CAMERA SHUTTER SPEED
A camera's shutter speed can control exposure, but it's also one of the most powerful creative tools in photography. It can convey motion, freeze action, isolate subjects and smooth water, amongst other abilities. This tutorial describes how to achieve these various effects, in addition to hopefully stimulating other creative ideas for using shutter speed in everyday shots. For a background on how it factors into exposure, also see
camera exposure: aperture, ISO and shutter speed.
Slow Shutter Speed
Fast Shutter Speed
Photos on left and right by
creativity103 (spinning top) and
kyle may (light bulb), respectively.
BACKGROUND
A camera's shutter is like a curtain* that opens and lets in light to start the exposure, then closes to end it. A photo therefore doesn't just capture a moment in time, but instead represents an average of light over a timeframe. The term "shutter speed" is used to describe this duration.
Whenever a scene contains moving subjects, the choice of shutter speed therefore determines which of these will appear frozen and which will be recorded with a blur. However, one cannot change the shutter speed in isolation — at least not without also affecting the exposure or image quality:
Camera Settings
Adverse Side Effects
Faster Shutter Speeds:
↑ ISO Speed
↓ f-number
↑ image noise
↓ depth of field
Slower Shutter Speeds:
↓ ISO Speed
↑ f-number
↓ hand-holdability
↓ sharpness**
**only if the f-number increases so much that it causes visible
diffractionThe above combinations of ISO speed and f-number (aperture) enable an amazingly broad range of selectable shutter speeds. Regardless of the combination, more light enables faster maximum shutter speeds, whereas less light permits slower minimum shutter speeds.
For a given exposure, SLR cameras also typically have a much greater range of selectable shutter speeds than compact cameras. For example, this range is roughly 13-14 stops (or 10,000X) with most SLR cameras, but often just 8-9 stops (or 500X) with compact cameras. See the tutorial on
compact vs digital SLR cameras for more on this topic.
*Technical Note: At very short exposure times (typically 1/500 a second or faster) the shutter mechanism works more like a moving slit than a curtain. In that case, the shutter speed instead represents the amount of time that each region of the sensor is exposed to light, not the duration over which light reaches the entire sensor.
CONVEYING MOTION
While some might see still photography as restricting, many instead see this as liberating, because still capture enables nearly full control over how motion is conveyed. For instance, should the subject be rendered as an unrecognizable streak, or as a more defined blur? Or should the subject remain sharp, with everything else blurred? These and other choices are all under your control.
Photos on left and right by
alan cleaver and
tyler durden, respectively.
However, achieving the intended amount of blur can be difficult. For a given shutter speed, three* subject traits determine how blurred they will appear:
Speed. Subjects which are moving faster will appear more blurred. This one is perhaps the most obvious of the three, but just as important.
Direction of Motion. Subjects which are moving towards or away from the camera usually won't become as blurred as those moving side to side — even if both subjects are moving at the same speed.
Magnification. A given subject will appear more blurred if they occupy a greater fraction of your image frame. This is perhaps the least obvious, but is also the one which is most under your control, since subject magnification is the combined effect of focal length and subject distance. Longer focal lengths (more zoom) result in more magnification for a given subject distance, but this also increases the likelihood of blur due to
camera shake.
*Although not a subject trait, the display size may also be important. Blur which appears optimal in a small size on-screen may appear too pronounced in a large print, for example.
Shutter
Speed:
1/2
1/10
1/30
1/400
Regardless, developing an intuition for shutter speed under different scenarios can be difficult, but with plenty of experimentation you'll be well on your way.
A specific but common application of using shutter speed to convey motion is with moving water. Shutter speeds of around 1/2 a second or longer can make waterfalls appear silky, or waves look like a surreal, low-lying mist.
Move your mouse over the various shutter speeds to the right to see this effect. Note how freezing the motion of splashing water required a shutter speed of 1/400 of a second. Since this is a wide angle photo, a shorter shutter speed could have achieved a similar look if one were instead zoomed into just a portion of the waterfall.
One can also use a slow shutter speed to emphasize a stationary subject amongst movement, such as a person standing still amongst a bustling crowd. Similarly, unique portraits can be achieved using moving trains as a background when the shutter speed is as slow as about 1/10 to 1/2 a second:
1.3 seconds
1/3 second
Photos on left and right by
nathanhayag and
moriza, respectively.
MOVING WITH THE SUBJECT & PANNING
Instead of blurring the subject, one could instead render everything else blurred. This requires the camera to either be located on the moving subject itself, or aimed in such a way that the image frame moves with the subject (called "panning").
shutter speed: 15 seconds; photo by
dande chiaroTry taking a photo from a moving car, an amusement park ride (be safe!), or another moving object to create an interesting effect. As before, the required shutter speed will depend on the speed of motion, potentially in addition to the stability of the moving object. Regardless, somewhere around 1/30 of a second is often a good starting point, then adjust accordingly after viewing the results on your camera's rear screen.
panning photo at 1/45 sec and 110 mm
Alternatively, the panning technique doesn't necessarily mean that the camera itself has to travel at the same speed as the subject — just that the image frame has to move this fast. Fortunately, even fast subjects can be captured by slowly pivoting the camera, especially if this subject is far away and you're using a
telephoto lens.
Make sure to aim so that your image frame smoothly follows your subject, while also pressing the shutter button — all in one continuous motion.
A successful panning shot requires a shutter speed which is just slow enough to cause the background to streak, but just fast enough that the subject still appears sharp. This can be tricky to achieve, so the key with panning is to experiment and take many more shots than you would otherwise. Regardless, longer streaks produce a much more dramatic effect; using an image-stabilized lens that has one-axis* stabilization, or a tripod with a pan-tilt head can help you achieve this.
In addition, panning requires a textured background that isn't completely out of focus. Subject backgrounds which are closer will also appear to streak more for a given shutter speed and panning rate.
*Lens Panning Mode. This is called "mode 2" IS on canon lenses; nikon lenses with vibration reduction (VR) automatically switch to panning mode when the lens motion is in one direction.
An added benefit is that panning permits slower shutter speeds than would otherwise be needed to capture a sharp subject. For example, available light might only permit a shutter speed of 1/50 second — which might be insufficient to render a particular moving subject as sharp with a standard shot — but with panning, this shutter speed might be fast enough to make the subject appear sharp.
FREEZING FAST ACTION & HIGH-SPEED MOTION
High speed photography is capable of new and exciting representations of subjects in motion, in part because we are incapable of seeing and processing movements which are much faster than a running person. Examples include water droplets, birds in flight and moments in sports, amongst many others.
photo by
lazloHowever, capturing fast-moving subjects can also be challenging. The key is to learn to anticipate when your subject will be in the desired position, since shutter speeds shorter than 1/5th of a second are faster than our own reaction time. Simply reacting and pressing the shutter button will likely miss the moment.
To make matters worse, many cameras also impart a delay between when the shutter button is pressed and the exposure begins (called "shutter lag"). With SLR cameras this is often just 1/10 to 1/20 of a second, but with compact cameras this can be as high as 1/2 a second. However, these times exclude the additional 1/2 to 1 second (or more) that it can take your
camera to autofocus. Pre-focusing on or near your expected subject location can therefore greatly reduce shutter lag.
Sharp high speed photos also require one to be attentive to variations in subject motion, and to potentially time the shot to coincide with a relative pause in the action. For example, with jumping or racing subjects, try to time your shot for when they're at their highest point or are changing directions (and are thus moving the slowest). Even with proper timing, one might also need to set their camera to continuous shot mode (or similarly named setting). The camera can then take a burst of shots while you hold down the shutter button — and hopefully capture just the right moment with one of these.
In any case, knowing the necessary shutter speed also takes practice. The following calculator estimates the minimum shutter speed needed to make a moving subject appear sharp in an 8x10 inch print:
Shutter Speed Calculator
show advanced
Camera Settings
Digital SLR with CF of 1.6X
Lens Focal Lengthmm
Subject Distance
ft
Subject Speed
mph
in side to side direction
Minimum Shutter Speed:
Notes: CF = "crop factor" (commonly referred to as the focal length multiplier)
Calculator assumes the same sharpness criteria as used to determine depth of field;
to instead calculate based on sharpness when viewed at 100% on-screen, use "show advanced" above.
The above results are only intended as a rough guide. In general, 1/250 to 1/500 of a second is sufficient to freeze everyday motion of people, but one may require 1/1000 to 1/4000 of a second if subjects are up-close or extraordinarily fast.
Notes on Subject Speed. Just because a subject is moving at a given speed doesn't preclude portions of this subject from moving even faster. For example, the arms and legs of a runner might be moving much faster than their body. Furthermore, the above subject speed refers to the speed in the direction across your frame (side to side); you can typically get away with a 4X longer shutter speed for subjects moving directly towards or away from you, and a 2X longer shutter speed for subjects which are moving towards/away from you at an angle.
Keep in mind that most cameras are only capable of shutter speeds up to 1/2000 to 1/8000 of a second. If the above calculator indicates that you'll need a shutter exceeding the capabilities of your camera, your only other options are to try panning with the subject to offset some of their motion, or to resort to using flash photography.
ZOOMING BLUR
Photo on right by
jeremy vandel.
Another interesting technique is to change the zoom during the exposure itself (often called a "zoom burst"). You can achieve this look by (i) setting your camera on a tripod, (ii) using a shutter speed of 1/15 to 1/2 a second, and (iii) twisting the lens's zoom ring while also trying to avoid moving the camera itself. One can also try only zooming during part of the exposure to lessen the effect.
This causes subjects to have increasing radial blur near the edges of the frame, with the center appearing more or less unblurred. The effect can be used to draw attention to a central subject, or to make the viewer feel as though they're moving rapidly.
The zoom burst technique is usually only possible with SLR cameras, but may also be possible with compact cameras that have manual zoom capabilities. Alternatively, zooming blur can often be perfectly replicated using normal photos and post-processing, such as with Photoshop's radial blur filter.
ABSTRACT & ARTISTIC EFFECTS
Sometimes photographers will intentionally add camera-shake-induced blur to give their image a unique and artistic effect:
Abstract Blurred Light Effect
Artistic Painted Effect
Photos on left and right by
kevindooley and
unukorno, respectively.
One typically needs to use shutter speeds of 1/30 - 1/2 a second (or more) since this is just beyond the limit of hand-holdability, but not too long that the subject will become smoothed out entirely. Predicting the end result can also be difficult, so these types of shots will likely require many attempts (at potentially different shutter speeds) before you are able to achieve the desired look. Also keep in mind that the painted look is often easier to achieve with filters in Photoshop or other editing software.
CONCLUSIONS & FURTHER READING
We've seen several creative ways of using shutter speed, but what if the amount of light required for a correct exposure prevents you from selecting the desired shutter speed — even after all combinations of ISO speed and aperture have been attempted?
For faster shutter speeds, one can try switching to a lens with a larger maximum aperture, or one can add more light to the scene itself by either changing the shooting location or using a flash. Alternatively, for even slower shutter speeds, one can block some of the light by using a neutral density filter or a
polarizing filter, or can use the
image averaging technique to create a longer effective exposure. In either case, also make sure that you're not accidentally over or under-exposing the photo — and thus potentially shifting your range of available shutter speeds.
Other important points and clarifications are listed below.
Shutter Priority Mode. This camera setting can be a useful tool when the appearance of motion is more important than depth of field, or just for letting you know whether your desired shutter speed is even possible using available light. It allows you to pick a desired shutter speed, then the camera's metering tries to combine this with an aperture setting (and potentially ISO speed) that will achieve a correct exposure.
Camera Shake. The above analysis assumes that subject motion is the primary source of blur, but in many photos
camera shake can instead be more influential — particularly when using telephoto lenses or with unsteady hands.
For similar topics, also visit the following tutorials:
Camera Exposure: Aperture, ISO & Shutter SpeedDiscusses how shutter speed factors into the overall exposure.
Reducing Camera Shake with Hand-Held PhotosTips for minimizing camera shake due to slow shutter speeds.
CAMERA SHAKE WITH HAND-HELD PHOTOS
We've all likely encountered this problem many times: blurry photos due to camera shake with hand-held shots. It's especially prevalent for those of us who are unfortunate enough to have unsteady hands. While it cannot be eliminated entirely, fortunately there's a number of steps you can take to greatly reduce its impact — and hopefully prevent it from becoming visible in the first place.
Blurry Photo from Camera Shake
Photo Without Camera Shake
Photo from the base of the Eiffel Tower at night - Paris, France.
OVERVIEW
Camera shake is visible whenever your
shutter speed is slow compared to the speed of unintended camera motion. Reducing its impact may therefore include:
Methods for increasing the shutter speed (shorter exposure time)
Methods for reducing camera motion
On the one hand, many who are new to photography often don't appreciate the importance of using fast shutter speeds or a tripod, but on the other hand, many experienced photographers often overestimate their impact. More often than not, it is one's shooting technique — not high-end lenses or high megapixel cameras — that ultimately limits the resolution of a photograph.
While either method alone can be of great help, the most effective solution is to take both into consideration. Even the calmest hands cannot hold a camera sufficiently steady during a several second exposure, for example, and fast shutter speeds are unlikely to freeze motion from a telephoto lens held by shaky hands. Also, increasing the shutter speed helps freeze a moving subject, whereas reducing camera motion does not.
METHODS FOR INCREASING THE SHUTTER SPEED
There are unfortunately only three ways to increase your shutter speed: (i) optimize your exposure settings, (ii) avoid over-exposure and (iii) improve how your subject is lit.
Choose optimal exposure settings. Make sure you're making the best trade-offs with the
camera exposure triangle; are you really using the highest ISO speed and/or the lowest f-stop possible with your subject matter? Make sure to consider whether you need an extended
depth of field when choosing the aperture.
However, if you're using your camera in automatic mode, then it's likely already doing whatever it can to increase the shutter speed.
Avoid accidental over-exposure. A common cause of blurred shots is due to the
camera's metering system mistakenly choosing a longer exposure time than was necessary. Dark shaded subject matter and uneven indoor light can easily trick your camera into over-exposure.
Use a flash or improve ambient lighting. If you're using a compact camera with a built-in flash, also try getting closer to your subject so that they'll be more brightly illuminated. If you're shooting people without a flash, try relocating closer to the light source(s), or waiting until the subject passes through a more brightly lit area.
If none of these are sufficient, then you'll also need to employ one or more of the techniques discussed in the subsequent sections below (but ideally one should use both).
IMPROVE YOUR HAND-HELD TECHNIQUE
Although increasing the shutter speed is often the easiest technique to implement, how you take hand-held photographs can often times make even more of a difference. Try one or more of the following tips:
Example of a photographer leaning
against a wall to brace the camera.
Brace yourself and your camera. This might include leaning up against a wall, kneeling or sitting, or using the viewfinder instead of the rear LCD (since the camera gets braced against your face). Just try to have at least three points of contact between your body and the ground, walls or other stable objects. Always avoid situations where your position or equipment causes you to strain while taking the photograph. Holding your camera directly against a wall or other object also improves stability even further. Make sure to stand in a position that leaves you calm and comfortable.
Optimize how you grip the camera. It's important to hold your camera firmly but not tensely, and to use both hands. With large telephoto lenses, make sure to place one hand under the lens and the other on your camera. Make sure that your arms remain close to your body and in a comfortable position. Using your camera more often can also make your grip feel more natural and get your hand muscles more acclimated to the task. Also make sure that you keep yourself nice and warm.
Practice better shutter button technique. Always try to press the shutter button half-way first, then gently press the button with no more pressure/speed than necessary. It might also help to pay attention to breathing. Try taking a deep breath, exhaling about halfway, then pressing the shutter button.
Take three shots in rapid succession. Often the very act of knowing you'll have to hold your hands steady can make it more difficult to do so.
First Photo
(most blurred)
Second Photo
(sharpest - keeper)
Third Photo
(medium blur)
You'll likely find that there's a big difference in sharpness between each successive image, in part because you're less concerned about individual shots. Just make sure to review these at full resolution; differences often won't be as pronounced as the above example.
OTHER TECHNIQUES & EQUIPMENT ADVICE
Clearly, the best way to minimize hand-held camera shake is not to hold your camera in the first place. While this article focuses on situations where a tripod isn't available, you can also see the
tutorial on camera tripods for specifics on improving your tripod technique. However, there's fortunately several alternatives:
Example of a photograph taken by
setting the camera on the ground
and aiming using a lens cap.
Set your camera on a hard surface. While this can often produce even sharper photos than using a tripod, it can also greatly restrict available compositions. On the other hand, it can provide a unique and interesting perspective on your subject. Shots at eye-level often appear ordinary since that's what we're used to seeing.
You can always aim your camera by choosing an appropriate position on uneven ground, or by placing your lens cap or a pebble underneath the camera body. Just make sure to either use a remote release switch, or to set your camera to self-timer mode. With SLR cameras, using your camera's mirror lock-up (MLU) setting will also improve results (if available).
Use lenses with image stabilization (IS) or vibration reduction (VR), or cameras with shake reduction (SR). These features can greatly reduce camera movement — especially with telephoto lenses. This often enables hand-held shots at shutter speeds which are 5-10X+ slower than otherwise possible. However, such features cannot work miracles, and they usually work best only in conjunction with proper hand-held technique.
Avoid telephoto lenses whenever possible. A fancy image stabilized lens isn't the only way to reduce the appearance of shake. Getting a little closer to your subject (and using a shorter focal length / wider angle lens) will reduce the impact of shaky hands, and often has the added benefit of creating a more interesting perspective. More on this topic can be found within the
tutorial on camera lenses & focal length.
DIGITAL EXPOSURE TECHNIQUES
A lot of debate has surrounded what a "correct" digital exposure technique actually entails. Common strategies include (1) exposing "to the right," (2) slight under-exposure or (3) correct (standard) exposure. Each is motivated by a different aspect of how a digital image gets recorded, and they can have a big impact on the quality of your photos.
Digital exposure is a lot like shuffleboard.
The disc needs to slide close to the edge, but it mustn't fall off.
image courtesy of livingonimpulse (but in a modified form)
CHARACTERISTICS OF DIGITAL PHOTOS
Three properties are the primary motivation behind the various exposure techniques:
I. Progressively darker tones have correspondingly higher
image noise:
← More Noise Less Noise →
II. Progressively brighter tones are unrecordable beyond a certain intensity, causing textures to turn solid white ("
clipped highlights"), or individual color channels to saturate:
color channel becomes saturated
III. Incomplete use of a
camera's dynamic range reduces the number of recorded tones, and this problem is compounded by the fact that cameras capture disproportionately fewer dark tones compared to how we see with our eyes:
(A) Scene captured using the full tonal range:
(B) Scene captured using only darker tones:
. . . same scene after being brightened to match (A) above:
Note: the number of tones has been reduced for visibility, but the same trend applies.
The actual number and distribution of tones depends on the
bit depth and gamma.
See the tutorial on
gamma correction and digital tones for more on this topic.
The key is knowing how to control one's exposure to take advantage of these unique characteristics. Ideally, one would capture using a standard exposure that records the brightest tones possible, but without clipping. However, this isn't always practical, since (i) one often doesn't know the precise distribution of tones before pressing the shutter button, (ii) taking a second photo isn't always an option and (iii) fitting a standard exposure within the camera's dynamic range might not even be possible in the first place.
The decision is therefore one of strategy. Which of the above characteristics does one aim for, even if potentially at the expense of others? In the next three sections we discuss the relative merits of three such exposure strategies . . .
1. EXPOSE TO THE RIGHT (ETTR)
Strategy: Aim to expose the image so that its
histogram shifts as far to the right as possible without clipping the highlights, even if this results in over-exposure. A negative exposure compensation is later applied (during RAW development) to get the image back to a standard exposure.
move your mouse over the image to compare it to a standard exposure
Standard Exposure
Using the "Expose to the Right" Strategy
Advantages:
Maximizes the number of tones recorded.
Note: many recent digital SLR cameras have RAW files which record tones with
14-bit precision, so this is less of a factor than it used to be. It is highly unlikely that a RAW image will have insufficient tones (and become posterized) as long as it isn't grossly underexposed.
See the
tutorial on image posterization for more on this topic.
Minimizes image noise because lighter (and therefore less noisy) tones get darkened after exposure compensation is applied. The total reduction in noise will depend on how much the photo is able to be over-exposed without clipping.
Disadvantages:
Has a high risk of clipping the highlights, especially in the individual color channels (which can lead to unrealistic color shifts).
Requires more light than normal, and potentially a higher ISO speed
(which could mitigate any reduction in image noise from ETTR).
Makes judging/pruning photos more difficult since subjects will likely appear over-exposed (until exposure compensation is applied in post-processing).
May require several shots (followed by histogram inspection) in order to position the histogram as intended. One also needs to look at the
color histogram in order to avoid clipping in any of the individual color channels.
2. SLIGHTLY UNDER-EXPOSE
Strategy: Aim to slightly under-expose the image by using a negative exposure compensation (perhaps about -1/3 to -1/2 stops) in the camera itself. A positive exposure compensation is later applied (during RAW development) to get the image back to a standard exposure.
move your mouse over the image to compare it to a standard exposure
Standard Exposure
Slight Under-Exposure
Advantages:
Safeguards against blown highlights and clipped color channels.
Requires less light than normal, potentially enabling a lower ISO speed
(which would offset any increase in image noise).
Disadvantages:
Increases image noise because darker (and therefore noisier) tones get brightened after exposure compensation is applied.
Images will likely appear darker than intended when viewing them in the camera.
Fewer discrete tones are captured by the camera.
3. USE CORRECT EXPOSURE IN-CAMERA
Strategy: Aim to achieve a final exposure in the camera without any need for exposure compensation during post-processing.
A correct exposure is typically obtained whenever a middle gray tone within your scene gets recorded as a middle gray tone on the image histogram. Refer to the tutorials on
image histograms: tones & contrast and
camera metering for a background. However, there isn't always a "correct" exposure for every scene, since this also depends on your artistic intent (particularly for night and low-light photos).
Advantages:
Images will likely have the intended brightness straight from the camera. This makes post-processing much simpler and also allows one to more easily judge "keepers" when viewing them on the camera.
Doesn't require that you capture your images using the
RAW file format.
Disadvantages:
Still risks clipping the highlights or individual color channels when capturing very high contrast (or colorful) scenes, especially if the
camera's metering mistakenly over-exposes a little.
HIGHLIGHT CLIPPING
Sometimes a little highlight clipping is OK and even looks natural. Specular highlights (such as reflections on metal or water), regions around the sun (such as in sunsets) and other direct light sources (such as street lamps) all appear perfectly fine when clipped. This is often the necessary cost of ensuring that everything else is sufficiently bright.
example of when it's acceptable to have blown highlights
In other situations, clipping might not be ideal, but it will likely be unavoidable — otherwiseexcessive noise or detail loss may occur in the darkest regions. In these cases, the difficult part is deciding on how much clipping is acceptable.
Highlight Clipping
Highlight Clipping Appears Abrupt
Even After Negative Exposure Compensation
Also be careful to avoid clipping in the individual color channels (see the
tutorial on histograms: luminosity & color), which can lead to unnatural color shifts if those regions require darkening during RAW development. This can happen very easily when trying to push the histogram as far right as possible. In the example below, even the slightest under-exposure was undesirable since this scene contained both bright clouds and extremely dark regions:
Accidental Color Channel Clipping
Unnatural Color Shift
When Trying To Recover Clipped Regions
The image on the left appeared fine using the camera's histogram because the cloud never became solid white. Even so, a single color channel was clipped, causing that region to be recorded using colors that weren't present in the actual scene. Fortunately for this photo, the color channel clipping wasn't a problem at the intended exposure.
CONCLUSIONS: OPTIMAL EXPOSURE STRATEGY
The optimal exposure strategy will likely be one that adapts based on the subject matter and shooting circumstances. The key is to have a good grasp of all the competing factors — image noise, tonal levels, clipped highlights and convenience — and to choose a strategy which gives you the highest number of usable photos, while also retaining the necessary image quality.
When weighing the consequences of blown highlights with those of slightly higher image noise, the former might make a photo unusable whereas the latter will reduce detail. Erring on the side of slight under-exposure would therefore be a good approach if it's important that a particular photo remain usable. That is, as long as (i) you're shooting in RAW and can apply exposure compensation later, (ii) it isn't practical to check the histogram (and potentially re-expose) afterwards and (iii) the scene isn't high-key (mostly light shaded objects, such as white snow). However, if the lighting is low contrast (such as on an overcast day), and if nothing is highly reflective, then there's little risk in using a standard exposure.
On the other hand, in special situations accidental under-exposure can be nearly as harmful as blown highlights, since this can destroy detail in the extreme shadows. In general, the greater the dynamic range, the more important it becomes to use as much of the right-hand side of the histogram as possible. For those types of scenes, one often needs to check the camera's histogram after each shot. This is particularly true if you intend to brighten the shadows in post-processing (such as simulating a
graduated neutral density filter, or using shadow recovery tools), or with compact cameras, since these usually have both a lower dynamic range and more noise.
Alternative exposure techniques include:
Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB). Most cameras have an option to automatically capture both an under and over-exposed alternative, just after the first "standard" exposure. These can provide useful backups, but occupy more storage space.
Image Stacking. Another way to both decrease image noise and improve the number of tones recorded — but without also risking clipped highlights — is to use
image averaging. However, this requires tripod use and is really only for specialty shots.
High Dynamic Range. This is a powerful new technique which has the potential to provide virtually limitless dynamic range — without ever clipping the highlights. See the
tutorial on high dynamic range photography for more. This also requires a tripod.
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