How to Stop Action with Your Camera’s Shutter Speed

It’s Day Two here in Washington D.C. at our Photo Bootcamp for Beginners and no one is sitting down.
Attendees, in groups of four, are moving through our photo “Play Stations,” shooting photos of spinning pinwheels, water splashing in martini glasses, sugar pouring over strawberries, and other set-ups that force them to manipulate their cameras to get the creative effects they want.
It’s a lot of fun. And they’re learning a lot, too.
Being able to either stop or blur action in your photos is useful when you want to show movement, or freeze a subject in mid-air, without blur. Here are a few picture examples:
With a slow shutter speed, the photographers behind these two stock images were able to blur car head- and tail-lights to show the flow of traffic…

And with a fast shutter speed, these photographers were able to stop action in its tracks…

(Note: These are stock images and were not taken here in D.C. Attendee photos from D.C. are below.)
Knowing how (and when) to manipulate your camera’s shutter speed can be important if you want to sell your images to online stock photo agencies, magazines, sports markets, and as fine art.
Here are some of the blurred- and stopped-action photos attendees got in our photo Play Stations here in D.C.:
They’re learned to stop action in its tracks…

Helen Aitken

Janet Roberts

Terry Sprecker

Bruce Faron
And they learned to blur it…

Bruce Faron

Janet Roberts

Rhonda Frank

Helen Aitken
With the same techniques they’re using to stop splashing water, blur pouring sugar, and blur the pinwheel while keeping the flower pot in sharp focus, they, too, can create the types of professional images I referenced above. The kind that are for sale in online stock photo agencies, magazines, and more.
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]