Three children doing the sack race in a park

Once the light has passed through the aperture, it reaches the shutter.
When you press the shutter button, this opens, lets in lights and then closes.

The rate at which the shutter opens and closes is referred to the shutter speed. We can influence the shutter and in turn alter the final look of our photos!

Aperture

Lens

You can see shutter speed on the top of your camera or through the view finder. When you are in Shutter Priority or Manual mode, you can alter it with a dial on your camera.

Yes, it certainly can! Too slow and it could make your subject look blurry, too fast and it could potentially remove vital light from your camera!

Fast shutter speed

(Lets less light into the camera)

Slow shutter speed

(Lets lots of light into the camera)

ISO cannot be pictured like the camera's shutter or the lens' aperture can. It's more a method of enhancing the light that's been brought into the camera via the aperture and shutter.

Think of ISO as a dimmer switch which you can turn up and down to enhance the camera's sensitivity to light which in turn alters the shutter speed and/or the aperture!

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The aperture and shutter bring light into the camera - like a lightbulb. You can alter the amount of light by changing the aperture/fstop or increasing/decreasing the shutter speed.

ISO does not bring light into the camera. It acts like a dimmer switch and enhances or reduces the sensitivity to the light brought into the camera by the aperture/fstop and shutter.

Imagine taking two pieces of pizza dough. One is the perfect thickness and quality - this is like taking a photo with the optimum amount of ISO. So you should achieve life-like colours, good contrast and no grain.

Brother and sister playing beside a huge tree
top view of a DSLR camera for a photography course

In our first week we took our camera off fully automatic mode and switched to Programme (P) mode.

This week we are going to use Aperture Priority Mode and Shutter Priority Mode.

Little girl standing on a fence looking at the camera with fields behind her

This is a brilliant mode for when you want to dictate how much is in focus, or how much intentional blur is in your photo.

The camera sets the shutter speed to ensure the photo is exposed correctly. But remember, you can influence the shutter speed by increasing or decreasing the level of ISO.

Aperture/fstop

ISO
Focus mode
focus area
Light metering

THE CAMERA CONTROLS:

You can influence it

with ISO!

Shutter Speed

When you want to grab the action, then this is the mode for you!

In Shutter Priority, you can select the shutter speed and it wont change, even if the available light changes. Instead, the camera is able to alter the aperture/fstop, so use your ISO to influence what the camera selects!

YOU CONTROL:

SHUTTER SPEED

ISO
Focus mode
focus area
Light metering

THE CAMERA CONTROLS:

You can influence it

with ISO!

APERTURE

Cliveden National Trust scenic Eye-catching photos
Children crouched around a buffet table stealing chocolate brownies
Oxfordshire Family Photographer captures sweet moment when grandchildren and grandparents sit on the sofa reading the paper
Dog catching a tennis ball
Boy sliding down a slide with amazed face
Baby lying on a rug playing with toys
Forest school teacher talking with a child at a Storal nursery

Blurry backgrounds can instantly make your photos look more professional. To achieve ultimate blur you need:

It is impossible to blur some things such as walls, or blur out items completely!

Two teenagers jumping on a path during a teenage photoshoot, banner