Shutter speed is a fundamental aspect of photography that can greatly affect the outcome of your images. Shutter speed refers to the length of time that your camera’s shutter remains open when taking a photo. Understanding how shutter speed works and how to use it effectively can help you effectively capture your subject, and create compelling images.
So what is Shutter Speed?
To understand shutter speed, we must understand what a camera’s shutter is, and how it works. Inside of a camera, there is a mechanical curtain which covers the camera’s sensor. When you click the ‘shutter button’, the camera’s shutter is temporarily opened, allowing light to pass through and strike the sensor. The length of time that this shutter stays open is therefore known as the shutter speed.
The shutter speed is measured in seconds or fractions of a second, such as 1/1000th of a second or 1/30th of a second. The longer the shutter speed, the more light is able to enter your camera, and the brighter the image. Conversely, the shorter the shutter speed, the less light is able to enter your camera, and the darker the image.
1/2 second is an example of a slow shutter speed. The camera’s shutter stays open for 0.5 seconds, allowing more light to strike the camera’s sensor.
1/2000th of a second is a fast shutter speed. The camera’s shutter opens for only 0,05 seconds, allowing only a small amount of light to strike the camera’s sensor.
How to Choose the Right Shutter Speed:
Choosing the right shutter speed is essential to capturing a well-exposed image. Here are a few case studies to illustrate how I would go about choosing my shutter speed.
Fast Paced Action/Moving Subjects
When shooting a fast moving subject, you will generally achieve a better result by using a fast shutter speed. For example, if I was taking pictures of a cycling race with cyclists riding past me at high speed, a shutter speed of 1/2000 would allow me take an image with the cyclists sharp, and without any motion blur. A shutter speed of 1/600 will often suffice for medium paced action, like people running. As a rule of thumb, the faster the movement of the subject, the faster your shutter speed should be.
See below for a creative way to shoot fast moving subjects with a slow shutter speed!
Stationary Subject
When shooting a stationary subject, your shutter speed doesn’t need to be as fast as when shooting a movement subject. For this image, I used a shutter speed of 1/200. The only reason I would use a faster shutter speed when shooting a still subject is to decrease the exposure of my image.
Pro Tip: When shooting handheld, always use a shutter speed of at least 1/60 or faster to avoid any shake or blur in your images.
Most still scenes can be shot with a shutter speed of between 1/60 and 1/400.
Long Exposures
The equipment I used to take these shots.
Long exposures are a term used by photographers when they use a very slow shutter speed, usually between 1 second and 1 minute, but sometimes even longer! A slow shutter speed allows lots of light to pass through the camera’s shutter and strike the sensor. This allows one to capture a detailed image in low light conditions, such as at night, that cannot be achieved using a regular shutter speed.
PRO TIPS:
- When shooting with a shutter speed of approximately 1/50s or slower, it is absolutely essential that you use a tripod or another form of camera stabiliser that keeps the camera perfectly still.
- Set a 3s timer on your camera to avoid shaking the camera as you push the shutter button.
- Always use manual focus when shooting in low light or at night, and I would recommend turning on your focus peaking to assist you in focusing on the right subject.
- For astrophotography, you need to use a long shutter speed to capture as much light as possible, but it’s important to remember that stars are constantly moving in the night sky. This means that if you leave you shutter open for too long, the stars will appear as a ‘short stripe’ in your image and not a ‘dot’. For this reason, I recommend using a shutter speed of between 15s and 30s, but NO MORE than 30s!
Background Blur
An effective way to illustrate speed in a still image is to have the subject in focus but the background blurry. The way you do this is by using a relatively slow shutter speed, and panning the camera to follow the moving subject while simultaneously clicking the shutter button. For the above image, I used a shutter speed of 1/80s, but anything between 1/40 and 1/120 will work, depending on your desired exposure. ND filters are a great way of adjusting the amount of light entering your camera, allowing you to use a slow shutter speed in bright light, without over-exposing your image. More about ND filters soon!
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