Let’s Talk about Shutter Speed

Cameras, both old and new, have one thing in common - they all have a small shutter that allows images to get captured through their sensors or film, as it opens. Shutter speed is the length of time it stays open to capture light. As one of the three pillars of photography (which also includes ISO and depth of field), it allows you to freeze motion or create a blurry effect in your images. Shutter speed is often measured in fractions of a second - modern DSLRs today can even go up to 1/8000th of a second. 

The shutter speed you need to use when you take photographs depends on the kind of subject you have. Most bird photographers usually use 1/2000th and up to get the best results, while shutter speeds for general purpose photography ranges from 1/250th to 1/500th. What does this mean? It means, the faster your subject moves, the higher shutter speed you need to use to freeze motion.

If you're going to use higher shutter speeds for your images, you must know that it also limits the amount of light getting captured in your sensor. Your images might get underexposed especially if you're shooting in a lot light environment. This is the reason why photographers need "fast lenses" in low light photography - using a lower F-stop counteracts with higher shutter speeds. If you read my story about simplifying depth of field, you already know that lower apertures allow more light to pass through the lens.

The use of longer shutter speeds can also be great in photography - many photographers like to play with long exposures (most DSLRs can have their shutters open for 30 seconds). This is great for making running water silky-smooth, or creating a "motion effect" in your images. For portrait and general purpose photography on a well-lit environment, just remember this formula - the optimal shutter speed to use (especially if you're not using a tripod), should be equal or more than the focal length of the lens. If you have a 50mm lens on a DX (crop sensor) camera, you should use shutter speeds 1/75th and up to get decent images.