outdoor photography

Aya Sofya, Istanbul, Turkey A remote shutter release is simply a device that allows you to trip the shutter of your camera without touching the camera itself.  Mine attaches to the camera with a cable; others operate wirelessly.  These are the kinds of devices that many photographers consider too much of a hassle to bother with, but once you get into the habit of using them, they actually make your life as a photographer much easier.  There are two types of situations when using a remote shutter release can be extremely helpful to you. Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey When you need your camera absolutely still.  Even when your camera is attached to a good tripod , pressing the shutter can move the camera ever so slightly, and at slower shutter speeds , this can be a problem.  I'm in the habit now of using a remote shutter release whenever I use my tripod.  I have the release in my hand, and when I have the exposure and composition I want, ...

Guitarist Michael Raitzyk If you haven't already gathered from my other posts on the three exposure elements : aperture , shutter speed and ISO , photography is an art of compromise.  You can't always get what you want most without giving up something you want less.  This is a dance we all must learn.  Let me explain the need for compromise with a couple examples. Bright Light Situations. Suppose you want to get that nice, silky effect on a waterfall on a bright, sunny day mid-afternoon.  The sun is shining directly on the the falls, and it looks so pretty you have to get the picture.  Here's the problem.  On a bright, sunny day, there's so much light that can be impossible to make your ISO slow enough and your aperture small enough to get your shutter speed in the 2-3 sec. range.  If, on top of that you want a narrow depth of field (large aperture), well, you may as well ask for the moon. This situation forces a compromise--the best solution...

Shutter Priority MOde Gives you the most control over your shutter speed Shutter Priority Mode (Tv or S) works just like Aperture Priority Mode except the dial operations are reversed.   The main dial (by the shutter release) controls the shutter speed.  You set the  shutter speed  you want and the camera will choose the  aperture  that it believes will give you the right exposure.  You dial in your exposure compensation, either by turning the second dial or by holding down a button and turning the same dial by the shutter release. This shooting mode has some very useful purposes.  Whenever you care more about the shutter speed of your camera than the f/stop, consider using this mode.  Here are some possible applications: Panning shots.  Perhaps you've seen photographs where a fast moving subject (car, bike) is in focus but the background shows a lot of motion blur.  This is achieved by choosing a relatively slow shutter ...

Trees at Sunrise As we discussed in a previous post on exposure, you have proper exposure for your photograph when you have set your three   exposure  factors ( shutter speed , aperture , and ISO ) to give you the results you want--that is, you've let in just the right amount of light to give you the image you were hoping to capture.  But that's just the beginning of the creative process in photography.  You can change the balance of these factors to allow you to take control of the look of your photographs.  Let's review a little of what I mean by this: You can use a slow shutter speed to create a pleasing motion blur--such as the silky effect on a waterfall .   You can use a fast shutter speed to freeze motion, like a kayaker on rapids .   You can use a large aperture (small f/stop) to create photographs with a shallow depth of field , like a butterfly with a blurry background. You can use a small aperture (large f/stop) to to cre...

Shutter speed is the length of time the camera's shutter remains open.  A long shutter speed will let more light onto your camera's sensor, increasing your exposure .  A short shutter speed let's less light onto your camera' sensor, decreasing your exposure.  If your camera is on a tripod and the scene you're photographing is perfectly still, the shutter speed you choose is largely inconsequential--you can set your aperture  and ISO  the way you want and set the shutter speed to whatever will give you the exposure you need. There are two main reasons for taking control of your shutter speed; Camera Movement. If your camera is not on a tripod (or secured in some other way), it is moving.  When hand holding a camera, you need faster shutter speeds so that the camera's motion doesn't cause blur in your photographs.  A good rule of thumb for lenses without image stabilization (IS) is to ensure you have a shutter speed of the inverse of the focal length ...