you see over here this is done using a long exposure, so what happened here is a shutter speed of 300 seconds plus is use, so what happened each light from the different cars which is passed through that area within that 5 + 1/2 minutes became like a trail of light giving you this effect. The third one is somewhere in between I’ve used the shutter speed of 1/400. Actually if the bird is absolutely stationary you can even take that moment 1/200 of a second itself. But since there was a mild air and the entire flower and the bird was giving a little bit of movement I used 1/400 of a second to get at clear, crisp and sharp shot of that bird.

Now the point to note here, when you’re using a fast shutter speed it is good that you are freezing a moment a beautiful moment of a Baya weaver entering the nest, but the problem is the light which enters the camera will be very very less. Similar way on a long exposure since you are opening the shutter and letting light to come in for more than 5 minutes, you are getting excess of light coming inside. In both these instances you need to compensate for the increase or decrease in light to perfectly exposed that particular image and the middle image somewhere in between but I want to just take both extremes and explain you. If you don’t compensate it properly what will happened in the Baya weaver case, you will lose that image it will become completely dark because of loss of light, you can’t rectify that in post-processing as well. Similar way on long exposure shots if you’re not managing your light well it will get kind of washed away.

SHUTTER SPEED- A KEY LEVER FOR CREATIVITY

Shutter speed can be a key leaver in capturing creative shots without dip in the quality of image. Though shutter speed ISO aperture can be played around and you can come up with your own creative ways of taking an image. I personally feel shutter speed has an edge over the other two in terms of getting some stunning images which are very very creative.

MULTIPLES SCENARIOS

I will give you one simple example by just going back the same moment of Baya weaver I have just used 1/1250 seconds. I have also taken shots where I have reduce the shutter speed little bit down. I have taken 1/800 in that I will get a sense of motion with wings of the Bayaweaver alone blood how good it will be. So again I want to restate shutter speed is a key lever which you can use if you want to be creative in your wild life work. That’s it about the shutter speed.

KEY TAKE -AWAYS

KEY TAKE-AWAYS

I’m going to give you quickly the key take-aways :

Shutter speed is to be faster than the motion of the subject to freeze that moment.
The shutter speed is slower than the motion of the subject then you will create a blurry feel.Now that thin line is there which shutter speed suits which you have to iterate it on field and you should learn it.
Faster the shutter speed lesser the light
Higher the exposure time that is lesser the shutter speed more the light in both these instances you need to compensate for the loss or increasing light to get a perfectly exposure image.
Shutter speed is a key liver to be creative.

QUESTIONS

Questions

If you have any questions on the shutter speed please feel free to leave me a note at the comment section and I would be glad to get back to you with the answer. Thank you so much for watching this video.

Thank You What is Aperture 3 Pillars of Photography Wild Photography Alvis Lazarus

Thank You 3 Pillars of Photography

The next video which is the last video in the three pillars of wildlife photography is the most crucial video the reason is I am going to explain you how shutter speed, ISO and aperture should we handle together because that is the reality when you’re on the field. Though you control each one of them separately each one has an impact on another and for you to become a good wildlife photographer. You should master the ways in which you can control these three key pillars within wildlife photography. The aperture, ISO and the shutter speed. I will see you soon with the final video in the three pillars of wildlife photography.