What is Shutter Speed and How to Use it Like a Boss

Let's talk about shutter speed, shall we?

You know that button you press to actually take a picture? It's called the Shutter Button, or shutter release. Want to know why? Because it controls the shutter, and what tf does that actually mean? Let's get into it.

First, let's talk about what and where the shutter is. Think of it like a curtain, a blackout curtain, that sits in front of the camera's sensor. In order for light to hit the sensor and produce photo magic, the shutter has to open. How long that "curtain" is open is called Shutter Speed. The longer it is open, the more light hits the sensor. We will talk about what this does to your final image in a bit.

How Does Shutter Speed Affect my Image?

Shutter speed is responsible for two particular things: changing the brightness of your photo and creating dramatic effects by either freezing action or blurring motion. When you use a long shutter speed (also known as a “slow” shutter speed), you end up exposing your sensor for a significant period of time.

A slow shutter speed will create motion blur when dealing with a moving subject. Think about car advertisements, where a sense of speed and motion is communicated to the viewer by intentionally blurring the moving wheels or how the background seems to be whizzing by. This is also how to create those beautiful "milky" moving water photos. Slow that shutter down.

Check out the 2 images below:

• In the first image, the motion blur of the foreground and background gives you (the viewer) a sense of fast motion. This is using a slow shutter while moving the camera along with the rider.

• In the second Image, the rider is frozen in action because a fast shutter was used.

Slow Shutter Speed = Motion Blur

Slow Shutter Speed = Motion Blur

Fast Shutter Speed = Frozen Action

Fast Shutter Speed = Frozen Action

Slowing down the shutter is also necessary to shoot in dim or dark environments such as photographing the Milky Way. Keeping the shutter open will allow the sensor to soak up as much light as possible. An example: throw your camera on a tripod, slap a 2 second timer on to minimize camera shake, and set the shutter to 30 seconds to create something like the photo below.

Milky Way Photographed using a slow shutter speed

Shutter Speed and Exposure

Shutter speed also affects the overall exposure of an image. A long shutter allows your camera sensor to gather a lot of light, and the resulting photo will be quite bright. A quick shutter speed means your camera sensor is only exposed to a small fraction of light, resulting in a darker photo.

Keep in mind that Shutter speed is only 1 of the 4 elements to consider when it comes to proper exposure. There is Aperture, ISO, and the brightness of what you are photographing. Unless you're in a studio, you can't do much to control the light of the environment, but you can control your camera settings. Photography is the art of understanding how to set these properly to achieve the image you want.

Take Me To Chapter 4: Let's Break Down What Aperture Is, ya?

Photography Basics Organization

(This will be filled in with links as I produce them) - Stay Tuned!!

• Chapter 1:How Do I Use This F*cking Camera?!

• Chapter 2:So What The F*ck is Photography Anyway??

• Chapter 3:What is Shutter Speed and How to Use it Like a Boss (You are here)

• Chapter 4: Let's Break Down What Aperture Is, ya?

• Chapter 5: ISO

• Chapter 6: Composition

• Chapter 7: Metering

• Chapter 8: Camera Modes

• Chapter 9: Focusing

• Chapter 10: Flash

• Chapter 11: Camera Settings

• Chapter 12: How to Take Sharp Pictures

• Chapter 13: Photography Tips for Beginners

• Chapter 14: Photography Ideas

So What The F*ck is Photography Anyway?

Let's go with the boring definition first: Photography is the art of capturing light with a camera, usually via a digital sensor or film, to create an image. Snoozefest. It's art, man. It's creating and capturing. It is whatever it is you want it to be. Biyatch, don't kill my vibe. That's what it is.

Photography can tell a story, it can capture a moment in time, it can document, and it can be art. There are many technical uses for photography as well as social and creative ones. How we capture and how we consume photos changes almost daily which keeps it fresh and exciting!

Do I need a Fancy Camera?

Let's start with this: the gear doesn't make the photographer. Do certain features found on pro or prosumer-level cameras help to enhance a photo? Yup. Is it necessary? Nope. Can you take a bomb-ass shot with your iPhone - Oh heck yes! Your eye is more important than the camera used.

I admit, I actually enjoy pissing people off when they ask me - what's the best camera? My reply? The one you have on you when you need it. It's just the truth. Most times that ends up being my iPhone, or my GoPro (anyone say Haboob?).

So what am I getting at? If you know what to look for when taking in a view, or composing a photo, the camera you use doesn't matter all that much - not until you are getting into professional usage for your photos. Then the resolution, depth of field, sharpness, etc come into play. We will get there - keep following along.

Basic Camera Gear

What are the Bare Necessities for Photography?

Now we are stepping away from your phones for this one and leveling up. We will start with the big 3 and then check out the optional accessories.

Camera. Pick one with interchangeable lenses so that you can try out different types of photography more easily. Read reviews, but don’t obsess over them. Trust me, you will spend way too much of your hard-earned money on photography gear over the years. At least do yourself a favor, and save yourself from the stress. Pick a reputable brand, look around on Facebook or OfferUp and jump in. You can always upgrade later.

What do I use? My main camera body is the Canon EOS R5 and I absolutely love everything about it. It is incredibly feature-rich, has great ergonomics, super dependable, and checks all of my boxes as a professional shooter that needs to dabble in almost every type of photography out there. I use the Canon EOS R as my backup - the one I take backpacking because it is 1/2 the price and much lighter. For beginners, I would recommend maybe looking into the Canon EOS RP.

Lenses. For everyday photography, start with a standard zoom lens like a 24-70mm or 18-55mm. For portrait photography, pick a prime lens (one that doesn’t zoom) at 35mm, 50mm, or 85mm. For sports, go with a telephoto lens. For macro photography, get a dedicated macro lens. And so on. Lenses matter more than any other piece of equipment because they determine what photos you can take in the first place. If you want to start with one, I would recommend a 24-70mm to give you a great range to play with.

Post-Production Editing Software. It's my least favorite part, but it is part of the art. Adobe sells Lightroom and Photoshop as a bundle for $10/month, or you can buy standalone software from another company if you prefer; there are tons of options. Whatever you pick, stick with it for a while, and you’ll learn it quite well. This is where Youtube will be your best friend. Please, please, please don't start with Presets. Learn how to edit first, and then dabble with presets. Otherwise, you're robbing yourself of learning the basics and understanding what you are actually doing in the software.

Photography is the art of capturing light with a camera. Snoozefest. It's art. It's creating and capturing. It is whatever you want it to be.

Let's Call These Items Optional, Though We Know You're Going to Get it All!!

1. A tripod. A landscape photographer’s best friend.

   • Best Travel Tripod: Peak Design CF Travel Tripod

   • Best All Around Heavy Duty - Manfrotto MT055CXPRO4 055 Carbon Fiber 4-Section Tripod 

2. Bags. Get a shoulder bag for street photography, a rolling bag for studio photography, a technical hiking backpack for landscape photography, and so on.

   • Best Backpack: Peak Design Everyday Backpack

3. Memory cards. Choose something in the 64-128 GB range to start. Get a fast card (measured in MB/second) if you shoot bursts of photos since your camera’s memory will clear faster.

4. Extra batteries. Get at least one spare battery to start, preferably two. I would NOT recommend off-brand batteries, even though they are usually way cheaper. In my experience, they don't last as long or maintain compatibility with future cameras and can actually damage your body.

5. Polarizing filter. This is a big one, especially for landscape photographers. Don’t get a cheap polarizer or it will harm your image quality.

   • My favorite: B + W Circular Polarizer Kaesemann - Xtra Slim Mount 

6. Flash. Flashes can be expensive, and you might need to buy a separate transmitter and receiver if you want to use your flash off-camera. But for genres like portrait photography or macro photography, they’re indispensable.

   • My Favorite: GODOX AD200 Pro

7. Cleaning kit. The top item is a microfiber cloth to keep the front of your lens clean. Also, get a rocket blower to remove dust from your camera sensor more easily.

8. Other equipment. There are countless other photography accessories available, from remote shutter releases to GPS attachments, printers, and more. Don’t worry about these at first; you’ll realize over time if you need one.

Take me to Chapter 3:

What is Shutter Speed and How to Use it Like a Boss

Photography Basics Organization

(This will be filled in with links as I produce them) - Stay Tuned!!

• Chapter 1:How Do I Use This F*cking Camera?

• Chapter 2: So What The F*ck is Photography Anyway? (You are here)

• Chapter 3: What is Shutter Speed and How to Use it Like a Boss

• Chapter 4: Aperture

• Chapter 5: ISO

• Chapter 6: Composition

• Chapter 7: Metering

• Chapter 8: Camera Modes

• Chapter 9: Focusing

• Chapter 10: Flash

• Chapter 11: Camera Settings

• Chapter 12: How to Take Sharp Pictures

• Chapter 13: Photography Tips for Beginners

• Chapter 14: Photography Ideas

How Do I Use This F*cking Camera?

Where to Begin

Treat this Photography Basics Series like a book. It is best to read it from start to end because each chapter builds on prior chapters. However, if you want to jump to something more specific, you’re welcome to skip ahead to a later chapter. Here is the overall organization of the guide:

Photography Basics by Chapter:

(This will be filled in with links as I produce them) - Stay Tuned!!

• Chapter 1: How Do I Use This F*cking Camera? (You are here)
• Chapter 2: So What The F*ck is Photography Anyway?
• Chapter 3: What is Shutter Speed and How to Use it Like a Boss
• Chapter 4: Aperture
• Chapter 5: ISO
• Chapter 6: Composition
• Chapter 7: Metering
• Chapter 8: Camera Modes
• Chapter 9: Focusing
• Chapter 10: Flash
• Chapter 11: Camera Settings
• Chapter 12: How to Take Sharp Pictures
• Chapter 13: Photography Tips for Beginners
• Chapter 14: Photography Ideas

Take me to Chapter 2: So What The F*ck is Photography Anyway?

Why I Wrote This

It's the set of questions I get asked all of the time. How can I take better photos? What settings should I have my camera on? Do I have to shoot in Manual Mode?

I have been a professional photographer for 15 years now. I have photographed in almost any imaginable scenario, climate, and circumstance forcing me to learn most of what I know on the fly. I admit, that most of my learning came through making mistakes. I hope this guide will allow others to learn from my mistakes and skip right past that painful part of the learning process.

Let me also say that I am writing in this in a fashion that makes the most sense to me. I’m going to give examples about how I personally understand camera settings, lighting, posing and all the good things that encompass photography. Most of my examples will focus on the type of work I do - adventure, lifestyle, product, editorial, etc. however all of the ideas and principles that I share can be applied to any type of photography.

Let me say this: Youtube University is an insanely great asset to use to learn all about photography. However, I would highly suggest having a rock-solid understanding of the basics before blindly following along. Once you have the basics dialed in, have at it on YT.

How to Take Long Exposure Photos of Waterfalls And Water

How to Shoot Long Exposure Water Photos

Long Exposure Photography might have an impact on the viewers similar to magic, but trust me, it is not. Cascading water is exciting to watch and photograph. Raging rivers also make beautiful photographs. Surging white water rapids, briny mist, and cascading spray are all the elements you need for a great picture.

Here are 8 tips to consider when photographing water in motion:

1 - Use a shutter speed of 1/15 of a second or slower. A slow shutter speed renders moving water as a silky white blur. Using an ND filter can help slow down the shutter speed.

2 - Use a low ISO setting. A low ISO setting gives you a relatively small aperture, which ensures a large depth of field.

Use a Tripod to keep the Camera Stabilized

3 - Use a tripod. When you use a slow shutter speed, stabilize the camera to get a sharp picture. Having a solid travel tripod is a must.

4 - Use a neutral density filter in bright light. In bright light, you won’t be able to use a slow shutter speed and get a properly exposed image. A neutral density filter cuts down on the amount of light reaching the sensor, which means you can get a properly exposed image using a slow shutter speed.If you use neutral density filters on a regular basis, consider purchasing a variable neutral density filter. This is actually two filters in one. You rotate the outer ring to dial in the strength of the filter.

5 - Use a fast shutter speed when you want to freeze the motion of a raging river. You can also use a fast shutter speed when you want to show the details of a waterfall. You may have to increase the ISO setting when using a fast shutter speed to achieve a large depth of field, which requires a small aperture. Don’t increase the ISO too high or you’ll end up with a noisy image; use a tripod instead.

ISO 100 | F-22 | 0.6 sec

ISO 100 | F-16 | 0.5 sec

When you compose the image, position the horizon line in the lower third of the image. It’s also a good idea to place the waterfall to one side of the image.

6 - Rotate the camera 90 degrees when photographing a waterfall. This is known as portrait format. Rotate the camera 90 degrees any time you photograph a subject that is taller than it is wide. The only exception to this rule would be a waterfall like Niagara Falls that is actually wider than it is tall. I always have an L-bracket on my camera so I can quickly switch from landscape to portrait.

Camera Settings: ISO 100 | F-20 | 0.6 sec | WB 5600K

7 - Take a picture downstream from a waterfall. You’ll often find wonderful details when you venture a couple of hundred feet downriver from a waterfall, such as this image that was photographed a few hundred feet down a waterfall in Shenandoah National Park.

Camera Gear I use for These:

• Camera: Canon EOS R5
• Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Zoom Lens
• Tripod: Peak Design CF Travel Tripod
• Polarizer Lens: B + W Circular Polarizer Kaesemann - Xtra Slim Mount
• L-Bracket : SUNWAYFOTO PCLO-R5 L Bracket

Wrapping Up

This will be added to my travel photography tutorial series. These long exposure photos make a huge impact on your travel photos or videos. Pair this with an Iphone Hyperlapse and you've got a banger of a travel video!