Lesson 4ª

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Movement

The first thing we need to consider about movement in a photograph is that there is a minimum shutter speed in which you can hold the camera in your hand without getting a moved image. This will depend on several factors: our steadiness, the weight of the camera, the weight of the lens we are using, and the object we are shooting.

If we use a DSRL camera with a heavy lens (instead of a lighter compact camera), we will need a higher shutter speed to get a steady picture. Which is the minimum shutter speed to take pictures while holding the camera with our hand? Generally, regardless of the camera, we shouldn't take a picture while holding the camera in our hand with a shutter speed lower than 1/30th of a second. There are very few people who are able to shot photographs with a shutter speed of 1/15 while holding the camera. There are some people that can't take photographs with a shutter speed lower than 1/60 or 1/125.

It is important to remember that the heavier the equipment we are using, the higher the shutter speed we need to use (as long as we are taking pictures while holding the camera ourselves). Whenever you have a doubt, it is better to take several photographs using different shutter speeds to make sure the photograph doesn't move.

A simple solution to make sure the photograph is not moved whenever we want to use lower shutter speeds is using a tripod. By using a tripod, the camera and lens will be steady. If we don't have a tripod, we can be creative and use any firm surface to support the camera: a table, chair, etc.