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Shutter Priority 

You may contact Neva Scheve and Linda Piechota at outandabout@sandhillsphotoclub.org

The Out and About March prompt is “SHUTTER PRIORITY” : by Neva Kittrell Scheve
     
Let’s get your camera out of Auto Mode and try Shutter Priority for more artistic control of your photograph.
 
Last month we did Aperture Priority, and a lot of good work was submitted by our members. Did you submit a photo? If not, why not try out our next prompt, the other semi-automatic setting “Shutter Priority”.
 
Shutter Priority can be found on your camera dial. It’s “S” for Nikon and “Tv” for Canon.
 
When you choose Shutter Priority, your camera will automatically choose the proper aperture to make a good exposure. Shutter speeds are measured in fractions of a second. The faster the shutter speed, the more the motion will be frozen. With a slow shutter speed, the more blur will occur. You can control the amount of blur when you use a slower shutter speed with a tripod, or you can go with the blur and use it to your advantage to show the motion. Using the shutter priority mode gives you more creative control of your photograph than using the programmed auto mode.
In general, in order to capture fast motion, a shutter speed of 1/500 or higher should produce a sharp image. A medium shutter speed would be around 1/160 - 1/250. Anything under 1/50 will be considered a slow shutter speed and will require a tripod or other support unless you want to create the motion. The longer the focal length of your lens, the faster the shutter speed needs to be to get a sharp image with a handheld camera. For instance, if you have a 300 mm lens, you should have a shutter speed of at least 1/300. A 500mm lens – 1/500 or faster, etc.

Stoneybrook....A fast shutter speed stops motion.

Sometimes, if you don’t have enough light for the camera to find a suitable aperture, you will have to change your ISO to a higher setting. Some cameras can be set to very high ISO settings, but keep in mind that, depending on your camera, the higher the ISO, the more noise will appear in your image.

Deep Depth of Field

Waterfall... Put the camera on a tripod using a slow shutter speed to show the motion of the subject and keep the background sharp.

So, for this prompt, try to show control of your image using Shutter Priority Mode on your camera. You can stop the motion to catch the moment, or you can creatively use blur to show motion. Try some night photography with long shutter speeds for some really interesting shots.
 
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Move the camera with the subject using a slow shutter speed to show a blurry background

The following videos and articles can explain Shutter Speed Priority in much more detail. You can do your own search to find more.
 
Videos
 
This video is the best I found for explaining shutter priority mode.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp5zAmUEOxw
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA2yQ22YGD8
 
Plain and simple explanation
 
http://vimeo.com/21062687
 
Articles
 
http://www.techhive.com/article/126654/digital_focus_making_the_most_of_shutter_priority_mode.html
 
http://digital-photography-school.com/shutter-speed
 
http://photographylife.com/what-is-shutter-speed-in-photography
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