Slow Shutter Speed

[Riley]

I have been trying to get good pictures of the current in my canal, but every time I try to use a slow shutter speed, the pictures will come out all white. Also, with quick shutter speeds, the pictures will sometimes come out very dark.

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? And also suggestions as far as Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO for taking pictures of the water moving and maybe some for clouds moving.

 

[o hey tyler]

Larger the aperture, faster the shutter speeds. What kind of setup are you working with?

 

[Riley]

Larger the aperture, faster the shutter speeds. What kind of setup are you working with?

Just a Samsung S730.

And I really don't want to slow the shutter speed, or I won't be able to catch much movement.

 

[o hey tyler]

You aren't slowing the shutter speed. But your P&S may limit you in terms of aperture control, and exposure. If you can control the aperture, set it to be relatively small and keep the ISO low. But you need to understand it will be a lot easier to catch water moving than clouds.

 

[blakjak8]

Have you seen pics where the water looks like "cotton candy"? Those are generally taken at a very slow shutter speed of 1/2 second or longer. To get that slow shutter speed the aperature is usually very small ( which is a bigger number such as f16 or f22). Remember the bigger the aperature NUMBER, the smaller the aperature opening and the SLOWER shutter speed needs to be to get a correct exposure. If the water is all white you may be using TOO slow of a shutter speed for the effect you want.

 

[tjones8611]

Ive been working on the water streams and falls as well. To get the affect of cotton candy as blakjak mentioned, slow shutter speeds are a must. I took the below photo yesterday in the smokey mountains. While it is not great, it does represent a slower shutter with a moderate aperature opening.

 

[Overread]

Hmm I'm no expert on point and shoot cameras, but here is what I would try to get this sort of shot:

1) go out early in the morning or later in the evening, when the light is far softer. Midday is really not ideal for these sorts of shot since you will get very harsh reflections off the water.

2) Set your camera up on a tripod or some simlar stable base - so that you won't get handshake problems - using the timer to take the shot is also advisable

3) Set your camera to a landscape mode and shoot with the settings it suggests.
b) if you have a manual exposure mode then read the camera manual again for how to work in this mode as you should have a meter reading on the camera (somewhere) to help you balance the aperture and shutter speed together to attain a correct exposure.

Now if you want blured water which is whispy and smoky in look you want a slower shutter speed whilst if you want totally frozen water action you want a very fast shutter speed.