Shutter speed is the speed that the shutter opens, lets in the image and then closes. Shutter speed manages two elements of your photo: the amount of light in your image and the amount of motion captured in your image.
When the shutter speed is on a lower/slower setting the shutter is open a longer amount of time capturing all the movement found in your scene. The slower the shutter speed the longer the shutter is open and the more movement that is captured in your image. When the shutter speed is on a higher/faster setting the shutter is open less time capturing a smaller amount of “time” in our scene, stopping any movement that is happening. The faster the shutter speed the less time the shutter is open and the less motion is captures. The higher/faster the shutter the sharper your image. When capturing your Christmas tree you want to capture the “movement” of the lights so you would select a lower/slower shutter speed.
Oooooh thanx for sharing, I so want to do this now! I have a nice camera and never really use it or learn about it but now I’m going to give it a try.
Natalie
http://www.projectdowhatyoulove.wordpress.com
I hear you both, I’m getting a DSLR camera this month (finally)and am a little nervous to use it. I’m taking Emilie’s class in January and hopefully I’ll get the swing of it! She’s amazing.
Great tips! And I love that she shared the little bit of action and rescue with the falling kiddo!
Emilie’s class will BLOW YOUR MIND. She’s delightful, too.
I tried the tree thing last night and it worked out well enough that I’m going to do it again with kids in actual clothing instead of ratty old mustache t-shirts.
I love your pictures and the tips! I find it hard having people stay still long enough in my photos when I have a longer shutter speed. LOL…
I’ve been looking into getting a new tripod. Do you have any recommendations for a good sturdy one? I want to protect my baby! LOL
Great tips, but I don’t have a fancy camera 🙁 Any hope for us sad soles without good cameras?
P.S. I am your newest follower 🙂
I have had pretty good luck just using the 8 mp camera on my smartphone and adjusting the settings available on that, which are often available on digital cameras as well…ISO is one way (it was film speed on a manual camera, but on digital, it *kind of* works like shutter speed), also, white balance, exposure, contrast, saturation and sharpness, plus the “scenes” function. Before involving people, especially little kids, play around with things and write down what works if you want to recreate it at another time. A tripod is still a god idea.
Thanks for these tips!
excellent post – thank you!
Wonderful post but I do admit, I LOVE the last picture, that is what memories are made of !
OMGoodness thanks for this tutorial, found through searching site! I have gotten the most amazing pictures now 🙂
thanks for the tip!
Thank you for this!