4 Set shutter speed to control motion

Frozen or blurred – this creative choice is yours

Alot of the time, we worry about whether we have a shutter speed that’s fast enough to stop us from ruining a shot with camera shake. But shutter speed is a creative choice too, and whether you want to freeze-frame the moment or somehow give the impression of movement through selective blur, it all comes down to how short or long a period you keep the shutter open, exposing the camera’s sensor to light. Using aperture in combination with on-camera filters, such as a 10-stop ND filter (below), you can control the amount of light available, and get quite arty as well.

Andrew James A 10-stop ND filter extended the shutter speed from 1/30 sec to 30 secs, allowing the movement in the crops and the clouds to be recorded as motion blur.