shutter speeds

[chad79]

Hi there i went out on weekend to get some beach and water shots. I wanted to try and get that soft water look on the beach. It was around 11.30am and was alot of light i found i hard to get. What is the best times for those type of shots?

[dantheman]

hey mate,

At 11:30 in the morning there will be way to much light even when using something like F22. i couldnt tell you an exact time, however to get the water looking milky you want a slower shutter speed, and that will depend on how fast the water is moving etc. but probably around 1 sec to 30 sec or your bulb setting.

If you grab your camera this eavning, stick it on a tripod out the back or front garden, and when the sun starts to set and after it has set see what shutter speeds you will need to get the correct exposure. then you will find out what time it gets dark enough for you to use slower shutterspeeds. then go to the beach at that time and enjoy. use smaller apatures aswell( F16 F22) and low iso, this will bring your shutterspeeds right down.

Finally if you want a different twist, you can get Neutral Density Filters, which basically is just a dark peice of glass, the idea of this is that yoiu will need a slower shutter speed to get the right exposure. with one of these you could go down midday and ge the same effect.

Dan

[bigdazzler]

as Dan says, the only way to get those smooth milky water shots in daylight is ND filters ..

they look very cool too :th3:

[chad79]

Thanks for your help everyone i'll go and get one of those nd filters.

[Seesee]

Thanks for your help everyone i'll go and get one of those nd filters.


Not even an ND 8 filter will help you at times like 11:30 am, the light is much too bright, you really ned to do so at dawn or sundown, and even then you may need to use a filter like an ND or CPL...or both

[Dan AU]

I was doing some shots at the beach last night and didn't start to get these sort of looks until sometime after 8pm.

Daylight would be pretty hard for those type of shots unless filters as the others have suggested.