Why You’d Want to Lock Your Shutter Release

If you’re doing a really long exposure (let’s say 10 or 11 minutes), standing there and holding your shutter button down for 10 minutes is a drag. That’s why most shutter releases have a lock button on them, so you can press the shutter button, and then lock it in place without having to actually hold it down the whole time. With some models, you press the button, and then slide it upward to lock it in the open position (as seen above, where the yellow color under the slider lets you know your shutter is locked in the open position). I’ve been in long exposure shooting situations where I’m doing such a long exposure, that I press the shutter release, turn on the lock button, and then go sit in my car until the exposure is done (hey, it was pretty chilly out there). Anyway, the important thing to know is there is a lock on your shutter release cable, and it’s really handy if your long exposure is more than just a few seconds.