Shutter Speed Chart and Tips On How To Master It

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Shutter Speed Chart and Tips on How to Master It

by BorrowLenses | Photography Camera Settings | 5 comments
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Photography is all about light. The amount of light hitting your sensor (or lm if you are using a Gear arrives fully
lm camera) will determine how bright or dark your image is. Understanding light is the key to tested and cleaned in
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In photography, light is controlled by the “exposure triangle”, which is Video Discounts
made up of ISO, New Arrivals Gear for Sale How to Rent f
easy experience.
aperture, and shutter speed. These three components act together to determine exposure and
understanding how they work will help take your photography to the next level. Welcome to our blog!
Here, you’ll nd
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What Is Shutter Speed: Understanding ISO and Aperture BL news and updates,
and helpful tutorials.
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ISO is how sensitive your sensor is to light. Higher ISOs allow a sensor to absorb more light—
but they also introduce more noise to the photo. Aperture is a measure of the amount of light
allowed to hit an image sensor. The wider the aperture, the shallower the depth of eld, and
the more light that comes in. Shutter speed is how long your shutter remains open.
Shutter speeds generally range from as fast as 1/4000th of a second to as long as 30 seconds. A
fast shutter speed lets in less light and gives the e ect of freezing an object in motion. Fast
shutter speeds (such as 1/2000th of a second) are especially useful in bright light or when
trying to capture photos of things that are moving fast, such as athletes and wildlife. Slower
shutter speeds are good in low light when you need to let more light in or any time you want
the e ect of blur and movement. All those pictures you’ve seen of waterfalls and rivers that
are blurred to oblivion? Those were taken with slow shutter speeds (and probably ND lters—
which we’ll talk about later).
How It Works
ISO, shutter speed, and aperture work together to determine exposure. When you make an
adjustment to one, you need to make the opposite adjustment to one of the others if you want
to maintain consistent exposure. Say, for example, you have your exposure dialed in but you
decide you want a faster shutter speed to freeze the frame even more. Increasing the shutter
speed will mean that less light will be hitting your sensor. To compensate for this, you will need
to use a wider aperture or higher ISO to keep a correct exposure.
Most digital cameras let you control shutter speed and aperture in 1/3, 1/2, and full stop
increments. Each has its own advantages and which one you choose to use is largely a matter of
preference. Most cameras come with 1/3rd stop increments as the default setting and a very
large number of photographers never stray from it. Shooting in 1/3rd increments has the
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advantage of letting you ne-tune your exposure while 1/2 stop increments tend to be a little
more intuitive.
Selecting the right shutter speed largely comes down to knowing what your subject is and what
your goal is in taking the photo. For example, if you’re taking photos of athletes you may want
to use a very fast shutter speed to freeze the action or a longer one to add a little bit of blur
and give the feeling of motion.
This chart gives you an idea of what various shutter speeds can be used for. Keep in mind,
however, that this is only a starting point and that these values still need to be balanced
against aperture and ISO to make sure that enough light is hitting the sensor. A fast shutter
speed won’t work in low light situations due to the lack of light and a super long exposure
won’t work in bright light without the use of a lter. This chart is just a starting point.
Suggested Shutter Speeds
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Deciding which shutter speed to use will be a matter of trial and error depending on how fast
your subject is moving and what the available light is. Using shutter speed to your advantage
will depend on having an understanding of what you are going for. Do you want to freeze the
action of that athlete or do you want to give your image a sense of motion? Decide what you
want, consult the chart, and then start tweaking.
If you nd that the image is blurrier than you would like, use a faster shutter. If things are too
crisp and you’re wanting to give a sense of motion or chaos, slow your shutter down. It is
important to keep in mind, however, that shutter speed is always balanced against ISO and
aperture so if you want to use a fast shutter to stop the action in low light, you’re going to
need to a wider aperture, a higher ISO, or both.
Some things to consider when learning to select shutter speeds:
Shutter speed and focal length
Something to keep in mind when choosing your shutter speed is that the longer your shutter is
open, the better the chances of camera shake blurring your photos. This is especially true when
shooting with a longer lens. As a rule of thumb, your shutter speed should not exceed your
lens’ focal length when you are shooting handheld. For example, if you are shooting with a
200mm lens, your shutter speed should be 1/200th of a second or faster to produce a sharp
image. If your shutter speed will be slower than the length of your lens, it may be time to break
out the tripod. Image stabilization in your camera or lens may also help negate some of this
shake.
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Learn in shutter priority mode

Using your camera’s shutter priority mode (“TV” on Canon, “S” on Nikon) is a great way to gain
an understanding of the e ect di erent shutter speeds can have on your images. Shutter
priority mode allows you to select the shutter speed you want while the camera gures out the
ISO and aperture for a proper exposure. Spend some time playing with the shutter priority
mode to see what happens to your images when you speed up or slow down the shutter speed.
Use neutral density lters for longer exposures
Want to use a long exposure but your image is too bright? Even at the lowest ISO and
narrowest aperture? You may want to try a neutral density (ND) lter. ND lters are simply
pieces of glass that t on the front of your lens. They cut down on incoming light. ND lters
allow you to take those long exposures that blur waterfalls and smooth out ocean waves. They
are useful if you want to take a long exposure on a bright day to show movement in clouds.
Shutter Speed Chart (time in seconds)
Full Stops 1/2 Stops 1/3 Stops
1/8000 1/8000 1/8000
1/6400
1/6000
1/5000
1/4000 1/4000 1/4000
1/3200
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Full Stops 1/2 Stops 1/3 Stops Photo Video Discounts New Arrivals Gear for Sale How to Rent f
1/3000
1/2500
1/2000 1/2000 1/2000
1/1600
1/1500
1/2500
1/1000 1/1000 1/1000
1/800
1/750
1/640
1/500 1/500 1/500
1/400
1/350
1/320
1/250 1/250 1/250
1/200
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1/180
1/160
1/125 1/125 1/125
1/100
1/90
1/80
1/60 1/60 1/60
1/50
1/45
1/40
1/30 1/30 1/30
1/25
1/20
1/20
1/15 1/15 1/15
1/13
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1/10
1/10
1/8 1/8 1/8
1/6 1/6
1/5
1/4 1/4 1/4
0.3 0.3
0.4
0.5 0.5 0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
1 1 1
1.3
1.5
1.6
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2 2 2
2.5
3.2
4 4 4
Summary
Learning to select the proper shutter speed may seem like a daunting task. Once you
understand how shutter speeds impact images, it is a powerful tool. Get out of your camera’s
automatic modes and experience more creative control.
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5 Comments
Sandy on August 31, 2017 at 11:53 pm
Reply
This is just what i was looking for; I’m from Melbourne Australia. I
would like to learn how to take photos of players from the AFL team i
support the Melbourne Demons. As it’s a fast game trying to get
photos can be hard, but i haven’t given up; i’m trying to learn all that i
possible can and came across your blog. It’s great how you have
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explained shutter speed.

Thank you
Mayur on April 10, 2019 at 10:58 am

Reply
i m from india. I want to know sir how to get detailed
photos in outdoor. Will ash or umbrella need for it.
When i shoot shutter speed 1/250 my picture only black
and iso 400 my oictures noisy.. Pls suggest me…
John M on January 2, 2018 at 8:54 pm

Reply
“ISO is how sensitive your sensor is to light. Higher ISOs allow a
sensor to absorb more light …” As quoted above.
That’s a common misconception – but it’s factually incorrect. It’s OK

for a simplistic understanding, I guess – but still wrong (IMHO) to
perpetuate a myth.
In fact, and counter-intuitively, setting a higher ISO (all else being

equal) will actually result in the sensor receiving LESS light (due to
the shorter exposure resulting from increasing ISO).
What ISO does is determine the amount of ampli cation/boost that’s

applied to the signal coming from the sensor – so that the captured
image appears at the expected level of brightness.
Unfortunately, a lot of electronic “noise” is ampli ed along with the

GET $30 “good” signal – – and that’s why images captured with high ISO
contain more visual-noise.

jessie on May 26, 2019 at 9:04 pm

Reply
That is very interesting, counter-intuitive piece of
information. Than you!
Babara Cederberg on November 18, 2018 at 8:26 am

Reply
I concur with your conclusions and will eagerly watch forward to your
future updates. The usefulness and signi cance is overwhelming and
has been invaluable to me!
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Suggested Shutter Speeds

Some things to consider when learning to select shutter speeds:

Shutter speed and focal length

Learn in shutter priority mode

Use neutral density lters for longer exposures

Shutter Speed Chart (time in seconds)

Full Stops 1/2 Stops 1/3 Stops

1/8000 1/8000 1/8000

1/4000 1/4000 1/4000

1/2000 1/2000 1/2000

1/1000 1/1000 1/1000

1/500 1/500 1/500

1/250 1/250 1/250

1/125 1/125 1/125

1/60 1/60 1/60

1/30 1/30 1/30

1/15 1/15 1/15

1/8 1/8 1/8

1/4 1/4 1/4

0.5 0.5 0.5

Bio Latest Posts

 Email  Facebook  LinkedIn  Twitter

Check out these other great articles!

explained shutter speed.

Mayur on April 10, 2019 at 10:58 am

John M on January 2, 2018 at 8:54 pm

That’s a common misconception – but it’s factually incorrect. It’s OK

In fact, and counter-intuitively, setting a higher ISO (all else being

What ISO does is determine the amount of ampli cation/boost that’s

Unfortunately, a lot of electronic “noise” is ampli ed along with the

contain more visual-noise.

jessie on May 26, 2019 at 9:04 pm

Babara Cederberg on November 18, 2018 at 8:26 am

Copyright © BorrowLenses.com | 2019

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