Last week, I promised to continue writing about shutter speed, in the simplest way and with photographic examples. I also recommended you to do an exercise, of some object or subject in movement; with the aim that you know the shutter speed of your camera. The idea is that you familiarize yourself with the different shutter speeds, and that you identify which is the most appropriate to freeze the movement, that is, so that the images do not look shaken.
On this occasion I have chosen two photographs that were taken with a telephoto lens, and that, due to the nature of the subject, should use a fast shutter speed. After learning how shutter speed works on my Sony 7iii camera; In the first instance I observe the movement of the subjects to be photographed.
I remember it was a cold winter day, where the ducks hibernated, saving energy due to the scarcity of food. It was cloudy, but bright enough to use a low ISO. I had to take into account that the lighting came not only from the sky, but also from the frozen water and the reflection on the water.
On the other hand, when you use a telephoto lens, the first thing you ask yourself is how the light can affect your photographic shot, in my opinion the difference is imperceptible. Telephoto lenses have an impressive range and modern camera models adjust so that the balance (+/-) is the same no matter what lens you decide to use.
Looking at both photos, I'm sure you've already identified why I decided to use such different shutter speeds. Despite the fact that my subject in both photos is animals and that I would normally use high shutter speeds, my decision was different. Now I tell you, let's analyze the first scene.
Shutter speed SLOW 1/4 sec.
To recap a bit, slow shutter speeds let more light through the lens and into the camera as they close more slowly. In this first example, my subjects practically posed perfectly for my camera, the possibility of movement was slim.
The first decision I made was to adjust the ISO, since I had excellent lighting, I used ISO 50. The second decision was to adjust the focus, and since there was a reflection of the trees, I thought it would be interesting to cover everything perfectly to give an extra For photography, I used f/22, an approach with a lot of depth of field, which also lets little light through the lens. Finally, I set the shutter speed to the balance +/- indicated by the camera and set it to 1/4 sec. A slow speed that lets light through. In this case I had to use the tripod, to avoid any movement, I also used a wireless trigger.
For me it is a photo that expresses everything: the season of the year, the environment through the reflection in the water and the ducks wintering on one leg. This is an unusual photograph, as far as I'm concerned. Usually when shooting animals, I'm prepared to shoot with fast shutter speeds. And one more point: I almost always start by adjusting the shutter speed, and not like I did in this photo.
I remember that when I started my photographic career, this type of photography, I regularly cropped them to achieve a better focus effect, in this case the telephoto lens was adjusted to 280mm and it was a good result, compared to the 250 meters distance between the subject and my camera.
Shutter speed MEDIUM 1/200 sec.
In the previous blog, I remember that I wrote to you about the SLOW and FAST shutters, because to understand a little more about the shutter speed approach, today I decided to introduce my medium shutter term. What I am trying to do is make you understand that by knowing your camera you will know what speed to use appropriately. And you will use your own terms to define the speed of speed. Suddenly you'll decides to call it, "1/200 sec the speed of the winter swan".
In my case, in this image seeing that the swans swam at a medium speed, I decided to use 1/200 sec., which for me is a medium speed. But that decision was only possible after spending hours practicing with the different shutter speeds. I was sure it was going to freeze the movement of the birds.
The second factor I chose was the focus of the lens, f/11, it is an intermediate focus that lets in light and is normally recommended for landscape photography, in this photo, I wanted to see the effect of moving water. With this intermediate approach, you will have to adjust using the ISO, sometimes more and sometimes less. In this photo, because of the shadow of the branches, it was adjusted to ISO 800, which was the +/- balance of the camera.
As you have noticed, after adjusting the lens, a 280mm telephoto lens; The first configuration of the famous triangle was the shutter speed, then the focus and finally the ISO.
I want you to leave me your comments and questions, I will gladly read them and follow up on any doubts. In the next blog I will continue writing more about the shutter speed, because as I have told you, I consider it to be the most important when taking a photo shoot.
With the desire to contribute a little more to your knowledge,
Sincerely,
ANA SOSA.
