Long Exposure Photography Made Easier Using Shutter Priority Mode

Long exposure photography doesn’t have to be hard or expensive. As Matt Granger shows us in the video below, you can still capture a variety of great long exposure shots using shutter priority mode with basic equipment. With just your DSLR and a tripod (you should always buy the nicest quality tripod as your budget allows) you can experiment with light painting, motion blur, and more. Add a set of neutral density filters to your kit and you’ve opened up a whole new set of doors.

Take a look as Granger explains several different styles of long exposure photography and how you can practice them on your own.

Three Tips For Determining Shutter Speed

There are a few key components to take in mind when setting up for a long exposure shot:

• Exposure – Obviously, your shutter speed will long, so you may need to compensate all that extra light coming in by stopping down your aperture and ISO. For shooting in bright conditions, you may need to consider using a neutral density filter to help block out some of the light, thus avoiding an overexposed image.
• How Much Blur Do You Really Need? – This is a good question to ask yourself when determining your shutter speed. The longer the shutter is open, the more blur you will see. You are free to be as creative as you’d like when deciding just how much blur is enough, but it’s helpful to know what you are expecting before you take the shot.
• Speed Of The Subject – The speed at which your subject is moving will directly affect how much blur you see. If you have a slow moving subject such as a person walking, you will need a longer shutter speed to see much blur. Conversely, faster moving subjects like cars can be photographed using a shorter shutter speed.

“Whether you want to make things completely disappear, show things with dramatic movement, do creative self portraits, or beautiful landscapes, whatever you want to do, you can do it with long exposure. Just pop your camera into shutter priority, choose an appropriate shutter speed based on what we discussed in the beginning and we’re off.”

[ via Cheap Compact Cameras ]