Is your camera permanently stuck in Auto Mode? Would you like to get more out of your camera?

This is the third of four parts in a series looking at the different modes available on your camera, when to choose them and how to get the most out of them.

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In the previous two parts to this series, we’ve taken a look at Program Mode and Aperture Priority and discussed what each mode does and how these give you more control of your camera.

Today, we’re going to look at the Shutter Priority mode, usually represented by <Tv> or <S> on your camera’s mode dial.

If you’ve become comfortable with the Aperture Priority mode, then you will become familiar with Shutter Priority very quickly. It works on the same principles, except this time you get to choose which shutter speed you want and the camera works out the appropriate aperture to obtain the best exposure for the scene.

In the previous part, I explained at length what aperture, shutter speed and exposure is and how they all relate to each other, so if those terms confuse you, I really recommend reading that entry just to get it straight in your head. It’s not actually that complex, but the terms can sound daunting to the photography newcomer and is the main reason why the mode dial so often just gets left on Auto.

So now you know what Shutter Priority mode does, why would you want to use it? Here are four examples where you might find yourself needing to control shutter speed:

• To freeze a moving subject. You’re at a football game, or you’re trying to take pictures of your kids or pet but they won’t keep still long enough. Everything is coming out with huge motion blur. This is where you’ll need to set a fast shutter speed, such as 1/500 seconds.
• To deliberately increase blur. Maybe you want some motion blur in your photograph, such as taking a shot of flowing water. Then you’d want to tell the camera to use a slow shutter speed such as 1/15 seconds. Remember to use a tripod to keep the rest of the image in sharp focus.
• For night photography. Anything with low ambient lighting, such as a candlelit room or street lighting at night will need a longer exposure. Again, remember to use a tripod to avoid camera shake in this setting.
• To make sure you can hand hold the camera in low light conditions. I know I can hand hold my kit lens at anything faster than about 1/60 seconds without having camera shake ruin my photo, but for my 100mm macro lens I need 1/125 s at a push, or more realistically 1/200 s. If I don’t want to take a tripod out with me then I need to tell the camera not to shoot at a slower speed than that.

So there you are, some great reasons why Shutter Priority mode can be really useful. Why not have a go and see what effects you can come up with? Let us know how you get on.