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Introduction to Shutter Speed in Photography • Landscape Photography
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An exposure variable that is important to know for beginners • Portraiture
BY NASIM MANSUROV | 83 COMMENTS
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LAST UPDATED ON OCTOBER 4, 2023
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Atlantic Puffin returns from the sea with a catch. NIKON D500 + Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm
f/2.8G ED VR II @ 200mm, ISO 1250, 1/5000, f/5.6. © Libor Vaicenbacher
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One of the three most important settings in photography is Shutter Speed, the
• Camera Reviews
other two being Aperture and ISO. Shutter speed is responsible for two particular • Lens Reviews
things: changing the brightness of your photo and creating dramatic effects by • Other Gear Reviews

either freezing action or blurring motion. In the following article, we will explain • Best Cameras and Lenses

everything you need to know about it in very simple language. PHOTOGRAPHY TUTORIALS

Shutter speed exists because of the camera shutter – which is a curtain in front
of the camera sensor that stays closed until the camera fires. When the camera
fires, the shutter opens and fully exposes the camera sensor to the light that has
PHOTOGRAPHY LANDSCAPE
passed through your lens. After the sensor is done collecting the light, the
BASICS PHOTOGRAPHY
shutter closes immediately, stopping the light from hitting the sensor. The button
that fires the camera is also called “shutter” or “shutter button,” because it
triggers the shutter to open and close.

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Table of Contents PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY
1. What is Shutter Speed?
2. How Shutter Speed is Measured
3. Shutter Speed and Exposure
4. Fast, Slow and Long Shutter Speeds
5. How to Set Shutter Speed COMPOSITION & BLACK & WHITE
6. How to Find Shutter Speed CREATIVITY PHOTOGRAPHY

7. Recommended Shutter Speed Settings

8. Shutter Speed and Image Quality
9. Shutter Speed FAQ

NIGHT SKY PORTRAIT

What is Shutter Speed? PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY

Shutter speed is the length of time the camera shutter is open, exposing light
onto the camera sensor. Essentially, it’s how long your camera spends taking a
photo. This has a few important effects on how your images will appear.
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
When you use a long shutter speed (also known as a “slow” shutter speed), you PHOTOGRAPHY VIDEOS
end up exposing your sensor for a significant period of time. The first big effect
of it is motion blur. If your shutter speed is long, moving subjects in your photo UNIQUE GIFT IDEAS

will appear blurred along the direction of motion. This effect is used quite often in
advertisements of cars and motorbikes, where a sense of speed and motion is
communicated to the viewer by intentionally blurring the moving wheels.

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Motion blur.

Slow shutter speeds are also used to photograph the Milky Way or other objects
at night, or in dim environments with a tripod. Landscape photographers may
intentionally use long shutter speeds to create a sense of motion on rivers and
waterfalls while keeping everything else completely sharp.

Shutter speed: 5 seconds (a long shutter speed).

On the other hand, shutter speed can also be used to do just the opposite –
freeze motion. If you use an especially fast shutter speed, you can eliminate
motion even from fast-moving objects, like birds in flight, or cars driving past. If
you use a fast shutter speed while taking pictures of water, each droplet will
hang in the air completely sharp, which might not even be visible to our own
eyes.

Shutter speed: 1/1600th second (a fast shutter speed)

All of the above is achieved by simply controlling the shutter speed. In summary,
quick shutter speeds freeze action, while long ones create an effect of motion
when you photograph moving objects.

How Shutter Speed is Measured

Shutter speeds are typically measured in fractions of a second when they are
under a second. For example, 1/4 means a quarter of a second, while 1/250
means one-two-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second (or four milliseconds).

Most modern DSLRs and mirrorless cameras can handle shutter speeds of
1/4000th of a second at the fastest, while some can handle even quicker speeds
of 1/8000th of a second and faster. On the other hand, the longest available
shutter speed on most DSLRs or mirrorless cameras is typically 30 seconds. You
can use a longer shutter speed by using external remote triggers, if necessary.

Shutter Speed and Exposure

The other important effect of shutter speed is on exposure, which relates to the
brightness of an image. If you use a long shutter speed, your camera sensor
gathers a lot of light, and the resulting photo will be quite bright. By using a quick
shutter speed, your camera sensor is only exposed to a small fraction of light,
resulting in a darker photo.

However, shutter speed is not the only variable that affects the brightness of an
image. There are also aperture and ISO, along with the actual brightness of the
scene in front of you. So, you have some flexibility when you’re deciding on a
shutter speed, but you need to pick your other settings carefully.

Shutter speed can be a vital tool to capture a photo of the proper brightness. On
a sunny day, you may need to use a fast shutter speed so that your photo isn’t
overexposed. Or, if it is dark out, a long shutter speed may be necessary to avoid
a photo that is too dark (which, in turn, could require a tripod, due to motion blur
from handholding the camera). For many people, this is the main reason to
adjust shutter speed: to make sure your photos are the proper brightness. Still,
motion blur concerns are also very important, and should not be overlooked.

Fast, Slow and Long Shutter Speeds

A fast shutter speed is typically whatever it takes to freeze action. If you are
photographing birds, that may be 1/2000th second or faster. However, for
general photography of slower-moving subjects, you might be able to take
pictures at 1/200th second, 1/100th second, or even longer without introducing
motion blur.

Long shutter speeds are typically above 1 second – at which point, you will need
to use a tripod to get sharp images. You would use long shutter speeds for
certain types of low-light and night photography, or to capture movement
intentionally. If anything in your scene is moving when you use long shutter
speeds, it will appear very blurry.

In between, shutter speeds from 1/100th second to 1 second are still considered
relatively slow. You may not be able to handle them without introducing camera
shake from your hands, especially close to the one-second mark.

This photo is blurry because I used a relatively slow shutter speed of 1/30 second.

Also, this strongly depends upon your lens. Some lenses, such as the Nikon 70-
200mm f/2.8, have specific image stabilization (also known as “vibration
reduction”) technologies within the lens that can help photographers take
pictures at very slow shutter speeds when hand-holding cameras, without
introducing camera shake. Other lenses do not have vibration reduction, which
means you need to use the reciprocal rule instead to determine how long your
shutter speed should be without introducing blur from camera shake. It is also
important that you know how to hold a camera.

How to Set Shutter Speed

Most cameras handle shutter speeds automatically by default. When the camera
is set to “Auto” mode, the shutter speed is selected by the camera without your
input (and so are aperture and ISO). However, you can still set the shutter speed
manually if necessary:

1. By setting the camera to “Shutter Priority” mode, you choose the shutter
speed, and the camera automatically selects the aperture.
2. By setting the camera to “Manual” mode, you choose both shutter speed
and aperture manually.

Within both of these modes, you can choose to set ISO manually or
automatically.

In many cases, we recommend letting the camera select the correct shutter
speed for you. Still, watch to be certain that you aren’t introducing too much
motion blur in a photo (or freezing motion that you want to be blurred).

I cover more of this in an article on camera modes, but I tend to shoot in

“Aperture Priority” mode 95% of the time, letting the camera calculate the
shutter speed automatically. Other photographers who shoot action are much
more likely to use shutter priority or manual mode.

How to Find Shutter Speed

Do you know how to find what your camera shutter speed is set to? It is typically
very easy to find it. On cameras that have a top panel, the shutter speed is
typically located on the top left corner:

The shutter speed as displayed on a typical top LCD. Whole numbers such as 250 mean 1/250
seconds. Times greater than or equal to one second such as 2 seconds will be displayed as 2″ (with
quotation marks).

If your camera does not have a top LCD, you can look through the viewfinder,
where you will see the shutter speed on the bottom-left side. And if your camera
has neither a top LCD nor a viewfinder, like many mirrorless cameras, you can
see your shutter speed simply by looking on the back screen.

On most cameras, the shutter speed will not show up directly as a fraction of a
second – it will typically be a regular number. When the shutter speed is longer
than or equal to one second, you will see something like 1” or 5” (with the
quotation sign to indicate a full second).

If you still cannot find the shutter speed, set your camera to “Aperture Priority”
mode, and make sure that you have turned “AUTO ISO” off. Then, start pointing
around your camera from dark to bright areas. The number that changes will be
your shutter speed.

Below are some other related posts you might enjoy:

Seven Tips to Pick the Perfect Shutter Speed

Guide to Motion Blur and Panning in Photography
What is Exposure?
What is Shutter Shock?
How to Take Sharp Photos

We also made a video explaining shutter speed if that’s how you prefer to learn
things:

What Is Shutter Speed? - Beginner Friendly Tutorial

Share

Watch on

Recommended Shutter Speed Settings

There is no set formula for shutter speed in every case because part of setting
shutter speed is a creative choice. However, there are some good guidelines for
starting points. Here are some common scenarios that you may wish to try:

Situation Recommendation

People who pose and stay relatively still 1/125

Moving people 1/200-1/800

Landscape: blurring water movement 1-10 seconds (depending on the effect you want)

Landscape: nothing moving As slow as you can to maximize captured light

Landscape: some things moving 1/125 (but there’s quite a large range)

Perched birds 1/320 (they still move a little, see guide)

Birds in flight 1/2000 (to freeze most motion, see guide)

Macro photography 1/320 (or higher, at high magnifications)

Flash photography/td> 1/200 (the flash sync speed, lower if you want to drag
the shutter)

Astrophotography 10-25 seconds (see guide)

Basically, choosing a shutter speed involves asking yourself how much blur you
want. There is always a minimum shutter speed for getting a perceptibly sharp
shot, and then it’s up to you to go lower if you want a bit of blur.

Although the numbers presented here are a good starting point, you should
experiment and try different shutter speeds to see their effects.

Shutter Speed and Image Quality

In lower light conditions such as dimly-lit indoor locations and evenings in the
forest, you’ll start to notice a degradation in image quality. This means that there
is insufficient light to get a clean shot.

In such sitiatuations, the lower your shutter speed, the more light you’ll let in and
hence the better your image quality. Thus, you should use as low a shutter speed
as possible as long as you can still get everything you want in your photo to be
sufficiently sharp.

Typically, this will involve using a tripod, especially for landscapes. But if you
can’t use a tripod, you might be able to handhold your camera at lower shutter
speeds and still get a sharp shot if your camera or lens has built-in stabilization.
(Most mirrorless cameras have built-in stabilization these days.)

In this shot, I used 1/6th of a second. It was as low a shutter speed as I could manage handheld with
my camera’s IBIS, which came in handy for getting as much light in as possible to maximize image
quality. © Jason Polak

The nice thing about shutter speed is that you can make it as slow as you want if
you need more light. The same thing is not true of aperture, because once you
hit your lens’s maximum aperture, you can’t open your aperture up any more.
And besides, you may not want to change your aperture since it will change your
depth of field. When I need a bit more light, my first thought goes to shutter
speed.

Shutter Speed FAQ

Below are some of the frequently asked questions related to shutter speed:

What is a Slow Shutter Speed?

A long shutter speed is typically around 1 second and longer. In comparison, a
slow shutter speed can refer to a fraction of a second, such as 1/2 or 1/4.

What is a Fast Shutter Speed?

A fast shutter speed is often referred to as the shutter speed that is fast
enough to freeze action. Typically, photographers refer to small fractions of a
second, such as 1/250th of a second or faster when talking about fast shutter
speed.

How Do I Find My Shutter Speed?

Shutter speed is often displayed on your camera’s top or rear LCD as a number
or fraction. If you half-press the shutter release, then move your camera
towards a brighter area, the number that changes is typically your shutter
speed.

Which Shutter Speed is the Slowest?

Depending on your camera, the slowest shutter speed that is allowed to use
without using a remote shutter release is typically 30 seconds.

What is the Fastest Shutter Speed I can Use on My Camera?

That depends on the camera’s capabilities. Most DSLR and mirrorless cameras
can shoot as fast as 1/4000 of a second using the mechanical shutter. Some of
the more advanced cameras can shoot as fast as 1/8000 of a second with
mechanical shutters, and even faster when using electronic shutters.

How is Shutter Speed Written?

Shutter speed is always written in seconds or a fraction of a second. For
example, a 1-second shutter speed is typically displayed as a single number
with a quote sign or a letter “s” at the end of it, such as 1″ or 1s. Whereas a
fraction of a second such as 1/250 is typically displayed as 1/250 or simply 250
on most cameras.

What is the Best Shutter Speed?

There is no such thing, as it really depends on what you are trying to achieve.

How Do I Change Shutter Speed on My Phone?

While some smartphones allow changing shutter speed using the built-in
phone app, most require installing a third-party camera app to allow changing
the shutter speed. If you use an iPhone, try out some apps like Camera+.

And if you want to continue learning from our Photography Basics Guide, below
is our Table of Contents. The next chapter in the guide covers everything you
need to know about aperture.

Take me to Chapter 4: Aperture

1 Photography Basics Introduction

2 What is Photography?

3 Shutter Speed (You are here)

4 Aperture

5 ISO

6 Composition

7 Metering

8 Camera Modes Take me to Chapter 4: Aperture

9 Focusing

10 Flash

11 Camera Settings

12 How to Take Sharp Pictures

13 Photography Tips for Beginners

14 Photography Ideas

RELATED ARTICLES

Understanding Shutter Speed Understanding Digital Camera How to Get Sharp Photos
Modes (PSAM and More)

Common Camera Settings for What is ISO? The Complete When to Use Flash
Beginners Guide for Beginners

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About Nasim Mansurov

Nasim Mansurov is the author and founder of Photography Life,
based out of Denver, Colorado. He is recognized as one of the
leading educators in the photography industry, conducting workshops,
producing educational videos and frequently writing content for Photography
Life. You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook. Read more about Nasim
here.

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83 COMMENTS Newest

Kimbowa Tonny
November 7, 2023 11:10 pm

Well done

2 Reply

Fred
November 5, 2023 1:50 am