Shutter Speeds

Shutter speeds are very important in the process of taking photographs. They alter how your picture will look, how much light you let in and how fast your picture is taken. A fast shutter speed would be used to freeze frame a fast moving object, whereas a slow shutter speed would be used to create motion blur, draw something into the image or to take a picture of something in the dark. Torches can be used alongside cameras to create effects in the photograph. If used in a very dark (almost pitch black) room, a torch can be used to 'paint' someone into the picture. They can also be used to draw shapes, words and images in a photograph when the camera is set onto a slow shutter speed. 1/160 is the slowest setting you can set a camera to take a picture without motion blur, and if you're going to take a picture of something at a shutter speed slower than 1/60, it is advised to use a tripod.

This picture would have been taken using a fast shutter speed of around about  1/500.  The quality of this image is fairly good, except for the slight motion blur at the arms. To solve this problem, when taking pictures next time I will make sure it's set on a higher shutter speed. One thing about this photograph is that it's a little far away. Next time, I will get a little closer to my subject, or just zoom in on the camera.

This picture would have been taken using a slow shutter speed of around 05" to ensure the light was captured. Unfortunately, the room wasn't quite dark enough to get the best contrast between the light and the dark, so next time I will ensure that the room is pitch black before attempting this technique.

This picture was taken specifically to capture a motion blur of her running. To achieve this, I set the camera to 1/15., however it seems to be a little too blurred, so when taking photos next time, I will check to make sure it is set at the correct shutter speed, and is not slightly off.  

This picture went fairly well, however by setting it at 1/250, it wasn't quite as fast as I could have had it to create the full effect of her jumping in mid-air.

Altogether, I think I did fairly well with taking these photos in the different shutter speeds, however some I took were underexposed, so to correct this next time I would make sure that the camera was set at a slower shutter speed or in better lighting conditions. To make everything better overall, I will make sure to record shutter speeds and times a lot better so that I know for sure what setting it should be on for what type of picture, and possibly take more photos so there's more of a chance of some of them coming out a bit better.