This will be the first description of the three elements; shutter speed, aperture and ISO speed, that I previously introduced in ”The exposure triangle”.

• Shutter-priority: “Tv” or “S”depending on camera type (Time value/Shutter-priority).
• Manual-mode:  “M” (manual)

On most modern cameras you can choose between many steps of shutter speeds. To outline this “scale” and give you a better overview I have picked some main points and given a short description and some useful situations. Starting with the fastest shutter speed.

1/16000^th s:   The absolute fastest shutter speed available (only available on the top models) 

1/8000^th s:     Fastest shutter speed for most DSLR cameras. Useful for getting racer sharp images of moving objects (animals, cars etc.). Requires good light conditions, a large aperture (lots of light) and probably push the ISO number up (larger than ISO 100).

1/2000^th s:     A fast shutter speed to capture fast moving objects in normal light (overcastted summerday)

1/250^th s:       To freeze normal day picture like humans and buildings. This speed also allows a small aperture (f/11) and therefore a good depth of field (DOF). I will explain this in the following article about aperture.

1/60^th s:         Slower shutter speed that doesn’t freeze object instead gives a motion blur. Useful in making panning images and getting a small aperture (f/9-f/16) for great landscape shoots with a good DOF.

1/8^th s:           Longer exposure which allows the possibilities of creating great motion blur effects. Another use of these slower shutter speeds is, in combination with tripod, bean bag or other camera support (rocks, bag…), to get pictures of immobile object or landscapes in low light conditions.

1 s:                “Only” (I don’t want to kill creativity! There are NO such things as rules, “only when”, “don’t do this, “you can’t do that”… etc. ALWAYS BE CREATIVE AND EXPLORE NEW WAYS!) with use of tripod for low light photography.

30 s:               Longest shutter speed in most DSLR cameras. Used in night photography – long exposure.

BULB:           Keeps the shutter open as long as the shutter release is hold. With a remote control only battery life limits the exposure time. This can be used in star trail photography (30min – infinity). Low light photography is one of my favorite subject areas and I will return to this.

If you want sharp images “a rule of thumb” is to use a shutter speeds that is greater than the focal length you are using. Let us take an example to understand this rule.

• If you shoot at 40mm keep the shutter speed higher than 1/40^th sec.
• But if you shoot at 200mm you should go faster than 1/200^th sec. (1/200^th – 1/8000^th sec.)

In theory this is a good rule but in practice

you will be using shutter speeds of 1/60^th of a second or faster

I am afraid the next few lines will get extremely technical so feel free to skip this and read the examples instead.

We double the shutter speed (less light manage to reach the censor). To compensate for this we make a bigger opening in our lens with a smaller aperture (remember the window metaphor: “draw back the curtains”)

• 1/125^th and f/11
• 1/250^th and f/8
• 1/500^th and f/5.6

Enough with all the technical nonsense for now! Let us look at something more tangible instead.

Questions you should ask yourself before choosing a shutter speed

3.    Or do I want to make a blur effect on purpose – creating a sense of movement.

BUT on the other hand a well done motion blur can generate a special atmosphere, or tell an amazing story which would have been lost in a racer sharp image.

When you have shot your perfectly sharp image – DO look for alternative options – be creative! You might get even better images with unusual settings, or at least get some priceless experience!