All About Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed: How It Can Affect Exposure

Shutter Speed is the length of time the camera’s shutter is open. The longer the camera shutter is open, the more light will be let into the camera. Vice versa, the shorter amount of time the camera shutter is open, the less light will enter the camera. The amount of light let into the camera determines the exposure of your photo. 

Typical Shutter Values

A “stop” is a relative unit of light used in measuring exposure, aperture, and ISO sensitivity. For shutter speed it measures time in seconds. Each full stop is relative to the next. As the shutter speed is increased (aka shortening the amount of time the shutter is open), the stop time is divided in half. As the shutter speed is decreased, the stops are doubled. Below is a list of full stop units, as you will see in your camera, although your camera will include many intermediate shutter speeds besides these full values. 

30”

15”

8”

4”

2”

1”

1/2”

¼”

1/8”

1/15”

1/30”

1/60”

1/125”

1/250”

1/500”

1/1000”

1/2000”

1/4000”

1/8000” 

Determining When to Use Short or Long Shutter Speed

Choosing a shutter speed is highly dependent on the subject matter of your photograph, and the effect you want said photograph to have. If you are hoping to freeze any kind of fast motion you should use a shorter shutter speed, at least 1/500" or shorter. Short shutter speeds are typically used in sports related photography where fast motion is captured, with a typical shutter speed being 1/1000" or shorter. In other words, if the subject you are attempting to capture is moving, using a shorter shutter speed will freeze the subjects motion to create a clear image (see example below). Similarly, if you as the photographer are in a state of motion and you want to capture something that is not moving, using a shorter shutter speed will create a still image despite the movement that is happening.

Example of Short Shutter Speed to Freeze Motion

In contrast, if you are hoping to create intentional blur or you are photographing something at night then you will want to use a longer shutter speed (see image below). A longer shutter speed will capture the blur from motion or the exposure of light, because the shutter is open over a longer period of time. Therefore, the photo can show movement rather than a still image. A typical long shutter speed to use in these instances would be 1/4" or longer. Similarly if you are using a long shutter speed, or shooting in a low light situation, you may want to use a tripod. 

Example of Long Shutter Speed to Capture Movement/Blur

Controlling Motion Blur and Camera Shake Through Shutter Speed

As was mentioned above, motion blur can be achieved by having a longer shutter speed, because you are exposing the lens to the subject for a longer duration of time. For instance, if you set the shutter speed to 15", the lens will be exposed for fifteen seconds, thus capturing any motion that happens within those fifteen seconds. This is why images with a longer shutter speed tend to show motion blur, like the example above. 

This brings up the issue of camera shake, or rather the inevitable slight shaking of the camera that occurs  because it is nearly impossible to hold a camera perfectly still, to capture an image that appears to be frozen in time. If camera shake always showed through, every image we taken with a camera would be blurry. Thankfully however, you can minimize the amount of camera shake present in an image by using a shorter shutter speed. In the same way that a longer shutter speed shows blurring, a shorter shutter speed will hide the blurring caused by camera shake and create a clear image. (The longest shutter speed you can used is typically 1/60" or shorter if you want to cut down on camera shake. Any longer, and there will be signs of camera shake). You can also use a tripod to cut down on camera shake, if you need to use a longer shutter speed.