© Small Beans Photo School
Student Course Notes
SHUTTER SPEED
Allowing you to capture a feeling of movement
What is shutter speed?
The shutter speed is the amount of time the
camera’s shutter remains open for in order to
expose the sensor to light and make a photo.
How is shutter speed measured?
Shutter speeds are just time measurements. The
numbers on the chart at the top of the page are
Example of a fast shutter speed: 1/1000 sec
just seconds or fractions of a second, in this case
starting from 1” (one second, which is pretty slow
in photographic terms) to 1/1000 (a very small
fraction of one second: one thousandth of a
second - very fast!). When you see a number
written with a / symbol, this is a fraction of a
second (eg, 1/200 is one two-hundredth of a
second). If you see a “ symbol this means a whole
second. Most of the time you will find the sort of
shutter speeds you will be using will be between
Example of a slow shutter speed: 1/5 sec
1/15 and 1/2000 of a second.
Why should I care about shutter speed?
1. It affects exposure (it is one of the three elements that make up the all-important exposure
triangle).
2. It controls the effect of motion in your photo.
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© Small Beans Photo School
Student Course Notes
1) Shutter Speed and exposure.
The longer the shutter is open for, the more light gets in to the camera.
Slow shutter speed = more light
Fast shutter speed = less light.
Imagine you want to fill a measuring jug with water from the tap. In this scenario, you turn the
tap on for 5 seconds, and the jug is half-full. You turn the tap on for 10 seconds, and you’ve
guessed it, the jug is full.
Now imagine the water is light and the tap is the camera shutter. A full jug is a good exposure. A
half-full jug is an underexposed image (too dark). If we turn the tap on for too long, the water
starts to overflow. Too much water is an overexposed image (too light).
So in a nutshell, shutter speed controls the volume of light getting to our sensor when we take a
photograph.
2) Shutter Speeds and motion.
Shutter speed is not only a light controller. It has an important CREATIVE job in photography
too, which is to capture the effect of motion. If we photograph moving things at a slow shutter
speed (say, (1/15), the moving parts will come out sort of smeary and fuzzy on the final photo
(this is called motion blur) . If we photograph moving things at a fast shutter speed (say, 1/1600)
then the shutter is opening and closing so quickly that the movement is frozen in the
photograph.
As photographers, we make a creative choice on how we want to capture movement in our
image. We may decide that a photo of a child leaping in the air on the beach looks better when
the whole scene is frozen - a photo where a tiny single moment is captured in sharp detail
forever - or we may prefer a motion-blurred streak of light which gives a more abstract
impression of movement over a longer time. There are no right or wrong choices - you as the
photographer is in control and if you understand how to control shutter speeds you can make
motion work for you.
Camera shake
Shutter speed’s relationship with movement adds an additional element to photography:
camera shake.
While motion blur happens when your subject is moving,
Camera shake comes from YOU and not your subject.
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© Small Beans Photo School
Student Course Notes
While motion blur can be desirable and give us some great creative effects, camera shake is
something that we almost certainly want to avoid. It adds nothing creatively interesting to the
image and makes everything look juddery and undefined, and it’s just plain annoying. It can ruin
a great photo and there’s very little you can do about it in editing software to rectify it (more
about editing later).
Slow shutter speed + handheld photography = Camera shake
It’s pretty hard to hold a camera steady in your hands for more than a small fraction of a second.
Some people are better at it than others, and there are things you can do to steady yourself (see
below), but generally as a rule of thumb, if you have a shutter speed that is slower than about
1/60 when shooting handheld, you may be at risk of camera shake in your photo. It’s important
to be aware of your shutter speed (even if you didn’t set it yourself) so that you will know when
you’re in the danger zone of camera shake caused by a slow shutter speed.
Avoiding camera shake
To avoid camera shake you have two choices:
1. Up your shutter speed
2. Steady your camera.
Up your shutter speed:
You may find that even at 1/60 you are getting camera shake, particularly if you’re using a long
telephoto zoom lens which are vulnerable to camera shake (more about lenses later). You will
need to find your own tolerance. Mine is about 1/60 or 1/30 if I’m very chilled and haven’t had
three coffees, but yours may be different. Experiment and see where your own ‘danger zone’
level lies. Ok, so what if you CAN’T or DON’T WANT to up your shutter speed?
Your only choice (apart from not taking the photo at all) is to….
Steady your camera:
If you must use a slow shutter speed, you need to find a way to steady your camera so that it will
stay still for at least as long as your shutter speed.
Put it on something steady. A tripod (if you have one), a table, a wall, a wheelie bin, anything
that’s available at the right height to frame your photo.
Steady yourself.
Make yourself into a tripod. Tripods have wide bases and sturdy tops which keep the camera
still. Use the same theory on your own body. Keep your elbows tucked in when you’re holding
your camera. Brace yourself against something steady to keep more still - a wall, a chair, etc.
Even holding your breath before pressing the shutter button helps!
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© Small Beans Photo School
Student Course Notes
photography. You learn how to control the light in your image for your own creative needs. So
they are the most important (and most liberating) aspects of learning to be a good
photographer.
How do I tell the difference between motion blur and camera shake?
If the whole of your picture is juddery and wobbly, it’s probably camera shake. Your camera moved
while the shutter was open.
If ONLY the moving parts of the subject are blurry and smeary, it’s probably motion blur. Your subject
moved while the
shutter was
open.
It’s possible to
have both at
once!
Camera Shake: The whole frame is shaky
Motion Blur: Only part of frame is smeary
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