Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers

88 Selecting Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed and Camera Shake

Shutter Speed and Camera Shake

Camera shake is a shorthand expression used to de-

scribe the situation in which camera movement or vi-

b

ration causes a photo to be not acceptably sharp. If the

shutter speed is fast enough, camera shake becomes a

negligible issue.

Otherwise, addressing camera shake is essentially a

mechanical issue. What, or who, is going to keep the

camera steady in place?

Of course, sometimes you can create exciting motion

effects by moving, or even tossing, your camera during

an exposure, but generally camera motion is undesir-

a

ble (see page 101 for a discussion of when you might

want to move the camera during your exposure).

Human beings find it harder to stay really, really still

than they sometimes think. Just ask anyone taking an

introductory yoga or meditation class. How still you

can hold your camera begins to be a significant issue

at shutter speeds slower than 1/250 of a second. Take

a look at the table below to see when to use a tripod in

order to control camera motion.

Many exposures seem to lead to the middle territory

where you might be able to effectively hand-hold the

camera. In these situations, check your aperture to see

if you can let more light in and use a faster shutter speed

without losing necessary depth of field (Chapter 2).

A

lso, consider boosting the ISO (see C ...