Section 1 The Basics
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Faster shutter speeds, giving shorter exposures,
stop motion. See Figure 2-5. The effect of the
selected shutter speed is relative to the motion
involved. A relatively fast shutter speed of
1/250 second freezes a jogger’s movement in
mid-stride, but records a baseball pitcher’s
95 mph fastball as a streak. Sports photography,
the performing arts, and photojournalism are
obvious uses for shutter priority.
The manual exposure mode provides the
greatest degree of control—you choose the
aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. See Figure 2-6. To
successfully use this mode, you must be thoroughly
familiar with the use of equivalent exposures so
you can select the proper combination of shutter
speed and aperture for the situation. See Figure 2-7.
Equivalent exposures will be covered in detail in
Chapter 10, Making Exposure Decisions.
Many digital cameras allow you to choose
an exposure mode that is preset for a particular
situation, Figure 2-8. The following are some
typical preset exposure modes:
• Portrait. Uses a shallow depth of field to blur the
background and focus attention on the subject.
• Landscape. Preset for maximum depth of field.
• Sports. Selects a fast shutter speed. On some
cameras, it also activates a focus tracking feature
that helps keep a moving subject in focus.
Jack Klasey/Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 2-6. Manual mode allows you to separately select
an aperture and a shutter speed that result in a correct
exposure. The exposure scale at the right side of the
camera’s viewfinder indicates proper exposure. When the
movable small bar is aligned with the pointed mark at the
center of the scale, exposure is correct.
Exposure
scale
A B
Jack Klasey/Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 2-5. Using shutter priority to control motion blur. A—A relatively slow shutter speed of 1/40 second resulted in
strong motion blur as one of these otters turned rapidly. B—Using a faster shutter speed (1/125 second) froze the motion
of the swimming otters.