9- Shutter Speeds

Photo by: Sterling Lorence

What is Shutter Speed?
The shutter of the camera is like a door that opens and closes to let light in to expose the film or sensor. Shutter speed is ‘the amount of time that the shutter is open’.

Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most cases fractions of seconds. The bigger the denominator the faster the speed (ie. 1/1000 is much faster than 1/30).

• In most cases you’ll probably be using shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second or faster. This is because anything slower than this is very difficult to use without getting camera shake. Camera shake is when your camera is moving while the shutter is open and results in blur in your photos.
• Use a tripod if you’re using a slow shutter speed (anything slower than 1/60) or some some type of image stabilization (more and more cameras are coming with this built in).
• Standard shutter speeds usually double or half (approximately) with each setting. As a result you’ll usually have the options for the following shutter speeds – 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1/1 etc. This ‘doubling’ is handy to keep in mind as aperture settings also double the amount of light that is let in – as a result increasing shutter speed by one stop and decreasing aperture by one stop should give you similar exposure levels.
• BULB Setting- Some cameras give you the option to shoot in ‘B’ (or ‘Bulb’) mode. Bulb mode lets you keep the shutter open for as long as you hold it down. Some cameras also give you the option for very slow shutter speeds that are measured in seconds (for example 1 second, 10 seconds, 30 seconds etc). These are used in very low light situations, when you’re going after special effects and/or when you’re trying to capture a lot of movement in a shot
• Consider what shutter speed to use in an image- always ask yourself whether anything in your scene is moving and how you’d like to capture that movement. If there is movement in your scene you have the choice of either freezing the movement so it looks still (shutter speed 1/125 and higher) or letting the moving object intentionally blur to give it a sense of movement 1/30 and lower).
• To freeze movement in an image (see the surfer below) you’ll want to choose a faster/higher # shutter speed and to let the movement blur you’ll want to choose a slower shutter/lower # speed. The actual speeds you should choose will vary depending upon the speed of the subject in your shot and how much you want it to be blurred.
• Motion is not always bad. There are times when motion is good. For example when you’re taking a photo of a waterfall or seascape and want to show how fast the water is flowing, or when you’re taking a shot of a racing car and want to give it a feeling of speed, or when you’re taking a shot of a star scape and want to show how the stars move over a longer period of time. In all of these instances try a longer shutter speed (lower shutter #) will be the way to go. However in all of these cases you should use a tripod or you’ll run the risk of ruining the shots by adding camera movement (a different type of blur than motion blur).
• Focal Length and Shutter Speed –Longer lens lengths will accentuate the amount of camera shake you have and so you’ll need to choose a faster shutter speed (unless you have image stabilization in your lens or camera). Choose a shutter speed with a denominator that is larger than the focal length of the lens. For example if you have a lens that is 50mm 1/60th is probably ok but if you have a 200mm lens you’ll probably want to shoot at around 1/250.

For more information about shutter speeds, visit the Digital Photography School site.

Based on the information above, let's try to guess what shutter speed the photographer used to take this photo. Sterling Lorence

Blur Movement

Freeze Frame Movement

Subject Clear/Blur movement around

Panning Fast- Blur background, clear movement.

Panning with Slow Shutter Speed

Experimental

The Assignment- You are to take a series of photographs where you capture movement with your camera by controlling the shutter. Try at least 3 different shutter speed techniques (see below) but try taking at least 4 photos for each situation.

• Arrange your images in a contact sheet of 12-24 shutter photos (try several shots for each experiment).
• Post your 6 best shutter images (one from each experiment) to your blog. Label each image you post with the shutter speed setting that you tried and the experiment title.

You are to take a series of photographs where you capture movement with your camera by controlling the shutter. You are to try 3+ different shutter speed techniques (see above) but try at least 4+ for each to make sure you practice and get a good example capturing movement.  

The Contact Sheet -Arrange your images in a contact sheet of 12-24 shutter photos (try several shots for each experiment). Contact label each experiment with the shutter speed that you used.

Post- your contact sheet and 3+ best shutter images (one from each experiment) to your blog label with the experiment title and shutter speed that you used.

1. Blur Movement
2. Freeze Frame Movement
3. Panning- fast or slow
4. Experimental/Painting with light.