Mastering the basics of photography and building up a foundation of knowledge will change the way you take your photos.

In this #backtobasics series I want to establish the fundamental principles and then build on this base level knowledge so we all can take better pictures.

If you missed What is Aperture you can read it here, but today we are going to learn about shutter speed.

What is shutter speed?

Shutter speed gives you the control to blur a motion or freeze it. So capturing something moving that will either be in sharp focus or have a blurry appearance.

It's the function that allows you to control how long the camera shutter is open for.

The shutter acts like a curtain, it opens to expose the camera sensor to the light. The shutter speed controls how long that curtain is open for and how much light passes through the lens to the sensor.

The longer it is open, the more light that is exposed to the sensor. On a sunny day this can make your photos look whited out or overexposed, but on a dark day, you need a longer exposure to capture the subject in focus. 

The button you press to take a picture is called the shutter button. This button controls the opening and closing of the shutter. So think back to your pair of curtains. You press the button to open the curtains. 

How is shutter speed measured?

This is the numbers part. Because shutter speed is a length of time, it is measured in seconds. When the shutter speed is less than one second it is measured in fractions of a second.

If you set your camera to Shutter Priority or TV mode (Canon), you will be able to control the number of seconds the shutter is open for. If you shoot with a Nikon Shutter Priority is the S setting. 

My camera allows me to change my shutter speed from the the fastest of 1/4000th of a second to the slowest setting of 30 seconds or 30" (The " symbol stands for seconds).

Here is a cheat sheet to help you see the range of objects you can capture, by playing with the shutter speed settings. Download and print it off here.

You will see that as the setting gets slower and the shutter is open for longer, you need to use a tripod. Your camera is sensitive to motion so particularly in lower light conditions, even the slightest hand shake can have an effect. 

Remember, in darker conditions you will need a slower shutter speed. In natural daylight on a clear day a shutter speed of 1/125th of a second will be just fine for everyday photos. 

I shoot with a Canon DSLR and their website has some great technical spec photos to help guide you around the camera. You find the shutter speed in the LCD Display panel.

Now lots of tutorials on the internet will talk about capturing birds in flight, but generally I take more photos of the boys than birds! One of the photos that I love taking at this time of year is of the boys in the leaves, throwing them in the air. This is when you need to adjust your shutter speed.

These photos of Ollie were taken at 4.30pm on a dark day as the natural light was fading away, and you can see that by slightly adjusting the shutter speed the leaves became a little bit blurry. If it had been earlier in the day and sunny I could have adjusted the shutter speed to 1/500th of a second and probably still have got the same effect. 

I actually prefer the slightly blurred motion, not only because you can see his face, but because it shows the action!

Now at this time of year you might take a photo of your handwriting in sparklers. We do this every year and I love it.

To get the perfect shot you need:

• A tripod or a steady surface
• Set your camera to Shutter Priority or TV mode 
• Set your shutter speed to between 5" (seconds) and 10"(seconds), depending on the length of your name.
• Practise! 

It may take a couple of attempts but it will be worth it! 

When shooting on TV or Shutter Priority mode you also have control over ISO. If you shoot on Aperture Priority the shutter speed will automatically adjust. 

ISO is the final of the 3 pillars of the Exposure Triangle, the fundamental principle of photography, that I covered in the next blog post in the next #backtobasics mini series. Read it here and don't forget to subscribe to more updates.

Happy snapping everyone, and if you take a sparkler photo or have a play with your shutter speed settings, let me know, I would love to see. Come and find me on Instagram and tag me so I don't miss it!

I love getting emails from readers with photography related questions and today I want to start my #backtobasics series of tutorials. 

It's easy to buy a camera and dive straight in. Leave the manual neatly in the box un-thumbed and start snapping. I know, I've done it!

But understanding the principles and basics of photography will help you master your camera, whether it be a phone camera, compact, DSLR or anything in between.

I will be posting a series of easy to follow photo tutorials which will take us on a journey from the fundamental principles right through to editing processes and tips to ways to use your beautiful photos.

Everything is easier to understand in bite size pieces. Then when you piece them all together you will feel a light go off in your mind and bingo, you will start taking better pictures!

Today is about Aperture. 

Light passes through your camera lens through a hole. This hole decides how much light to let onto your camera sensor. Aperture is the size of that hole inside the lens. Just like how your pupils react to light. If you shine a light in your eyes your pupils will get smaller, but in a darker room they will dilate to try and let as much light in as possible.

Put your hands together in front of you. 

The smaller the hole the less light that can pass through.

Aperture is measured in F-numbers. This is the measurement of the diameter of the hole. 

Aperture is referred to as full stop F-number or F-stops. If you look at a lens you will see it has an F-stop range or number.

There are a number of different sets of F-numbers but the most commonly used are:

ƒ/1.4 2 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22 32

It might sound confusing but the lower the F-number, like ƒ/1.4, the bigger the hole and therefore the more light that is allowed to the sensor.

The higher the F-number, like ƒ/22, the smaller the hole and the less light that is allowed through to the sensor. 

The amount of light that reaches the sensor affects the depth of field and the amount of your image that is in focus.

So... the lower the aperture, like ƒ/1.4, the bigger the hole and the more light, but this will give you a very shallow depth of field. You know the lovely blurry background shots with a very crisp focus in the foreground.

Take a look at this set of photos.

As the aperture number increases, the hole gets smaller, the less light reaches the sensor, and the more in focus the background becomes.

Look at the holes on the peg board (Which I was kindly given by Red Candy, I'll be sharing a post on that soon) higher the F-number the more in focus they become.

I love shooting on Aperture Priority and my signature style is to use a low F-number, typically ƒ/4, to get a shallow depth of field and a very blurry background.

Compare these 2 photos. The one on the left is a low aperture, ƒ/4, the one on the right, ƒ/22.

You can see how the leaves become more crisp on the right, but my familiar style would be the photo on the left.

Phone apps like Big Lens (iPhone) or Shot Control (Android) will allow you to play with aperture. I use an iPhone and tap the focus square until I am happy with the focal point and depth of field.

Have a play with your camera on Aperture Priority (Look for the AV or AP setting) and compare how changing the aperture alters your photo. If you are taking a picture of a landscape you may want to try a higher F-number, to get the whole view in focus, but if you are taking a picture of your child, a lower F-number might help keep the focus of the photo on their face.

Don't forget to leave me any questions on the blog post and if you take any photos on Aperture Priority tag me or tweet me so I can see! I love shooting on Aperture Priority because I have control over the atmosphere I create in a photo, by altering the depth of field.

Next up is shutter speed...

The brilliant thing about social media is you find and follow like minded people. 

I love the supportive and sharing communities I am part of and one of them #blogphotochat has led to a super giveaway for a lucky reader! 

If you are a blogger and looking to take your blog photography to a new level this is the course for you, and if you are not a blogger but would love to improve your photos then hooray - you are in the right place too!

I follow photographers on Instagram and Twitter whose photos inspire me and photographers who I can openly ask for advice and share our passion for taking better photos. Emma is one of them.

Emma Davies is a talented commercial and fine art flower photographer (I mean you can imagine just how much I adore her work!) based in Surrey and her photos are breathtaking.

Emma runs a successful program of workshops and courses all of which I would love to go on, and is offering a place on the next online Blog Photography Course which commences on Monday 22th September for one of my lovely readers.

You will win a 28 day course which has been designed to cover every aspect of blog photography with 5 video tutorials each week and access to all sorts of loveliness with Emma.

All you have to do is tell us why you would love to win the place. 

• Leave a comment on this blog post OR
• Leave a comment on this Instagram photo OR
• Leave a comment on this Facebook photo

The competition will close at midnight on Friday 19th September and the winner will be announced on Saturday 20th September.

Good luck! 

And don't forget to join in #blogphotochat every Thursday night at 9pm UK time on Twitter.