Photo How To

We spend a lot of time discussing why your camera's Aperture Priority mode is so powerful, and why it's the choice of many pros. But this tutorial from the Newcastle Photography College takes a contrarian view when it comes to boosting the creativity of your images.

Today's unnamed instructor is an accomplished Australian outdoor shooter with over 40 years of experience and some great imagery to back it up. He says, "I know what works and what doesn't, the myths and misconceptions that are spread about photography, and want to pass on my knowledge to you."

The video begins with a bold and emphatic claim that your shutter speed is the most creative option you have on your camera. He insists that taking this approach "allows you to produce images that just aren't possible any other way." In barely eight minutes he walks you through a variety of situations, illustrated with attention-grabbing photos, to convince you to take this advice to heart.

Embracing the possibilities will enable you to use fast shutter speeds to freeze the peak of action and slow speeds to convey a sense of motion. You'll also even learn how to combine simple flash with a slow shutter to create beautiful images with an unusual eye-catching effect. The good news is that these techniques are appropriate for beginners and more experienced shooters alike.

And there's another surprise when our instructor explains how much he dislikes the popular Exposure Triangle and why he ignores it for many different reasons. "One is that it tends to give the impression that all of the brightness controls (aperture, ISO, and shutter speed) are of equal value. They're NOT."

There's a brief overview of how shutter speed combines with other key variables to arrive at an accurate exposure, but you'll see why there's way more than that to this essential setting, whether you're shooting environment portraits, wildlife subjects, people on the street, sports photos and more.

"Bottom line: "here are 10 options you can use with your shutter speed to create images that you thought were impossible." And these inspiring examples are all accessible with whatever gear you own if you choose the appropriate setting for whatever look you have in mind.

Once you're done watching head over to the Newcastle Photography College YouTube channel where there are many more thought-provoking instructional videos to be found.

And don't miss the tutorial we featured recently with another successful pro who demonstrates how he emphasizes contrast to strengthen highlights and shadows for outdoor photographs with a maximum range of tones from bright whites to deep blacks and everything in between.