Photographs are taken for many reasons and at many events, occasions and locations. Each different photographic location requires your camera to be adjusted to different settings. These adjustments include the shutter speed as well. All lighting will affect the final images, as the speed of a shutter allows for more or less light to enter the camera.

A brightly-lit day may not be appropriate to a slower shutter speed as the image may be washed out and overexposed. Because of these different effects, you need to know when to use a specific shutter speed. However, a darker room will require a slower shutter speed to allow in as much light as possible, so that you can see as much of the image as possible.

Before changing your shutter speed, you will need to take into consideration exactly how clear the desired images are going to be after you take the photo. For example, a photograph of auto racing by can be enhanced with a bit of blur to suggest high rates of speed and motion by changing your shutter speed. But if the subject is the child playing soccer, then their face or jersey number will want to be captured clearly. These two varying situations will require adjustments in shutter speed.

The auto race will take place outdoors and if a true and sharp image of the vehicles is required, the shutter speed will have to be set at the fastest available on the camera, generally 1/1000 to 1/1500 of a second. If a blurry, artful image is desired the shutter speed can be adjusted down to remain open a bit longer, such as 1/125. The photographer desiring the blurred image should use a tripod and consider the effects of any bright daylight. A “panning” technique may also be employed with the tripod, where the vehicle is followed as it passes, with the shutter set to a slower speed to increase the appearance of motion (see the photograph above).

If the child playing soccer is to be photographed clearly, the shutter speed will also need to be set to the highest available speed, and a flash may be needed if the event is occurring in low light or in the evening. The traditional flash technique employed for this sort of action

Shutter speeds are great fun to experiment with and many photographers find a style or unique method of capturing images by testing the many exposure control settings of their cameras. Play around with your camera at different events and see what unique photos you can create.

Amy Renfrey writes a bi-weekly/occasional article for The Corner Blog. Amy is a digital photographer, a photography teacher, and author of the popular Digital Photography Success package as well as her ebook Powerful Landscape Photography. For more information, or to purchase her Photography Package, visit her site: Digital Photography Success and Powerful Landscape Photography. Amy also publishes a monthly photography ezine called Focus eMagazine which includes dozen of articles and tutorials, as well as hours of video each month. Click here to find out more and subscribe to Focus eMagazine.