Beginners Guide to Shutter Speed

jeffg · Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 7:08 pm Post subject:

Here is a short article on some of the effects that can be created using different shutter speeds. If you have any questions about this article, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Shutter speed is perhaps the most creative adjustment available to the digital photographer. It allows us to freeze action or use motion blur to create a variety of effects. The term shutter speed refers to how long the shutter stays open and is expressed in seconds or fractions of seconds depending on the length of exposure.

A high shutter speed (1/1000 of a second or higher) can freeze even very fast moving objects dead in their tracks. For this to work you are going to need a brightly lit subject, as shutter speeds this high don’t allow your camera much time to gather light for exposure. You can get around this to a degree by using a higher ISO setting, but don’t go to high, or noise will creep into your shot.

This shot was taken using a 1/1000 of a second shutter speed.

Medium shutter speeds (1/20 of a second to 1/80 of a second) can be used to create motion blur when photographing moving objects. This gives the photo a sense of life and motion.

This shot was taken using a 1/20 of a second shutter speed.

Low shutter speeds (1/8 of a second up to 30 seconds and beyond) can be used to create a variety of effects: Moving water looks smooth and silky; car lights turn into long colourful trails; city lights seem to twinkle, and the list goes on. For these long exposures a tripod or some other means of keeping the camera perfectly still is necessary to avoid creating unintended blur.

This shot was taken using a 4 second shutter speed.

This shot was also taken using a 4 second shutter speed.

This shot was taken using a 15 second shutter speed.

Most digital cameras have a shutter speed priority setting, which allows you to control the shutter speed—try it—it can open up a whole new world, and its loads of fun to boot.

Again, if you have any questions about this article, please don't hesitate to contact me.
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All the Best, Jeff

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