Shutter speed - Photography

Shutter speed is pretty simple to understand in a way. Most measurements are in sub second times. So basically when your camera says 2000. Consider it, 1/2000ths of a second or 0.0005 seconds. You will normally see just a number representing your shutter speed. It is common practice to end shutter speeds that are in seconds with a double quote (i.e. 2" means 2 seconds).

Normally you want to consider your shutter speed with your exposure meter so you get a well exposed shot.

Consider this, unless you are using a tripod usually a shutter speed below 80 (i.e. 1/80th of a second) will cause a blur by simply pressing the shutter button. My normal success rate is at 120 and 80 is very rare.

For dark shots, you will need to bump down the shutter speed to get a nice overall exposure. For shots well lit, feel free to bump it up.

Understanding when and why you want to adjust your shutter speed is crucial to taking good shots. I won't get into the art of it now, that will be in other wiki pages eventually.

Let's walk down a simple road of lighting. Lighting is everything. Let's say you have a light source which isn't great but is alright. You will need a fast shutter speed for sports or high movement shots in general. For the same light source, you won't need a fast shutter speed for say a portrait.

Usually with sports you want 250 and for portraits you want to be looming at around 60. If you can get more light, better. I am just giving you an idea, your mileage will vary. I do need you all to remember this:

• Fast action = Fast shutter speed
• Slow action = Slow shutter speed
  • This doesn't mean you should lower your shutter speed, it just means you don't need to have a fast shutter speed.

You always want good lighting for the simple reason that you can go below a decent shutter speed and get a good artistic shot. An example would be light trails or a waterfall. At a fast shutter speed the picture or water droplets will look crisp. But let's say you wanted to make the water seem as if it was continuous or a wall of water if you will. You can close up your aperture and bump down your shutter speed. If you want, you can also get familiar with the macro modes on your camera and use shutter priority and your camera will adjust the ISO and aperture accordingly. Just a mention which I fear I should not have said since it's artsy but hopefully you have read the exposure wiki page already.

So, it does go without saying but I will still add it on as something to remember:

• Fast shutter speed = crisp shot
• Slow shutter speed = motion blur
  • You may see motion blur as a bad thing however it can be used artistically. See the below links.
  • Without motion blur
  • With motion blur