Customer Reviews

Creative Shutter Speed: Master the Art of Motion Capture

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Beginning right on the cover, Creative Shutter Speed invites, instructs, entertains, and sets the stage for rapid progress with personal photography that can quickly assist almost any photographer to raise their level of satisfaction with exciting pictures and even might transform simple camera shots into art form. Derric Doeffinger is an accomplished, published, and engaging career instructor in maximizing the potential of cameras and photographers. Personal results come quickly from following the entertaining, sometimes humorous, always engagingly simple suggestions from an obvious master who liberally appoints his book with tremendous photos the reader is confidentially told and completely aware of exactly how the magic was created. Derek has a voice that is akin to your friendly next-door neighbor confessing his photography adventures and aspirations; yet he obviously has achieved success far beyond amateur experimentation. The pictures made me think, "I can do some of this! I might even develop some artistic scenes...easily, results right away!"

I'm a SLR refugee from the 1960s, washed up on the digital shore, longingly thinking about how I need some new, simple ideas to rekindle my love affair with photography before I'm afraid to even think digital can't be for me. I want to fall in love with the experimenting I loved just out of college, in those psychedelic days, when my thinking was, anything could be a cool picture and my camera went everywhere with me like a reason to stare with a smile. Soon after starting Shutter Speed, I knew I had become bored with an interest I really hadn't understood as well as I thought. I knew about how to freeze the action of some object and put some "interesting blur" on speedy things, but it never occurred to me why my camera had so many shutter speeds. I had a ten-speed bike and, like my bike, I just skipped many of the gears dimly aware each might actually have a specific application. The shutter speed control never interested me much beyond, "OK. I think I know about that." I never really was creative with it at all. The piece,"Evaluating pictures as you take them," suddenly snapped me into the twenty first century. Derek continually, gently and with wry humor at times, reminds us about the great versatility of the equipment we have, and in my case, never thought about in terms of creativity literally instantly available and never used. I was looking out of my camera too much and not looking at my camera with understanding enough. It was always about the right image, not about working some simple adjustments to create art from any image. This is just what I needed and I expect a new generation of digital aficionados will concur.

Creative Shutter speed is the yellow brick road to follow to get me to the destination of happy romance with my camera. I am assured over and over again I do not travel alone and can take heart because I don't even need a highly evolved brain if I listen to Derek and laugh along with his coaching. I even thought that I could come away from this experience with some work that people would enjoy as well as personally learn much more about the camera I thought I knew and had grown bored with. This is a complete, detailed, precise step-by-step narration, including historical asides that have left me feeling a level of professional preparation I've not run into in a single book. The helpful glossary actually assisted me in understanding some of the necessary terms that are used. Like a carefully orchestrated stop action photo, each component of this shutter speed artistry is sharp, clear and you can't wait to get into motion with that camera. Yeah, I've made some exciting pictures and I'm in love.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! Here's a guide you'll want to keep in your camera bag; an essential companion for the professional photographer or casual shooter. Derek Doeffinger's 'CREATIVE SHUTTER SPEED', provides the reader with techniques which can be applied immediately using a digital SLR camera's most powerful tool - shutter speed.

'CREATIVE SHUTTER SPEED' is a technical book, clearly written in an enjoyable, humorous style. Specific techniques are supported with clarifying metaphors and superb photographic examples. Doeffinger takes you by the hand, and step by step teaches you how to get the most creative results from your camera. The book is filled with tips and tricks of the trade that professional photographers use each day to get wonderful pictures.

After photographing for over 30 years, I found the information in this book to be a refreshing reminder of techniques I learned long ago, but somehow neglected in the shuffle. Doeffinger's passion for his craft reinvigorated my own enthusiasm. After reading each chapter, I couldn't wait to pick up my camera and go out to revisit all the "fun stuff" again. Understanding shutter speed and exposure, blurring, panning, freezing motion, equipment, composition and lighting are some of the many subjects which are explored.

This is a book you won't regret buying. You will learn a ton and will have fun doing it!!!

S. Albanese

This book has really improved my picture taking by showing me the right shutter speeds and creative techniques to use. Not only does it have a lot of good pictures demonstrating how to use shutter speed but it conveys a lot of information without being a dry technical manual - it's actually enjoyable to read. Best of all it shows how to take eye-grabbing photos of everyday situations and common events like parades, motocross races, or even the flowers blowing in your garden.

The book contains plenty of solid technical information for advanced camera enthusiasts striving to improve the quality of their photos and up their pictures' "wow" factor. I expect it will also appeal to point & shoot users interested in exerting more control over their picture-taking but who don't want to be overwhelmed with excessive technical jargon. The book is conveniently broken down into bite-sized sections, and the techniques are illustrated with photos. Over the years I have become weary of reading photo books, as many rehash the same material. And as a former film SLR user with a solid understanding of exposure & basic techniques I wasn't sure how much this book would offer. To my surprise it has refreshed, and expanded on, what I've learned over the years and has helped re-kindle my interest in photography and in trying some of the creative techniques.

It gives a mix of gorgeous photos, the kind we non-professionals strive for, with lots of in-depth, how-to-do it techniques. The first chapter covers almost every shutter speed on your camera, explaining the best uses for each shutter speed and the drawbacks. It's not just for action shooters. It covers a wide variety of situations, such as landscapes, cathedral interiors, waterfalls. I thought the book was worth it just for this chapter.

The rest of the book covers both technical and creative techniques. You'll find technical stuff about taking sharp, well-exposed pictures of many subjects in many situations, such as with telephoto lenses or in nearly dark conditions. It gives a lot of excellent photo examples with specific instructions on how to take similar pictures. These are pictures and techniques that almost anybody can do, not just a professional off on a trip in the wilds of Borneo. I love the picture of the curtains blowing around a vase of flowers.

Before I review this book, a quick disclaimer: I am the author of a number of photo books myself and Derek Doeffinger has edited several of them. While that might seem to bias this review to a degree, in fact, it's from knowing Derek and having him play such a pivotal role in my own books that I can attest to the depth and accuracy of his knowledge.

Doeffinger is, above all else, a natural teacher and a very enjoyable writer. You can pretty much open this book to any page and learn something about shutter speed that will improve your photography. You'll find yourself (as I have) reading this book for the sheer pleasure of being in the hands of a fun writer (something pretty rare in photo books) and looking at a lot of very creative photos.

Also, while the book is very thorough, it really presupposes no previous knowledge and so regardless of where you are on the exposure learning curve, the book won't bore you and it won't leave you more confused than when you started the book. One of the worst things a writer can do is try to show off their knowledge rather than share it; Doeffinger shares his experience freely and if you read almost any two pages of this book, I think you'll agree.

One of the things I like most about it is its somewhat unexpected organization. Rather than start out explaining the purely technical side of shutter speed and exposure, he begins by showing examples of many different shutter speeds in use. Using photo examples shot at shutter speeds ranging from 1/8000 second down to eight hours, his photos demonstrate why shutter speed is such a fundamental creative tool. You'll see, for example, how a shutter speed of 1/1000 second can stop a horse going over a jump while a speed of 1/8 second can completely blur a carnival ride in motion. Even experienced photographers will like this very visual chapter.

In the second chapter, Doeffinger provides an excellent explanation of shutter speed and its relationship to the other aspects of good exposure, including aperture, depth of field, lighting, etc. If you're new to exposure concepts there is nothing in this chapter that will confuse or frighten you.

There is also a really interesting chapter called "How I Took These Photos" where he explains how a number of interesting shots were made and why he made certain exposure choices. I'd love to see a whole book of "how I made these photos," it's a great idea because in most books that info is limited to a quick, dry caption.The book also includes a worthwhile chapter on exposure tools (camera settings like ISO, exposure modes, bracketing, etc.) and accessories (tripods, flash, remote releases) that can be used to exploit and embellish creative shutter speed choices. Personally I would have given more space to the importance of tripods (which I consider essential), but maybe that's just my obsession.

The book concludes with extensive individual chapters on how to stop action and how to deliberately blur motion. Some of the blur shots will really surprise you (have you heard about camera "tossers?"). I got a lot of picture ideas from both of these chapters and I love reading a book that gives me new ideas.

Shutter speed is a fundamental part of exposure and since it's one of only two camera settings (OK, three if you include ISO speed) that control exposure, the more you know about it the more your pictures will resemble the ideas that you see in your mind's eye.

Here's the bottom line about buying photo books (or any other books for that matter) if you're serious about improving your craft. If you spend $20 or so on a book and you take away a few solid ideas that improve your technique then your money was well invested. If you get a lot of ideas, you're way ahead of the game. And if you get inspired in the bargain, then you can't ask for more.

By the way, Doeffinger happens to be one of the best waterfall photographers around, so read about his waterfall monographs on Amazon.

This will make you think twice before you press that shutter button! Shutter speed was the "ugly stepsister" to aperture for me until I read this book. It clearly illustrates what you need to think about in terms of movement and how you will represent it on film. Six chapters crammed full of concepts and examples. Each shutter speed is explored and explained. ISO, lenses, lighting--every technique using speed as a technique for motion shots, it's all there, along with charts that show you how to stop motion, or create blur. The photos in the text clearly illustrate whatever concept Derek is explaining. The 256 pages are thorough and written so photographers at every level of expertise can benefit from the discussion. The index and table of contents help you refer back to the book.

Think about adding this to your collection if you want to have a well-rounded view of shooting.

this is a great book, i have a single lens refex camera, and this book if excellent at teaching you how to use the shutter speed to get certain effects and talks about lenses and the use of them.

One sunny after I was sitting in a Borders store flipping through the pages of this book. The first chapter is quite impressive, which gives some detailed use of different shutter speeds. So I rushed home and purchased this book from Amazon. But then I found out that the subsequent chapters are not as good because they immediately fall into the category of "photography for beginners" - just like other beginners' photography book, gives the very basic knowledge of photography, such as equivalent exposure, exposure compensation for extreme lighting, the use of different camera features etc.

Such contents are still not bad, because novice photographers would appreciate the information. Unfortunately the book suffers from more serious drawbacks. With all due respect, the author spends a lot of text (one chapter is dedicated to this) on how he took each picture and gives readers information on the shutter speed and f-stop, but for some reason, he always leaves out the ISO settings. Also, the author seems to have a fetish about blurs. About a quarter to a third of all pictures in the book are blurred, either from panning or from camera shake. Maybe that is what he means by "creative" and thinks that these photos are "artistic", but given the large quantity of them in a book that is supposed to be for beginners, they just look more "gimmicky". Maybe it is just my personal taste because I prefer razor sharp photos.

[Added: okay, so the author actually gives his reason for picking blurred photos because after seeing so many razor sharp images, he grew tired of them and wanted to show something fresh. For a pro this may very well be the case, but I believe he forgot the fact that the book was written for beginners]

In summary, the only worthy part of the book is the first chapter. If you are completely new to photography and are looking for a starter's book, the ones from National Geographic or Kodak are much better.

After reading this book you will understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, ISO and exposure. You will also learn how to read the histogram to determine if you picture has a good or bad exposure.

This book has good examples of how the shutter speed affects the photograph taken and shows you whch speed you need to use to obtain the desired effect. It has many examples and encourage you to take your own pictures and apply the techniques learned.

Believe me when I tell you that you won't regret buying Derek Doeffinger's latest book called, "Creative Shutter Speed." Derek's book will unleash the power of producing creative images by you choosing the correct shutter speed instead of letting the camera decide for you. He has an explanation for each shutter speed along with images that shows you the type of image it can produce. Other photographic advise is also given in a very informative way.

Excellent reading!

Given the quality of the pictures in this book the author is very professional. This book is easy to read, and backed up by pictures that make you want to
go out and try his advice. What's useful is that a lot of this advice is the distillation of years of experience so you will be saving lots of time by reading
a book like this.
One subject where this author shines is the art of long exposure blur: what's the best speed to give the viewer a feeling for the motion in the scene.
Like for example how do you take pictures from a moving car? I'm telling you from my personal experience this takes a lot of experimenting to learn this on one's own.
Seasoned photographers can pick up a few ideas here and there.

One reviewer wrote that only the first chapter is about shutter speed. How wrong can you be. If this were true then why should chapter four be called Tools and controls to exploit shutter speed? Why should chapter five be called Stopping the Action? And the next chapter is "Shake Rattle and Roll your camera". This last chapter is intimately related to shutter speed.

Do yourself a favor and save a few years of fumbling and experiments, with this book.