carolee's photo tip of the week: shutter speed

what is shutter speed? and what role does it play when taking a photograph? there are various components necessary to take a good photo and the shutter speed is one of the main ones. it's the amount of time that the shutter stays open, exposing the sensor and capturing your image. understanding the flexibility of your shutter and how it relates to your aperture and iso will allow you to do some pretty amazing things with your camera. often, while teaching, my students say "my camera won't do this or won't do that." in reality it isn't the cameras at fault, it's the person using the camera who doesn't know all of the awesome things that it is capable of. the more you know about these camera controls, the more creative control you will have over your images.

so what does shutter speed do?

shutter speed captures motion. this means that it can either stop the motion completely OR show the movement of an image. just a side note: there is a difference between capturing motion and camera shake. camera shake happens when you're hand-holding your camera, your shutter speed is too slow, and you move ever so slightly. camera shake can be fixed by a tripod or some other stationary device.

if you've been struggling to take successful photos of your super active children, or indoor photos of your favorite basketball team, or other photos where there's a lot of action- your shutter speed is what you'll want to pay the most attention to!

here are some recommended shutter speeds for various activities:

freezing motion:
children: 1/250 or faster
sporting events: 1/500 or faster
moving water/water-falls: 1/1000 or faster (usually faster if possible)
birds in flight: 1/1000 or faster

capturing motion:
amusement park rides: 1 second, plus or minus
moving water: 4 or more seconds (longer exposures of moving water give it a glassy appearance. it's super cool!)
moving cars at night: 8-10 seconds
night photography: 1 or more seconds

now challenge yourself! go out and shoot something with a specific shutter speed. find things that move and see how you do! and most of all, have fun!

falling water, f/2.8, 70mm, 1/1000

playing ball, f/2.8, 80mm, 1/500

girlfriends

good girlfriends are like the very best kind of sisters. this group of friends is proof of that. sweet natalie is moving away to arizona and her friendship meant so much to this group of girls that they decided to have a photo session for her to keep as a lovely memento of their friendship. that's pretty rad in my opinion!

the ladies pictured: kaneischa johnson, laura hendricks, natalie gessel, halen seevinck, alexis dyer

to view more from this session and order prints, go here.

the kindness project: kaneischa

it wasn't hard doing something nice for this girl. first of all, she's one of my closest friends. second, my good deed was driving her around to do a few errands like pay bills and such. what that meant for me was that i got to hang out with her for an afternoon. being kind was never so rewarding!

carolee's photo tip of the week: digital camera modes

to some this tip may seem suuuuuuuuuper basic, but from teaching photography at uvu, i have learned that explaining even the most basic of principles helps those just starting out. learning photography is like learning a new language. there are all kinds of terms and new concepts that have never been heard before but that are important to know. so today's tip is an explanation of some basic camera functions/controls. these controls are on every dSLR camera. they differ slightly between models and brands, but they perform the same functions.

here is a photo i took to illustrate the controls which i'm talking about today:

what are all the options on this dial? what happens when you set your camera to each one? the basic idea here is that your camera is set up to help you customize the results that you're after. in my opinion, manual is always the best setting to use. but in case you're not quite comfortable with manual yet (or are still learning all of the elements required to shoot on manual mode) here is a break down of what each of these options mean:

M: manual mode... you'll have to set everything and will have full control over your shutter speed and aperture.

A: aperture mode or aperture priority mode, on canon cameras this is listed as AV... essentially on this mode you set your aperture first and then your camera selects the appropriate shutter speed for you. this doesn't always guarantee exact results regarding your exposure. the accuracy of this mode really depends on what you're shooting. but the idea is that you have control over your aperture and thus control over your depth of field.

S: shutter mode or shutter priority mode... on canon cameras this is listed as TV this mode is the opposite of aperture priority in that the shutter now becomes the focus, you set your shutter and the camera will then adjust your aperture to what it assumes will be the appropriate exposure.

P: this is program mode... it's essentially auto mode with some extra perks. for one, when you shoot on program mode you're able to adjust things like your iso and white balance. whereas, on regular auto mode those options are all controlled by the camera for you.

all of the modes listed above are semi-manual/semi-automatic modes. meaning that they allow you to make some manual adjustments to your camera controls and then your camera makes up the difference.

now what about the auto-modes? well you have a few options there as well. they are as follows:

AUTO: fully automatic, camera makes all the necessary adjustments to exposure, iso, and white balance for you.

nighttime mode: also known as 'slow shutter sync' sets your camera to a long shutter speed allowing you to take shots in the dark of night. i recommend using a tripod if you're going to try out this mode.

flower or macro mode: this mode makes it easier for you to move closer to your subject to capture a very close-up photo. it's great to try out when you're shooting flowers/bugs or anything up close and personal.

sports mode: also known as action mode, is useful for stopping fast action... like sports photography.

portrait mode: this mode sets your aperture as low as it possibly can go, helping to create a shallow depth of field which is ideal for portrait photography.

landscape mode: this mode is the opposite of the portrait mode in that your aperture is automatically set to a higher number (smaller lens opening) to allow more of the image to be in focus.

there are some other modes on some cameras, but these are the basic ones and what they do! have fun trying them out!

siblings, utah family photography

it was such a pleasure photographing these beautiful children at the FIND workshop. their mom is also a photographer and a super sweet lady.

the kindness project: kendra

as a mom to a little one, i know how tricky it can be to navigate through life: shopping, doctor appointments, and other miscellaneous errands while always having someone else in-tow. it's so nice to have help every now and again. kendra is nearing the end of her pregnancy and her sweet little boy made the perfect playdate for mine on my birthday morning. so glad i could watch him for an hour to help her out.

carolee's photo tip of the week: give yourself a photo-challenge

if you've ever studied art in school you know how assignments can stretch you and help you to think outside of your box. at some point everyone finds themself in a rut or facing artist's block. how then do you get past it? or work through it? one idea that seems to have worked time and time again for me is to give yourself an assignment. you'll be surprised at how things change when you start looking at them through the eyes of a challenge. around 2 years ago i helped to form a creative group of female photographers (f/8) and one of the major benefits of belonging to this amazing group of women is that we have weekly challenges. these exercises push us and help us to see things in a new way. one of the very first challenges was simply "through". the challenge was to photograph through something. ideas included windows, sheets, fabric, trees.... the possibilities on this are endless!

these are some of the first images i shot with this particular challenge in mind:

for this particular shot i had a small piece of fabric that was somewhat sheer which i placed in front of my lens and shot through it:

the through aspect of this one is slightly more obvious:

the above photos are of julie gillrie

i've since used this challenge in many of my sessions. here's a sneak peek at a session which hasn't been posted yet--but where i definitely shot through something:

so the tip of this week is to embrace a challenge. do something different. push yourself and create something extraordinary. and after you do so, share it with me! i'd love to see how you stretch the boundaries of your creativity.

some challenge ideas:
stripes
strangers
happiness
spring
peace
yellow
space