Best Shutter Speed and Motion Photography Tips

The camera shutter is a device that allows light to reach the film for a precise length of time. In the early days of photography the shutter was removing the lens cap by hand for certain amount of time and then putting it back on. The photographic plates used then were not very sensitive, exposures of five to ten minutes were common. Imagine trying to shoot photos of nature and landscapes keeping everything perfectly still for that long.

Today, film is so much more sensitive. Exposures at a fraction of a second are sufficient. With digital you don’t use film. Instead of focusing light onto film, it focuses in onto a semiconductor device that records light electronically. A computer then breaks this electronic information down into digital data.

Most cameras have shutter speeds of 1-second, ½-second, ¼-second, 1/8-second, 1/15-second, 1/30-second, 1/60-second, 1/125-second, 1/250-second, 1/500-second, and 1/1000-second. They are marked on the camera as 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500, and 1000. As you move from one speed to the next fastest speed you cut the time of exposure in half. An exposure of 1/60-second allows light to reach the film for half the time allowed by 1/30-second. If you cut the time in half, you cut the light coming through the lens in half.

Remember, aperture also controls the amount of light reaching the film or device. A larger aperture admits more light. A smaller aperture admits less light. By using shutter speed and aperture to determine the amount of light that enters the camera you can manipulate these two settings to control your photo’s exposure. In other words, changing the aperture will allow you to use the shutter speed needed to achieve your desired results. It also works the other way, changing the shutter speed will allow you to use the aperture you needed. Aperture controls depth of field, shutter speed can determine motion.

To photograph motion your shutter speed depends on four factors:

1. The speed of the moving object-you must use a speed appropriate to the speed of the object. The speed required to stop the motion of water flowing in a nature stream will not be fast enough to freeze a hummingbird in flight. The photo above, left shows the motion of the water stopped. You can see the droplets and it is a harder image. The photo below, right shows the water in motion. It is a softer, flowing image.
2. The direction of the moving object-an object moving across your field of view, from left to right or right to left, will appear to move much faster than an object moving toward or away from you at the same speed. For example, to show motion of a zebra running across the African plain position yourself so the subject runs across your frame not towards or away from you.
3. The distance of the moving object-the closer your subject is to the camera, the larger the image will be in the photo and the faster it appears to move. So if you want your subject to be blurred to show motion get closer. If you want to freeze motion stay farther away.
4. The focal length of your lens-the longer the focal length of your lens, the larger the image and the faster it appears to move. If you shoot a photo of a train moving across the landscape at the same distance with the same shutter speed using a 50mm lens and a 105mm lens the photo shot with the 105mm lens will show more motion.

Another technique to freeze motion while using slower shutter speeds is to pan the camera with the moving object. Center the object in the viewfinder and move your body and the camera to follow the motion so the object stays centered as it moves across you field of view. This results in a sharp image of the moving subject with a blurred background. To do this successfully pad by swiveling your body from the hips. Keep the object centered in your viewfinder and keep panning for a moment after you squeeze the shutter button to allow smooth, continuous motion, like a golfer’s swing.

I have only given a general overview here. There are many sources that will go into more detailed information if you would like to learn more. Try to Shoot More Photos and experiment using shutter speed and motion in your nature and landscape photos.

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