The art of movement - Shutter Speed

By Ione Ascanio Green & Ian Wedgewood posted 25/01/08

Mastering shutter speed can have a dramatic effect on your images. Whether you're using a compact or an SLR you can capture things that the human eye cannot, changing the speed of the shutter can have a major impact! Simply put, the longer you have the shutter open the more light comes into the camera, meaning that objects in motion will blur.

The opposite is also true. If the shutter speed is quick then less light comes in and the subject frozen in time.

Faster shutter speeds mean that under almost any circumstance you can hold the camera and get rid of camera shake. So it's great for reportage and everyday shooting, but fast shutter speeds are pretty useful at gigs, parties and portraits too. When you go slow you'll need a tripod but the results can be amazing. Think how flowing water or traffic at night will appear in the final image.

For those of you new to SLR's put your camera on Tv setting, for compact users try the 'running person' and 'no flash' settings and compare the results. Shutter speeds will vary but many are in the range of 1/4000th to (sometimes) 30 seconds. Deciding on what is most appropriate for the situation is key.

Here's a couple of examples of fast shutter speeds in action:

As you would expect plenty of ideas in sport

Some more specialised images in the sports section here

Here's examples of slow shutter speeds.

Flickr's always got a great selection of images here

Paul Brockelhurst uses both slow and fast shutter speeds to great effect.

Thanks again to MindStudio for this technique

  • Words by Ione Ascanio Green & Ian Wedgewood

  • Photos by Ione Ascanio Green & Ian Wedgewood

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    Karen Wedley said...

    Is there going to be a project associated with shutter speed?

    Posted on 26/01/2008 19:25

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    judo-jule said...

    Hi Karen, this week's project (linked to the task) is "Liquids".

    Posted on 28/01/2008 12:35

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