Following on from my blog on aperture (read here) here’s my quick guide to shutter speed.
Shutter speed determines how long a photo takes to shoot. It’s measured in seconds – from fractions of a second – shown as 1/100 – up to whole seconds – shown as 5”
Most cameras have a range between 30” and 1/4000
Shutter speed settings affect how movement is captured from sharp, frozen in time shots to blurred and everything in between.
So what shutter speed should I use?
Choosing the speed to shoot at depends on a number of factors:
-
- What effect you want to have on the movement in the photo – blur or freeze
- How much light there is – is it too light or dark for your effect?
- How fast your subject is moving
Fast Shutter Speeds:
Great for images where the movement is stopped in time
Ultra fast shutter speeds are usually considered to be anything faster than 1/500th second
The closer you are to your subject the faster your shutter speed will need to be
You will need plenty of light to get the fastest speeds
1/1000 second
Slow Shutter Speeds:
Slower shutter speeds create photos which imply movement by adding blur
The slower the shutter speed the more blur you will achieve
Slow shutter speeds are also used at night to capture light trails, illuminated buildings and the night sky
Slow speed photos may need you to support the camera with a tripod and a remote release is useful to reduce any camera movement which will spoil the result
Slow shutter speeds can also be used to create artistic effects to your photos by adding deliberate camera or lens movement
During daylight slow shutter speeds can lead to overexposure without ND filters.
1/40 second
Things to know:
Most photos we take fall between 1/100 and 1/250 second
You cant successfully handhold a camera below 1/60 second without introducing some camera shake
In both cases the amount of light will really affect how fast or slow you can shoot at – you may need to balance it by using aperture and/or ISO settings ( see this blog that explains the relationship beween them all)
Try using continuous burst for fast moving subjects as well – it’s how I got this moment at a joust!
