The first big snow fall of 2006 hit our home last night. The kids could hardly stand it as they watched it flurry outside their bedroom window. I’m amazed they even fell asleep! And poor Brian…he was up north in Bothell for some work which is 1 1/2 hours away. When it took 45 minutes to leave the parking lot, he decided to stay later and wait for traffic to clear up. He left at 10:30pm and get home until 5 am this morning! What a nightmare!

So while dad caught up on sleep, we got our snow suits on! The light was great, so I grabbed the camera and started shooting the kids. It had taken 45 minutes to dress them in their snow gear, and now they were complaining of being hot. (I know you moms know this routine well!) With how frustrated they were, I can’t believe I was able to catch a few shots.

This is my favorite shot of the three! But I thought it’d be helpful if I showed you the first two so you can see how a simple adjustment in your shutter speed can change every thing.

The image below was my first shot. I had my f-stop at 5.0, ISO was 400, and my shutter speed was at 500. You can see how it came out to dark.

The reason it was to dark for me is because the sun was BEAUTIFUL! It was pouring in through the French doors, and I had to capture the light with the white snow. So I left all my settings the same, except I slowed my shutter speed down to 250. This is what I got next.

It’s better, but I still wanted to show the sun flare. So I dropped my shutter speed all the way down to 160. My camera told me I was overexposed, but it’s okay if I overexpose the snow. As long as I can still tell it’s snow I’m good. The main thing is I wanted the image to make me feel the coldness outside with the two little ones eager to go play, and then to feel the contrast of the bright sun and even see the sun spot on Blazey for a bit of drama. 🙂 Here is the shot at 160 shutter speed.

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Exercise for “Playing with Shutter Speeds”

1. Understanding your shutter speed is one of the three main functions on your camera. I say three because there are more, but only three really matter to me in the end. My shutter speed, aperture or f-stop, and my ISO setting. Try an exercise with just your shutter speed to understand it’s role a bit better.

2. Have your spouse, friend or kids stand in a doorway or window that has lots of natural light. Put your camera in AV mode and take a picture of them. Look and see if it’s to dark.

3. If it’s to dark, look at what your camera automatically set for the shutter speed. Remember that number and switch your camera to Manuel mode. Bring your shutter speed down a bit (example from 500-250) and shoot again. Is the picture brighter?

4. Try it a third time, except slow your shutter way down (from 160-100). Shoot that shot and check out the light. How is it now?

5. If all your images are dark you may need to adjust your ISO so it’s a bit faster, or you may need to lower your aperture too. Don’t stress. Just play around with it, and you’ll be amazed at what you learn through trial and error.

(I know this exercise is a bit more technical and may be frustrating. If it’s any consolation, Brian and I never went to school for photography. We learned every thing by trial and error. Our business grew from $1200 a wedding to $15K a wedding in less than four years. So relax and enjoy the process. Make as many mistakes as you need too. I’m amazed at what I learn in my mistakes. And if you’re digital, you’ll learn so much faster than we did with film! :))

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