The creative potential of a camera can be reined in by the many rules which photographers learn as novices. Simple words of wisdom can help you quickly learn to take focused, well exposed photographs, but they can later hold your photography back. Shutter speed is easy for neophyte photographers to learn. Set the shutter speed to a 60th or 125th of a second and adjust the aperture ring to get properly exposed pictures. The exception is to use a faster shutter speed for action photos. While this simple way of looking at exposure will get you taking pictures fast, it glosses over everything you need to know to understand and creatively use the camera’s shutter speed setting.

What is Shutter Speed?
A camera’s shutter speed setting determines how long the shutter is open allowing light to strike the film. The shutter speed number is a fraction, so the larger the number, the shorter the exposure. Starting at 1 for a one second exposure and adjusting the shutter speed dial past 2 (for a half second exposure) to 4 (for a quarter second exposure) and on upward, each setting lets in light for half the amount of time as the previous setting. This relates directly to the f-number setting, which also double or halve the amount of light with each full click on the aperture ring. So that a setting of 125th of a second at f/5.6 lets in the same amount of light as a setting of 60th of a second at f/8. The longer duration shutter speed setting is compensated for with a lens opening that is half the diameter of the first setting.

Hand-Held Photography
There is a rule of thumb for determining a shutter speed for hand-held exposures that can eliminate the noticeable effects of camera movement during exposure. Most photographers can easily hand-hold a camera at a shutter speed roughly equal in number to the length of the lens used for the exposure. This means that 60th of a second would be the slowest shutter speed setting for a camera with a 50mm lens, but you would want the slowest setting for a 200mm lens to be 250th of a second. Photograph A was taken at 30th of a second with a 28mm lens and shows no blurring from camera movement. Using a wall, post or other object to brace the camera against, you can learn to safely shoot at shutter speeds slower than this rule of thumb.

Shutter Speed and Depth of Field
Because the shutter speed and aperture setting on a camera are directly proportional, adjusting the shutter speed has a direct connection to depth of field—the area of the photograph in front of and behind the main subject which are in acceptable focus. Faster shutter speeds require larger lens openings (or aperture settings) and the larger the aperture, the smaller the depth of field. Because of this many photographers use the slowest possible shutter speeds for their photography to increase the depth of field, getting as much of the picture in focus as possible. While this approach works for many photographs, be sure to previsualize the finished photo before you shoot. If you want the subject to stand out against a busy background, you will want to minimize depth of field.

Photographing Action
Fast moving subjects require fast shutter speeds to stop the action, but the speed of the subject isn’t the only factor. Your lens length and the direction of travel and distance from the subject also enter into the equation. a race car thundering down the track straight toward the camera will not blur noticeably at 125th of a second with a 28mm lens, but the same car photographed moving perpendicular to the camera with a 200mm lens would show some blur. Remember that the closer the subject and longer the lens, the more noticeable motion will be. A faster shutter speed may be required to stop the action. Also subjects moving at a right angle to the lens have faster apparent motion than those moving directly toward or away from the lens.

The other side of determining shutter speed for action photos is that you may not want to stop the action at all. You can use blur to show motion in a way that can’t be conveyed by stopping the motion in its tracks.

Another way to show motion is to pan the camera in synch with the fast moving subject. Using a 85mm lens or longer, a car moving perpendicular to the camera can be shown sharp against a blurred background by shooting at 30th of a second and following the subject as you shoot. Start following the subjects movement through the lens well before they pass directly in front of you. Click the shutter as they pass by and continue following through well after the exposure.

Shutter Speed and Flash
Knowing how an electronic flash works with your camera can help you use the shutter speed setting creatively in conjunction with a flash. Most older cameras equipped with a focal plane shutter can synchronize with a flash at shutter speeds of 60th of a second or slower, while leaf shutter cameras synch at any speed setting. Newer cameras sometimes offer synchronized flash settings of 125th of a second or faster. Check the owners manual to determine your cameras flash synch speed. If a flash is used at shutter speeds faster than the synch speeds, part of the exposure will be black, while the rest of the frame is properly exposed. This is caused by the shutter taking part of the exposure before the flash is set off.

In a darkened studio, shutter speed doesn’t come into play with flash pictures. When you take the flash out of the studio, however, adjusting the shutter speed is often necessary to match the flash exposure to the background. If the window light behind the subject in the photograph you’re about to take shows a light meter reading of 60th at f/5.6, what do you do if the flash exposure for the same picture is f/8? If you want the window light to be twice as dark as the subject, you set the camera at f/8 and shoot. But if you want the world beyond the window to be properly exposed, you can adjust the shutter speed to 30th of a second and the aperture to f/8.

If the subject is moving, the flash will stop the subject only for the duration of its short burst. The remainder of the exposure will show a blurred edge around the subject. Use the fastest synch speed offered by your camera if you want to minimize this blur. There are times though when this blur-effect can be used creatively.

By using shutter speed settings creatively, you can do far more than minimize camera movement. You’ll be able to make your subjects stand out from the background, stop the action, show motion, blend flash and natural light and unleash the creative potential of your camera.

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