Freeze time…
… or use a slower shutter speed to blur it
In winter weather, the choice of shutter speed is essential: it can mean the difference between a sharp shot and a blurred one caused by camera shake. But holding a longer lens steady in the low light and cold and windy conditions that are often encountered at this time of year can be challenging.
Shutter speed also has an effect on the way moving objects are recorded, so it’s something to consider when it’s raining or snowing. Relatively long shutter speeds will register falling raindrops and snowflakes as streaks in a picture. The shutter speed you need will depend on how hard the precipitation is; but you can see in the sequence shown here that a shutter speed of 1/15 sec – approximately three stops slower than the 1/100 sec shot with ‘frozen’ flakes – was enough to provide short streaks. You may need a tripod in order to keep the sharp areas sharp, although modern image-stabilised lenses and cameras offer a huge advantage when it comes to shooting handheld.