Shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter is open when taking a photo. This is measured in seconds and it greatly affects the outcome of your photos. This guide gives you a starting point. You need to adjust shutter speed according to your light circumstances.
Motion blur
These numbers are highly suggestive. It all depends on the speed of your subject. Take a test shot with these shutter speed and then adjust it- to get the effect you were looking for. |
Freezing motion
These are the lowest shutter speeds I would recommend when freezing motion. With these speeds, you can be certain that you have frozen motion. But if you have steady hands and your subject is not moving you can go even lower with your shutter speed. I have shot portraits with 1/80" shutter speed and gotten sharp photos. But you need to lean against something to reduce shaking and I also held my breath while doing that. And that might not work, even when using those tricks. |
Panning
Panning is a technique usually applied to action images to bear a sense of movement. You have to keep your camera shutter speed low and move the camera in the direction the subject is traveling in. When this is done accurately, the subject remains sharp while the background and any immobile objects in the frame are streaked across the frame in a smooth blur. To master panning, you have to practice and then practice some more. |
Night photography As you can see shutter speeds are really slow for this type of photography so you need a tripod for these. Also, I would recommend using a remote trigger for this type of photography, because pressing the button to take the photo might shake the camera cause the image to look blurry. |