Understanding Shutter Speed: Creative Action and Low-Light Photography Beyond 1/125 Second

• #8 in Best Photography Books

35 Reviews

Sort by: Most Helpful ▲ Date Rating

I've seen photography books on many subjects but this is the first one I've ever seen that claimed to limit itself to an understanding of shutter speed. How could I resist?

Bryan Peterson is the author of "Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)", a very popular book with photographers just getting into using cameras that allow them to adjust shutter speed, aperture and ISO for a proper exposure. This book might well have been entitled "More Understanding Exposure".

The book, which reads quickly and clearly, offers chapters covering the range of shutter speeds from 1/2000 of a second to several seconds and shows you when their use is appropriate. Peterson shows the reader how the use of different shutter speeds may be appropriate for the same subject, as when photographing action one might use a fast shutter speed to stop the action dead or a slow shutter speed to achieve deliberate blurs. Along the way, he scatters tips some of which are directly related to shutter speed, like shooting into the light in the rain at 1/60 of a second to get the best rain trails, and some only indirectly related, like using a Bogen Magic Arm attached to a broom to get a broom's eye view of sweeping. Occasionally the pictures offered in illustration are extremely striking, like the image of a cat making its way down a flight of purple stairs, and sometimes quite banal, like the pictures of his daughter running toward the camera. The final chapter of the book, a summary of the rules of composition, seemed more like an add-on to make sure the author had a book's worth of pages.

I found Peterson's description of clinging to the roof of a car without handholds, while being driven down a road taking pictures, to capture a sense of movement, alarming. It also seemed to me that a great deal of the information related to capturing blurred images, either as a result of camera or subject movement. I've used the procedure myself to convey my artistic intent, but here there seemed to be a suggestion that the result would inevitably be art, and I'm certain that's not a correct conclusion.

New photographers who have just begun to master exposure may benefit from the wide array of techniques offered and may find the inspiration to experiment. On the other hand, there is little here that will be new to experienced photographers, most of whom will have already learned the virtues of slow shutter speeds.

I have read and used the material presented in all of Mr. Peterson's books and I have found them all to be extremely helpful in my quest to learn photography. "Understanding Shutter Speed" is yet another fine example of his excellent teaching abilities simplifying even the most complex topics so beginners like me are able to "understand". This book like his others is full of beautiful sample photographs vividly illustrating the subject he is discussing. I highly recommend this book for any beginner photographer!

I first bought "Understanding Exposure" from this same author, and felt it was one of the best books I have ever read re: photography. A manual of sorts I still keep nearby. This edition focuses on the sub-point of shutter speed as it relates to exposure.

The Good:
Great color photography with good examples of how varying shutter speeds will affect an image. There are a number of tricks -- like you can shoot action coming directly at you at 1/250, but need 1/500 for lateral or vertical movement.

The Bad:
I felt the book had a lot more fluff than the author's other effort. Some of the images were re-used -- or at least came from the same shoot -- and it had a lot more creative examples which I personally didn't like. It was outside the box a bit in terms of how to use shutter speeds, my complaint is that the results, even if intended, were not desirable.

Overall:
I liked this book, and glad I have it as a supplement to my growing photo library; but, I would not buy this before having his other edition. Shop price on this. I wouldn't overpay. I would give this 3 1/2 stars if Amazon allowed it.

When I first looked at "Understanding Shutter Speed" by Bryan Peterson on Amazon I wondered how shutter speed, only one of the components of an exposure, made up a book. In fact, there are some organizational problems that are caused by choosing this particular slice as a wedge into the topic of photography. A good editor might well have wondered what the final chapter on "Composition" is doing at all in this particular book.

The great strength here is idea generation. It's hard not to look at the illustrations in this book and say, "Hey why don't I try that?" The caption information is explicit enough so that you can recreate the ideas shown for yourself, or use them as a jumping off point. As an idea book, "Understanding Shutter Speed" is well worth its price.

Personally, I find the text (as opposed to the photo captions) problematic. Peterson seems out of his depth when it comes to digital. He really seems to think that from a noise viewpoint you are better off underexposing by two stops and adjusting in RAW as opposed to boosting the ISO and exposing properly (he's wrong). His discussion of ISO using a metaphor of hundreds of carpenters struck me as simply silly and without much point.

But leaving the intellectual muddle out of it, this is a book you'll want to own as a glorious idea generator.

When I ordered this book my first thought before receiving it was that I didn't think I would learn too much but I have always loved his photography.

Boy was I wrong. After reading the book I realized how many of my photos could have been better if I paid more attention to shutter speed. I had become so used to all of my photos stopping the action, that I realized if I had slowed the shutter and let some of the background blur, it would have actually improved the photo.
shutter speed was something I was taking for granted and this book helped remind me of a creative element I had forgotten.

Like all of Bryan Peterson's books, this book is easy to read and all concepts are explained in a clear and concise manner. another plus is that many photos have two different versions to show what a change in shutter speed can do.

and if nothing else, this book is worth it for the fantastic photos within it's pages. He truly has a wonderful eye.

This book provides a lot of good ideas for shooting more artistic images. Covering a variety of shutter speeds and settings, it does a good job of inspiring you. It also features photos taken using the settings described in the text.

But here's why I gave it only four stars. It's not the author's fault, but you may need more camera to take advantage of some of the suggestions. I use a Sony H5 which falls in between point-and-shoot and full SLR. Even in full manual mode, I'm unable to adjust the aperture past f8. Consequently, longer shutter speeds result in serious overexposure. Again, not the author's fault, just a point to be aware of.

Professional photographer and instructor Bryan Peterson presents Understanding Shutter Speed: Creative Action and Low-Light Photography Beyond 1/125 Second is a handbook for intermediate to advanced photographers, focusing specifically upon the challenge of photographing subjects in motion or at low light levels. Full-color photographic examples illustrate the tips, tricks, and techniques for capturing top-quality images, while the straightforward text imparts a lifetime of expert wisdom in clear and concise terms. "You will always attain the fastest possible shutter speed at any given ISO when you use the largest possible lens opening, and you will be able to attain the slowest possible shutter speed at any given ISO by using the smallest possible lens opening... That well-known cotton candy effect you can get with [waterfall shots] doesn't start until you use apertures of f/16 or f/22." Enthusiastically recommended for expert or professional photographers seeking to refine their camera work.

I have found Bryan Peterson's previous books, Understanding Exposure and Learning to See Creatively, extremely helpful as I was developing my skills in photography.

The title of the current book did not entice me that much. However, once I read it, I found it extremely helpful from a creative point of view.

The author continues his easy to ubderstand style of writing and the excellent images to illustrate his points. This will help you to improve your creativity significantly.

I recommned it highly.

I believe that I have read everything that Bryan Peterson has written and I even use his digital photography book in my photo classes.
This is his best book to date; he really looks at all aspects of shutter speed in almost any photographic situation. I had hoped that this book would be up to his previous photo books, but it is even better!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it the first time and I find myself going back to it again and again to review specifics. A real wealth of information!

I read Bryan's first book, "Understanding Exposure" and thought it was one of the best photography books writtens. Therefore, when he came out with this one I didn't buy it because I didn't want to be disappointed with rehashes of photos I already saw or he just added a few points to concepts already covered in other books.

I was on a photo safari when someone told me how much they enjoyed the book. Therefore, I decided to buy it. I was pleasantly surprised to see how he took something as basic as "shutter speed" and successfully held my interest for the entire book.

Bryan categorizes the book based on the shutter speed. These range from the speeds that freeze action (1/1000, 1/500, 1/250), to the slower ones that emphasize motion.

The books value is in the use of the slower speeds. There is not much to learn about taking images at the faster speeds that freeze action.

I give credit because he didn't just provide a bunch of pictures of the cliche slow shutter images (i.e., waterfalls and people walking). Instead, he shows you how to allow the moving subjects to paint the picture. My favorites examples are the boats in the water and the fields of grass. In these examples, he shows the typical image taken a faster speeds. Next, he shows how slowing the shutter speed allows the objects to move slightly thus producing very interesting photos.

I've taken photos of flowers in the past. I used to get upset because I couldn't use a fast enough shutter speed when I increased my aperture for greater depth of focus without increasing my ISO. In retrospect, I could've used a slower shutter speed to emphasize the motion and create more colorful images. This only works if one dares to try something different.

In conclusion, Bryan does an excellent job of showing you how to creatively use what you already know.

If you are having difficulty understanding shutter speed this is the book for you. As with all of Bryan's books it is easy to read and understand. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves photography it is a great resource.

For me Understanding Shutter speed made it easy for me to finally get it. I have been using B.Petterson Exposure too and finally got off "Auto". I highly recommend this book...great examples written clearly and understandable.

Item being reviewed


Understanding Shutter Speed: Creative Action and Low-Light Photography Beyond 1/125 Second

is an outstanding book, not a small book either that gives one insight on how to create mistical photos and you can not beat the price!!!!

Había comprado el libro anterior del mismo autor, "Entendiendo la exposición" y quedé muy satisfecho con la compra. Ambos libros los recomiendo 100%, yo los compré desde Chile y para mí valieron la pena el envío que es bastante costoso comparado con el valor del libro mismo.

Having read "Understanding Exposure" by the same author, I was quick to purchase this book, "Understanding Shutter Speed". I'm not sure exactly how to classify my skills as a photographer, but I'm not a beginner and I'm not a pro, but I truly enjoyed reading this book. It was informative, entertaining, and the illustrations were excellent. I have already experimented with some of the items he discussed like long exposures and sparklers! I would recommend this book, and others, by Bryan Peterson.

I have found that this author,Bryan Peterson, is an excellent author. i have all of his books and one of his videos that he has made and they are all excellent books. He explains about photography in a way that anyone, novice or expert, can understand. great books.

This is the third book I'd purchased by the same author (first two were Understanding Exposure and Learning to See Creatively) and it is, no doubt, something I was looking for. Written very light and readable it really matched many things I tried to understand in making good photographs. Just can't wait the last one "Understanding Close-up Photography: Creative Close Encounters with or without a Macro Lens" to be published in '09.

I bought this book to help me practice setting the exposure manually. It has beautiful and inspiring images that help motivate.

I was originally going to buy "Understanding Exposure", but decided that since I am a photography student and I actually understand exposure that, that might not be the greatest thing to buy. I am super glad I bought this one "Understanding Shutter Speed". I was flipping through the book and what caught my eye was the pictures, and the in depth explanations on how he achieved his results. The book is a fast, easy read and I recommend it for beginners or photography students like me.

Not technically brillant at digital photography, I purchased Bryan Pettersons book Understanding Shutter Speed in the hope that it would enlighten somewhat so I could go out and take reasonable photos. I read it and then went and purchased Bryan's other book "Understanding Exposure".

Both these books are absolutely brilliant (unless you are already a pro photograher - and even then, you would probably still learn something). Petterson is an excellent photograher and he has included many of these photos in his book to ilustrate points and compliment the text.
The books are very well presented, are extreamly easy to read and the book is printed on very high quality paper.

If you are dispointed with this book (and also Understanding Exposure - which compliment each other), then you should really take up painting.

Can't recommend highly enough

The author is really good at taking one aspect of photography, such as exposure or the use of shutter speeds, and explaining it within the broader context of taking good pictures. If you want to learn how to perfect your use of long exposures, very short exposures, and everything in between, this book will do the job. There is a reason why this author is a mega-best-seller. Buy this book and learn for yourself.

I look through a lot of photography "how-to" books when I'm in Barnes and Noble or Borders and this one caught my eye. It is visually stunning, full of beautiful images, shot by the author himself.

Panning, zooming, low light, filters, "implying motion", shooting slow and deliberately blurry images...you will read about a wealth of choices that can help a photographer grow creatively. Peterson shows how blur can be just valid a choice as sharp in making an astounding photo.

There are some fun experiments in this book, such as creating "rain" with a sprinkler, and attaching a camera to a shopping cart to capture a child rolling through a grocery store aisle. The inventiveness found in the book makes it fun.

I would definitely recommend this book to both beginners and more advanced photographers.

If only more books were like this, illiteracy would vanish!
Instead of the same old stuff in the same dull way, this book covers some new information right off the bat, dispelling some common myths. It goes on to cover vital, pertinent information clearly, with illustrations (what else from a book on a photographic topic) that are remarkably well suited to the topics being discussed. Not only that, it is worth retaining as a reference in the unlikely event that some of the material needs a second time around.

Anything by Bryan Peterson is worth reading. I reference him to my students in my photography class.

For an newbie like, categorization of the shutter speed range (like he did in his other book, Understanding Exposure, with f values) is very helpful.

I got this book and Understanding exposure by Bryan Peterson. I have read both and I now have a handle on shutter speed and exposure. I also have a few more ideas on things to do with this knowledge. I highly recommend both books.

I bought both 'Understanding Exposure' and this book by Bryan Petersen, and have found both to be extremely helpful. 'Understanding Shutter Speed' is more advanced, and gives tips for more creative photographic effects. It is written concisely, and he provides examples of creative photography and tells us in simple terms how to achieve these effects. The only things that bugged me about this book were his constant references to his beautiful wife, and I didn't think that some of his photographic examples were creatively brilliant. However, the examples clearly showed the effect he was trying to achieve, and may have been exaggerated to do exactly that.

Very good book especially for beginning photographers. The author explains how various shutter speeds can create different effects with each image. The author shows this with numerous photographs throughout the book. Well written and easy to understand for any level of photographer.

Bryan Peterson's books have always been very interesting, and Understanding Shutter Speed definitely is his best book to date. Like his previous books, he writes very clearly and the sample photos are beautiful! I would buy this book again just for the photos. It takes photography to another level by showing the readers how easy it is to be creative using different shutter speeds. If you want to learn to take all those action filled shots that you thought only professionals can do, buy this book and discover that you can do it yourself!

I already own previous titles from this author " Understanding Exposure", "Learning to See Creatively", " Beyond Portraiture" and " Understanding Digital Photography". This book is very similar: it contains great pictures as examples, it contains short text paragraphs that can be read and understood separately and it provides useful tips and examples.

It is unfortunate that some of the pictures are re-used from previous titles. This also happened in his previous titles. I fail to understand why Peterson does this. Being a photographer for so many years, he surely has enough photos available to be able to exemplify without such re-use of material.

Nonetheless, the pictures are AMAZING and worth alone buying the book. The tips are very useful.

I like the style very much and appreciate the fact that the text is short and without useless "filler text".

I followed the author's photography course on line and have several of his books. His books are fun and easy to read. Can recommend this to anyone who is interested in photography

This is another great book by Brian Peterson, the quality of the book, the amazing sample pictures and the well explain of them it worth every cent. But that's the great I consider this book a bargain when you consider all the good things that contains. It is a must have.

I have read all of Bryan Peterson's informative books on the technical aspects of photography - they are incredible! His method is simple, detailed and beautifully illustrated. A must read for all who want to learn the technical aspects of digital and film photography.

This book is a winner! I have read all of Bryan Peterson's great photo books and this is his best work. In my opinion,this is must reading for the intermediate/advanced level of photographer. Bryan's books are a strong propellant towards innovative possibilities at home and elsewhere. Bryan is a photographer par excellence. I've had several classes with him and traveled with his destination workshops. You can improve your skills at many levels with his materials and insights! His books are not to be missed!
Wayne T. Fisk

It is already second book of the author I have. Easy readable, understandable. Author shares very interesting and much needed details of his work.
Many thanks!
Ieva