Tuesday, March 9, 2010

12 Weeks to Better Photography- Week Two


This weeks' lesson was on Shutter Speed and ISO. In general, it's easiest to think of ISO in terms of film--remember how you used to usually buy 400 film, but would occasionally buy 800 or 1600 if you knew it was a very cloudy day, or if you were shooting sports? The same applies here. ISO also has to do with how much light is used to expose the shot. To be honest, I typically let the ISO be automatically selected by my camera unless I know I'm dealing with a bright or low light situation (or if I'm shooting sports). This is one scenario where I think the camera does a better job than I would on manual--because if I were to select a higher ISO than I really needed, I'd lose quality and the picture would be more grainy. 

However, Shutter Speed is something that I absolutely do control. It's exactly what it sounds--how quickly the camera's shutter opens and closes in order to capture a picture. If I leave my shutter open for a short amount of time, the camera will essentially freeze anything that's moving. 


On the other hand, if I leave my shutter open for a longer period of time, anything moving may actually be moving more quickly than the shutter, which would create a blurred effect.


But keep in mind that shutter speed has a trade off in terms of light--the faster the shutter opens and closes, the less light is able to get in; on the other hand, if you leave the shutter open for 3 or four seconds, too much light may get in!

How did things go for y'all this week?


  1. Your pictures are a great example! :) Very nice. I will post mine soon!

  2. Yours are great! Mine didnt turn out so hot, but I learned a lot.

  3. Nice examples!! Unfortunately my kitchen sink doesn't have a window nearby, so the bathroom had to suffice. I'm going to go outside and try it again soon.

  4. I'm seriously scared to do lesson #2 after lesson #1 but I'm gonna try, gosh darn it. Hopefully it will turn out better this week.

  5. I forgot about it completely!! I'll have to do it when I get home!!

  6. Very cool! I never knew what ISO did.




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