Ask the expert: Shutter speeds

Travel photography expert Doug McKinlay reveals all about using camera shutter speeds to achieve different effects

View Doug McKinlay's shutter speed gallery and read on to find out how to get the same results

With lower-priced digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras flooding the market in the past couple of years photography has probably never been so popular.

However, just because cameras have come down in price doesn�t mean they are any easier to use. Whether people still shoot film or have made the digital jump, the basic nuts and bolts of photography remain the same.

I see so many people outfitted with the latest DSLR�s who still shoot on automatic or program mode. This means the camera is controlling you and not the other way around.

Remember, the camera is just a dumb box to catch light and it doesn�t matter if that box uses film or a digital sensor to record images. Light is the lifeblood of photography, without it pictures wouldn�t exist, but in order to create well-exposed images photographers first must understand how to manage light.

The practical means to do this is by manipulating shutter speeds and aperture settings. The first controls the length of time light is allowed to fall on the film plane or sensor and the second controls the amount of light entering the camera through the lens barrel.

On the surface these two functions are simply practical applications, but once understood they are the prime movers and shakers of creative photography. Here we will look a little closer at shutter speeds and what they can do for you.

Modern cameras will typically be able to use shutter speeds ranging from long exposures of 30 seconds or more to incredibly fast speeds of up to 1/8000sec. This will vary of course between manufacturers and models.

By adjusting the shutter speed you can control the movement of the subject. A fast shutter speed will freeze the subject and a slow shutter speed will make it look blurred as the subject moves. You can also combine flash with a slow speed to get movement and blur while freezing action all in the same shot. Understanding how shutter speeds affect images is a matter of trial and error, made easier with today�s digital equipment.

Doug McKinlay

more : travel.timesonline.co.uk