The shutter speed determines how long the film or sensor is exposed to light. Normally this is achieved by a mechanical shutter between the lens and the film or sensor which opens and closes for a time period determined by the shutter speed. For instance, a shutter speed of 1/125s will expose the sensor for 1/125th of a second. Electronic shutters act in a similar way by switching on the light sensitive photodiodes of the sensor for as long as is required by the shutter speed.

Some digital cameras feature both electronic and mechanical shutters. Shutter speeds are expressed in fractions of seconds, so that each higher shutter speed halves the exposure by halving the exposure time: 1/2s, 1/4s, 1/8s, 1/15s, 1/30s, 1/60s, 1/125s, 1/250s, 1/500s, 1/1000s, 1/2000s, 1/4000s, 1/8000s, etc. Going in the opposite direction you are doubling the exposure time, so a move from 1/250s to 1/125s is double the exposure. Long exposure shutter speeds are expressed in seconds, e.g. 8s, 4s, 2s, 1s.

Matching shutter speed and focal length

The optimal shutter speed depends on the situation. A useful rule of thumb is to shoot with a shutter speed above 1 times the focal length to avoid blurring due to camera shake. for example if you are shooting with a focal length of 200mm then have your shutter set to minimum of 1/250. Below that speed a tripod or image stabilization is preferable.

Freeze action shots

If you want to “freeze” action, e.g. in sports photography, you will typically need shutter speeds of 1/250s or more. But not all action shots need high shutter speeds. For instance, keeping a moving car in the center of the viewfinder by panning your camera at the same speed of the car allows for lower shutter speeds and has the benefit of creating a background with a motion blur. Prosumer and professional cameras provide shutter priority exposure mode, allowing you to vary the shutter speed while keeping exposure constant.

The diagram below illustrates how slowing the shutter speed effects movement in the image, and the point when hand holding your camera is no longer recommended. The shutter speed is one of the three controls that allows you to control exposure, the other two being aperture and ISO setting.

The follow video from Michaelthementor gives a good explanation about shutter speed, which is worth a look

If there are any points you would like clarifying please leave a comment and I will gladly address them. Please check out my one to one tutorials for more in-depth training options.

Lens aperture also affects how much in front and behind the lens focus distance will appear to be in focus in the image. This is called Depth of Field. The most common reason for wanting a narrow aperture (high f-number) is to have a very deep depth of field in which everything (or very nearly so) appears in focus. A very deep depth of field is almost always desired for landscape photographs. A wide aperture (low f-number) will create a shallower depth of field. The wider the aperture, the shallower the depth of field. One of the common uses for wide apertures is in portraiture, to isolate the subject from a distracting (possibly cluttered) background.

The last thing you want when taking portraits is cluttered, distracting backgrounds, that leads the eye away from the subject. The background appears out of focus, but not in a way you would blur in photoshop or some other photo editing software, but looks like circular or hexigan shaped blotches, reflecting the shape of your aperture. This is how you know whether the photography has been manipulated after a shoot or has been done in-camera.

one to one tutorials available here.

Aperture refers to the size of the opening in the lens that determines the amount of light falling onto the film or sensor. The size of the opening is controlled by an adjustable diaphragm of overlapping blades similar to the pupils of our eyes. Aperture affects exposure and depth of field. Just like successive shutter speeds, successive apertures halve the amount of incoming light. To achieve this, the diaphragm reduces the aperture diameter by a factor 1.4 (square root of 2) so that the aperture surface is halved each successive step as shown on this diagram.Because of basic optical principles, the absolute aperture sizes and diameters depend on the focal length. For instance, a 25mm aperture diameter on a 100mm lens has the same effect as a 50mm aperture diameter on a 200mm lens. If you divide the aperture diameter by the focal length, you will arrive at 1/4 in both cases, independent of the focal length. Expressing apertures as fractions of the focal length is more practical for photographers than using absolute aperture sizes. These “relative apertures” are called f-numbers or f-stops. On the lens barrel, the above 1/4 is written as f/4 or F4 or 1:4.We just learned that the next aperture will have a diameter which is 1.4 times smaller, so the f-stop after f/4 will be f/4 x 1/1.4 or f/5.6. “Stopping down” the lens from f/4 to f/5.6 will halve the amount of incoming light, regardless of the focal length. You now understand the meaning of the f/numbers found on lenses:Because f-numbers are fractions of the focal length, “higher” f-numbers represent smaller apertures.Maximum Aperture or Lens Speed

The “maximum aperture” of a lens is also called its “lens speed”. Aperture and shutterspeed are interrelated via exposure. A lens with a large maximum aperture (e.g. f/2) is called a “fast” lens because the large aperture allows you to use high (fast) shutterspeeds and still receive sufficient exposure. Such lenses are ideal to shoot moving subjects in low light conditions.
Zoom lenses specify the maximum aperture at both the wide angle and tele ends, e.g. 28-100mm f/3.5-5.6. A specification like 28-100mm f/2.8 implies that the maximum aperture is f/2.8 throughout the zoom range. Such zoom lenses are more expensive and heavy.

The next post will discuss how the aperture effects Depth of Field

If there are any points you would like clarifying please leave a comment and I will gladly address them.

One to one tutorials available here.

Exposure is based on three elements. shutter speed, aperture size and the ISO rating of the film being used (or sensor sensitivity). Assuming we are using an ISO rated film or sensor of 200. Lets say our light meter reading is 1/125 (shutter setting) @ F11 (aperture setting). This will give us the correct exposure. 1/250 @ F 8 will give us exactly the same exposure. Which exposure setting we use depends on other creative considerations. Such as whether we want to freeze the action or show movement. Do we want a shallow depth of field or have everything in focus?

Lets say we want to freeze an action shot with no movement visible at all. We would need to select a shutter speed of 1/500 or faster. Using the exposure example given above.( 1/125 @ F11), we would need to open the aperture up to F5.6 if we wanted to use a shutter speed of 1/500. This would balance the exposure. By speeding the shutter speed from 1/125 to 1/500 we are giving the exposure 2 full stops of less exposure. To ensure the same amount of light is passing though onto the film or sensor, we need to open or increase the aperture to allow more light through. Opening the aperture by 2 stops from F11 is F5.6. see the table below. All these setting give us the same exposure.

If there are any points you would like clarifying please leave a comment and I will gladly address them.

Aperture refers to the size of the opening in the lens that determines the amount of light falling onto the film or sensor in your camera. The size of the opening is controlled by an adjustable diaphragm of overlapping blades similar to the pupils of our eyes.

Aperture affects exposure and is part of the exposure triangle and depth of field (used to blur backgrounds). Just like successive shutter speeds, successive apertures halve the amount of incoming light. To achieve this, the diaphragm reduces the aperture diameter by a factor 1.4 (square root of 2) so that the aperture surface is halved each successive step as shown on this diagram.Because of basic optical principles, the absolute aperture sizes and diameters depend on the focal length.

For instance, a 25mm aperture diameter on a 100mm lens has the same effect as a 50mm aperture diameter on a 200mm lens. If you divide the aperture diameter by the focal length, you will arrive at 1/4 in both cases, independent of the focal length. Expressing apertures as fractions of the focal length is more practical for photographers than using absolute aperture sizes. These “relative apertures” are called f-numbers or f-stops. On the lens barrel, the above 1/4 is written as f/4 or F4 or 1:4.We just learned that the next aperture will have a diameter which is 1.4 times smaller, so the f-stop after f/4 will be f/4 x 1/1.4 or f/5.6. “Stopping down” the lens from f/4 to f/5.6 will halve the amount of incoming light, regardless of the focal length.

Hopefully you now know the meaning of the f/numbers found on lenses: Because f-numbers are fractions of the focal length, “higher” f-numbers represent smaller apertures.Maximum Aperture or Lens Speed The “maximum aperture” of a lens is known as it’s “lens speed”.

Aperture and shutter speed are interrelated via exposure (see exposure triangle). A lens with a large maximum aperture (e.g. f/2) is called a “fast” lens because the large aperture allows you to use high (fast) shutter speeds and still receive sufficient exposure. Such lenses are ideal to shoot moving subjects in low light conditions. Zoom lenses specify the maximum aperture at both the wide angle and telephoto ends, e.g. 28-100mm f/3.5-5.6. A specification like 28-100mm f/2.8 implies that the maximum aperture is f/2.8 throughout the zoom range. Such zoom lenses are more expensive to buy and more weighty.

Depth of field

As mentioned above, lens aperture also affects how much in front and behind the lens focus distance will appear to be in focus in the image. This is called Depth of Field. The most common reason for wanting a narrow aperture (high f-number) is to have a very deep depth of field in which everything (or very nearly so) appears in focus. A very deep depth of field is almost always desired for landscape photographs. A wide aperture (low f-number) will create a shallower depth of field. The wider the aperture, the shallower the depth of field. One of the common uses for wide apertures is in portraiture, to isolate the subject from a distracting (possibly cluttered) background.

The ‘theartofphotography.tv’ has an interesting video tutorial about the subject of Apertures, worth a look below

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