Why Slow Shutter Speeds?
Using slower shutter speeds as part of your photos can be a powerful tool in expanding your portfolio and creating images that are very intriguing and give the sense that the subject is moving. While stop action is a way of stopping time and only capturing a fraction of a second, slower shutter speeds give the viewer a true sense of the object or person in movement which can transform a photo entirely. Here are a few examples.
The slow shutter speed as fluidity and softness to the picture. It makes the picture come alive as you can see the movement of the hands playing the piano. Taken at an ISO 100 at 1/16 shutter speed.
This is one of my favorite slow shutter photos I have taken because of the contrast of the people who are moving and the people who stood still. Taken at an ISO 100 at 1/60 shutter speed.
How to: During the Day
Taking slow shutter speed photos during the day can be challenging because of the excess light. The shutter speed is a way of controlling exposure, so a longer shutter speed adds the risk of your photo because overexposed. One way to control this is by increasing your aperture. It will make the little opening which lets light in the camera a lot smaller. Sometimes though, if it is a very sunny day and you are shooting in direct sunlight, this will not work. The best time to take slow shutter photos is when it is cloudy or in a shady location so you capture what you want to without the photo being overexposed. I never recommend taking photos with over a 1 second shutter speed while the sun is out, though, because even in a shady location or on a cloudy day it will still most likely be overexposed. I usually take my photos with a 1/16-1/25 shutter speed.
The photo below was taken at around 4pm and it was a cloudy day. Taken at 1/80 shutter speed with an ISO of 100.
This photo was also taken during the day but indoors. Taken with 1/25 shutter speed and 100 ISO.
