Shutter Speed and the Quirks of Flash

This is an example what it looks like when the shutter curtain becomes visible in the photo. If you see these kinds of horizontal bars on your image, try adjusting your shutter speed to 1/200s or 1/250s. 

Many photographers are likely familiar with the three factors that contribute to exposure in-camera: shutter speed, aperture and ISO. We use these same settings when calculating our exposure for our ambient/flash mix, however shutter speed has some unique properties when using flash photography.

Shutter speed only affects the brightness of the ambient light—not the light from the flash. This means we can use shutter speed to make the background brighter or darker without affecting the brightness of the subject. The ability to control the brightness of the background separately from the subject will also depend on the space in which you are shooting.

Fluorescent and LED lights: be careful of is photographing under fluorescent or LED lights. In environments like this, you need to match the shutter speed on your camera to the frequency of the alternating current coming through the electrical mains. In Australia, the frequency is 50hz, so you’ll need a shutter speed of 1/50.