Shutter Speed: Sharp As a Paper-Cut or Not At All
The Art, Science, and Technicalities of a Photograph (Part 2)
The mighty position of the photographer comes from the power of choosing what your image should look like. Shutter speed is used to stop action or create the impression of movement.
If you're shooting motorsports or field sports, you will find yourself wanting a short shutter speed to capture the action in a nice sharp picture. But what if you wanted to show streaks of car headlights on the highway at night? You’d likely lengthen the shutter speed to create “light-trails” from the headlights of speeding cars.
Even though shutter speed is one of the most important camera settings, and one which allows for infinite amount of creative expression – it is relatively straightforward to grasp. Understanding how it works will bring your closer to making that jump from Automatic Mode to Manual, all the while developing better photography skills.
So what is shutter speed?
Shutter speed is exactly what it sounds like: it is the length of time your sensor is exposed to light, or in other words, the speed at which the shutter opens and closes to reveal the sensor to light.
The shutter is a door that covers the sensor from being hit by light. When you press the shutter button to take a picture, you move the shutter out of the way at a fast speed – so fast you can barely see it move – and thus exposes the sensor to light. It’s like using a faucet, water gushes out the moment you turn it on, and stops the instant you turn it off.
Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or, in most cases, fractions of seconds. The bigger the denominator, the faster the speed (Example: 1/1000s is much faster than 1/30s). It is responsible for two particular things: changing the brightness of your photo and creating dramatic effects by either freezing action or blurring motion.
How does shutter speed affect a photograph?
The faster the shutter speed, the shorter the exposure (darker), and the sharper and crisper the photo is. The slower it is, the longer the exposure (brighter), and the more motion is captured.
Let’s use the faucet analogy from above. If you turn on the faucet for only half a second, you should be able to observe each individual droplet in the sink. Had you left it on for a few minutes, not only would the sink be filled, but the flow of water would create movement and ripples throughout the pool of water.
As shutter speed is relational to time, it directly impacts how motion is recorded by your camera. You may have heard a photographer say, “I used a really fast shutter speed to freeze my subjects.” What they mean is that they used a shutter speed faster than whatever motion was occurring in the frame. The faster the motion, the faster the shutter speed is required in order to arrest the movement at that instant.
This is where beginner photographers may become frustrated when all the shots of their kids playing sports or their pet bounding across the lawn is just a mash of colors. They simply don’t understand that the shutter speed must be set in relation to the subjects motion to produce a desired outcome.
Check out this quarter shot on the left at 1/1250th of a second, then again on the right at 1/50th of a second.
So, say you want to photograph your child jumping on the trampoline. Remember that while the shutter is open during capturing an image — anything that moves while that image is being taken will blur. To avoid unwanted blur, shutter speed, should then match the speed of what you are shooting. Most sports are shot at high shutter speeds — often 1/500 and higher. For kids, people, and pets not displaying their talents on a field, a 1/250 speed is often sufficient.
But, you may actually want motion blur. Say, you want to take a picture of a waterfall. If you use a slow shutter speed, the first big effect of it is motion blur of the water smoothly running over the rocks. Then, you might shoot at 1/100ths of a second or lower.
Or, you might even use bulb mode to keep the shutter open until you manually close it, such as when shooting light trails. You will want to use a tripod to stabilize your camera, otherwise you’ll end up with unwanted camera shake instead of the cool light trails you aimed for!
If your shutter speed is slow, any moving subjects in your photo will become blurred along the direction of motion. Oftentimes, car advertisements will utilize a slow shutter speed to communicate speed and motion by intentionally burring the wheels or freezing the car against a blurred background.
Don’t forget about light
As noted before, shutter speed also affects how bright or dark your image will be. As one piece of the Exposure Triangle, knowing how shutter speed works with ISO and aperture is a critical factor in controlling how your images turn out.
If you use a slow shutter speed, compensate by bringing down your ISO and consider raising your aperture. If you use a fast shutter speed, compensate by adjusting ISO and consider lowering your aperture.
What is the Best Shutter Speed?
There is no such thing, as you are the artist and the “best” shutter speed depends on what you are trying to achieve. Whether it be to capture the fierce motion of a racehorse and jockey pounding the earth, freeze a tiny insect mid-flight, or the sliver of your imagination… go crazy in exploring and using shutter speed to play to your own creative style!
https://photographylife.com/what-is-shutter-speed-in-photography
https://www.photographytalk.com/beginner-photography-tips/aperture-shutter-speed-and-iso-the-exposure-triangle
https://digital-photography-school.com/demystifying-shutter-speed/
https://www.creativelive.com/photography-guides/what-is-shutter-speed