Understanding Shutter Speed
Understanding shutter speed is an important concept to comprehend in order to create creative and interesting photographs. Specific shutter speeds are often effective in certain circumstances to create a desired effect. Almost all present day cameras, including point-and-shoot cameras, offer several different shutter speed choices. The function of the shutter speed is to admit light onto the camera’s sensor for a specified duration of time in order to create a properly exposed image.
Shutter speed affects the perception of movement in an image. A sense of motion can be created by having a moving subject in the composition or by physically moving the camera. A combination of both methods can be used as well. Generally speaking, fast shutter speeds are used to freeze action, while slow shutter speeds blur the action. Although there are instances where shutter speed isn’t the biggest concern, choose the shutter speed with the intent of producing a creative image. The shutter speed you use will depend on the subject and overall composition.
Fast Shutter Speeds
Fast shutter speeds freeze motion, making them ideal for sports, wildlife, and action photography. Fast shutter speeds reduce the amount of time the light has to hit the sensor. For this reason, you’ll likely need to use a larger aperture and/or increase the ISO. In order to freeze the action in the picture, you will generally need a shutter of at least 1/500 sec. Sometimes an even faster shutter speed is needed, such as 1/1000 sec. Utilize the properties of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO in order to produce the most creative and unique image you can.
This picture was captured in Navarre Beach, Florida during sunrise. The wide open aperture and back-lit scene produced a very fast shutter speed of 1/2000 sec. This shutter speed allowed me to freeze the birds in flight and capture a sharp picture.
Long Shutter Speeds
Long shutter speeds increase the amount of time the light has to hit the sensor and help to create a sense of movement within a photo. These shutter speeds are useful for photographing waterfalls, streams, waves, cityscapes, or any scenario where creating a sense of motion might be interesting. In order to achieve long shutter speeds of 1/30 sec. or longer a small aperture and a low ISO are typically required. Additionally, the longer the shutter speed is, the less texture the final image will contain. Experiment with a variety of shutter speeds to see the various texture differences in action. As I mentioned earlier, you can create movement in the picture by deliberately moving the camera as well.
This picture was created in Fort Walton Beach, Florida a while after sunset. This resulted in the vibrant blues and greens that are present in the image. The long shutter speed of 30.0 seconds removed almost all the texture of the water and even slightly blurred the clouds. The shutter speed used in this particular instance helps alter the sense of reality and produces a textureless, almost pastel-like photograph.
Contrarily, this sunrise of the Ventura Pier in Ventura, California features quite a bit of texture in the crashing wave and ocean water. A relatively long shutter speed of 3.2 seconds was used to blur the wave as it crashed along the beach, while also maintaining a bit of it’s texture. This creates a distinct sense of movement and helps draw the viewer’s eye throughout the photo. Shutter speed can even be used to enhance composition!
Mid-Range Shutter Speeds
Mid-range shutter speeds generally range between 1/60 sec. to 1/500 sec. These are often shutter speeds that don’t necessarily produce a sense of motion, but also can struggle to freeze action. For this reason, these shutter speeds are generally used when freezing fast-paced action or affecting motion isn’t a serious concern.
In the photo above I used mid-range shutter speed since I could easily freeze the subject without a fast shutter speed. On the other hand, a slow shutter speed would have made it difficult to get a sharp image. Altering motion wasn’t much of a concern in this picture.