Shutter Speed, Whats that?
What is Shutter Speed?
I just took your photo, wanna see me do it again? Wanna see me do it in slow-motion?
Photographer : Danny Graham -Engagement session at Raymond skills falls in PA, using a faster shutter speed to preserve a frozen moment.
Photographer : Danny Graham - Using flash and a relatively fast shutter to preserve the bride’s cousin’s dance moves, at her wedding at Casa Bianca in New Jersey.
The camera’s shutter is a mechanical (sometimes digital) device, that opens and closes for a predetermined amount of time. (There is also an open shutter for long exposure shots.)
Shutter is measured in parts of a second. Examples are 1/10,1/15, 1/30,1/60, 1/120, 1/240, but also in full seconds 1s , 5s ,10s.
Photographer Danny Graham, captures spark using a fast shutter during bride and grooms first dance at Casa Bianca in New Jersey.
The amount of time that the shutter is open or that the sensor is accepting light, determines the exposure of the image. It also determines how much motion blur the image gets or doesn't get.
Photographer : Danny Graham - Model Seana, stands in front of a moving train. Here we’re using a slow enough shutter to capture the motion of the train, but it’s still fast enough to preserve the model’s details.
Before you go cranking your shutter up to 1/8000, keep in mind that there are times when the motion blur from a slower shutter can be desirable. You can show a fast moving object, with a still world to emphasize the contrast of energy.
Photographer : Danny Graham - Entrance sparklers captured with some motion blur.
A fast moving subject can be followed as it passes, producing a clear crisp subject and it can emphasize the motion in a single image. Or you can always use a flash to preserve your subject and blur the background, using a process called Shutter Drag. Common examples are often used in motorcycle photography.
Photographer : Danny Graham - Capturing friends and motion blur on the dance floor. Wedding/Event @ Casa Bianca in Oak Ridge, NJ
Photographer : Danny Graham - Using shutter drag with a flash and a slower shutter speed. Wedding/Event @ Casa Bianca in Oak Ridge, NJ.
Contrast to using motion blur, you can always crank up the shutter and freeze motion. This can be awesome when capturing moments that are typically too quick to appreciate all of the fine details. Like someone or something frozen in mid air, or the spray of water, dirt or dust.
Photographer : Danny Graham - Shooting pigeons in a NYC park. The birds are frozen in time, using a faster shutter speed.
For video : Typically, you double or divide your shutter in half, in order to move up and down full stops of light. For video, it's often advised to follow the 180 rule. This is the perceived cinematic “normal”, in which you are doubling the frame rate to identify the shutter. Using the 180 rule, if you shoot in 24p as a frame rate, than your shutter should be set to 1/48 or 1/50. This is not so much a rule, but more of a guide. I encourage you to experiment with different frame rates and faster shutters, to produce crisper motion with less motion blur.
Photographer : Danny Graham - Captures a drummer playing mid-beat.
Photographer : Danny Graham - Capturing some entrance sparklers, while balancing the exposure and also timing the moment for the Bride and Grooms exit at Crystal Springs Ballyowen Golf Club in Hamburg, NJ.
Hopefully this helps you to better understand shutter speed and how it works. It’s used as a lot more than just a way to control the exposure, so I hope that this knowledge can help your photography grow. Thank you for reading!
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