Often times when we think of creativity and photography, the cameras shutter speed is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind. Maybe it should. To me, photography is all about capturing a moment in time, about grabbing onto a feeling and recording it forever. Many of the moments that we wish to record are not static scenes. In fact, much of the world that we wish to record is full of motion, and the Shutter Speed setting on your camera gives you the control over how that motion is controlled!
What is the Choice?
In photography the Shutter Speed setting allows us to deal with motion in out images in two different ways. We can either use a fast shutter speed to freeze the action in a scene, or we can use a slow shutter speed to blur the action and convey a sense of motion in our photograph.
Freezing Action
There are many times in photography that we wish to freeze the action of an event. Perhaps you are at a wedding and want to capture the bride throwing the bouquet, or at an air show and want crystal clear shot of that fighter jet as it banks through the sky. In both of these cases you want to use a relatively fast shutter speed to freeze the action, and capture the scene with absolutely no blur. Notice the careful choice of the words “relatively fast”. The shutter speed that you need to choose is going to be highly dependent on the subject that you are shooting. With a shutter speed of 1/250th of a second you will probably be OK shooting our bride throwing her bouquet, but chances are that it will not be nearly fast enough to freeze that F-16 as it zooms through the sky at speeds in excess of 1,000 miles per hour. For objects moving this fast a shutter speed of 1/2,000 of a second may be more appropriate.
Implying Motion
One of my favorite types of photography involves using a slower shutter speed for a moving object, in order to allow some of the motion to come through into my image. For example, in a photograph of a waterfall at 1/250th of a second the camera freezes the motion of the water so that I can clearly see each water drop in motion. However, if I slow down my shutter speed to 1/2 of a second that crystal clear water starts to take on a really soft blurry appearance, much like a piece of cotton candy! Looking at that slowed down image one can almost feel the power of the water, imagine the pummeling that the rocks are taking from the rushing water! In another example, perhaps we are out shooting a bicycle race. While the photographs of the bikes flashing by taken at a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second look great, and you can see every spoke of every wheel they are static. Take the same photograph with a shutter speed of 1/50th of a second and observe the difference – in this image you won’t be able to see the spokes of the bike at all. This subtle change to our camera settings creates a much different image, one that conveys a strong sense of motion. We can almost feel the breeze and hear the sounds as the rider races by!
Exercise
Ok, time for a couple of quick experiments! Grab your camera, set it into “M” or “Manual” mode and find a fan. Not the kind of fan that cheers you on and supports you in your photographic efforts, but the kind of fan that moves air. Ceiling fan, window fan, oscillating fan, it doesn’t matter the kind, and I am pretty sure that you have one. Set the fan on its lowest speed setting and start taking some photographs of it straight on. Increase your shutter speed until you freeze the motion so that each blade is tack sharp. Record the setting where the blur first disappears. Now decrease the shutter speed untill you have an image in which you can no longer see the blades as anything more then a big blur. Again, record the shutter speed that this occurs. Now take your fan and turn it up to your fastest speed and repeat the exercise.
Summary
Take a few minutes to think about what you just did, and hopefully learned. A fast shutter speed will freeze motion, and a slow shutter speed will imply motion. The key is that motion is something that you control in your photography, and your cameras shutter speed is simply the tool that gives you this control.