Editing Shutter speed (section)

==Creative utility in photography==
{{main|Motion blur}}

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| footer    = The photograph to the right was taken with a slower shutter speed than that to the left, creating a more pronounced motion blur effect and longer streaks of light from vehicle headlights.
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[[File:Sparklers with a slow shutter speed.JPG|thumb|Sparklers moved in a circular motion with an exposure time of 4 seconds. This is an example of [[light painting]].]]
Shutter speed is one of several methods used to control the amount of light recorded by the camera's [[Image sensor|digital sensor]] or film. It is also used to manipulate the visual effects of the final image.

[[File:Shutter speed pool.jpg|thumb|Images taken with a lower shutter speed evoke a visual sense of movement. Exposure time 3 seconds.]]
Slower shutter speeds are often selected to suggest the movement of an object in a still photograph.

Excessively fast shutter speeds can cause a moving subject to appear unnaturally frozen. For instance, a running person may be caught with both feet in the air with all indication of movement lost in the frozen moment.

When a slower shutter speed is selected, a longer time passes from the moment the shutter opens till the moment it closes. More time is available for movement in the subject to be recorded by the camera as a blur.

A slightly slower shutter speed will allow the photographer to introduce an element of blur, either in the subject, where, in our example, the feet, which are the fastest moving element in the frame, might be blurred while the rest remains sharp; or if the camera is [[panning (camera)|panned]] to follow a moving subject, the background is blurred while the subject remains relatively sharp.

The exact point at which the background or subject will start to blur depends on the speed at which the object is moving, the angle that the object is moving in relation to the camera, the distance it is from the camera and the focal length of the lens in relation to the size of the digital sensor or film.

When slower shutter-speeds, in excess of about half a second, are used on running water, the water in the photo will have a ghostly white appearance reminiscent of [[fog]]. This effect can be used in [[landscape photography]].

[[Zoom burst]] is a technique which entails the variation of the focal length of a zoom lens during a longer exposure. In the moment that the shutter is opened, the lens is zoomed in, changing the focal length during the exposure. The center of the image remains sharp, while the details away from the center form a radial blur, which causes a strong visual effect, forcing the eye into the center of the image.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.illustratedphotography.net/basic-photography/understanding-shutter-speed|title=About Shutter Speed|work=Illustrated Photography|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618082252/http://www.illustratedphotography.net/basic-photography/understanding-shutter-speed|archive-date=June 18, 2016}}</ref>

The following list provides an overview of common photographic uses for standard shutter speeds.
* ''{{frac|16,000}}&nbsp;s and less'': The fastest speed available in [[APS-H]] or [[APS-C]] format [[DSLR]] cameras ({{as of|2012|lc=y}}). ([[Canon EOS 1D]], [[Nikon D1]], [[Nikon 1 series|Nikon 1 J2]], [[Nikon D1X|D1X]], and [[Nikon D1H|D1H]])
* ''{{frac|12,000}}&nbsp;s'': The fastest speed available in any [[135 film|35 mm]] film [[Single-lens reflex camera|SLR]] camera. ([[Minolta]] [[Minolta 9xi|Maxxum 9xi]], {{Interlanguage link multi|Minolta Maxxum 9{{!}}Maxxum 9|de|3=Minolta Dynax 9}}''
* ''{{frac|8000}}&nbsp;s'': The fastest speed available in production [[Single-lens reflex camera|SLR]] cameras ({{as of|2013|lc=y}}), also the fastest speed available in any [[Full-frame digital SLR|full-frame DSLR]] or [[Sony SLT camera|SLT]] camera ({{as of|2013|lc=y}}). Used to take sharp photographs of very fast subjects, such as birds or planes, under good lighting conditions, with an [[ISO film speed|ISO speed]] of 1,000 or more and a large-aperture lens.<ref>Doeffinger, 5</ref>
* ''{{frac|4000}}&nbsp;s'': The fastest speed available in [[consumer]] SLR cameras ({{as of|2009|lc=y}}); also the fastest speed available in any [[leaf shutter]] camera (such as the [[Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1]]) ({{as of|2013|lc=y}}). Used to take sharp photographs of fast subjects, such as athletes or vehicles, under good lighting conditions and with an ISO setting of up to 800.<ref>Doeffinger, 6</ref>
* ''{{frac|2000}}&nbsp;s and {{frac|1000}}&nbsp;s'': Used to take sharp photographs of moderately fast subjects under normal lighting conditions.<ref>Doeffinger, 7–12</ref>
* ''{{frac|500}}&nbsp;s and {{frac|250}}&nbsp;s'': Used to take sharp photographs of people in motion in everyday situations. {{frac|250}}&nbsp;s is the fastest speed useful for [[Panning (camera)|panning]]; it also allows for a smaller aperture (up to {{f/|11}}) in motion shots, and hence for a greater depth of field.<ref>Doeffinger, 12–17</ref>
* ''{{frac|125}}&nbsp;s'': This speed, and slower ones, are no longer useful for freezing motion. {{frac|125}}&nbsp;s is used to obtain greater [[depth of field]] and overall sharpness in [[landscape photography]], and is also often used for panning shots.
* ''{{frac|60}}&nbsp;s'': Used for panning shots, for images taken under dim lighting conditions, and for available light portraits.<ref>Doeffinger, 20–22</ref>
* ''{{frac|30}}&nbsp;s'': Used for panning subjects moving slower than {{convert|30|mph}} and for available-light photography. Images taken at this and slower speeds normally require a [[tripod]] or an [[Image stabilization|image stabilized]] lens/camera to be sharp.<ref>Doeffinger, 24</ref>
* ''{{frac|15}}&nbsp;s and {{frac|8}}&nbsp;s'': This and slower speeds are useful for photographs other than panning shots where motion blur is employed for deliberate effect, or for taking sharp photographs of immobile subjects under bad lighting conditions with a tripod-supported camera.<ref>Doeffinger, 26–30</ref>
* ''{{frac|4}}&nbsp;s, {{frac|2}}&nbsp;s and 1&nbsp;s'': Also mainly used for motion blur effects and/or low-light photography, but only practical with a tripod-supported camera.<ref>Doeffinger, 32–40</ref>
* ''[[Bulb (photography)|B (bulb)]]'' (fraction of second to several hours): Used with a mechanically fixed camera in [[astrophotography]] and for certain special effects.<ref>Doeffinger, 41 et seq.</ref>
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Stars Circle La Silla.jpg|Star trails like these are created by using a long exposure to capture the apparent motion of the stars.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stars Circle La Silla|url=http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1527a/|access-date=6 July 2015|archive-date=July 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714001715/http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1527a/|url-status=live}}</ref>
File:Wave Swinger 0.8 Sec SFGAm.JPG|alt=|The Whirligig (now DC Super-Villains Swing) ride during night at [[Six Flags Great America]] at an exposure time of 0.8 seconds.
File:Streaks outside Waterloo.jpg|Light streaks outside [[London Waterloo station]].
File:Windflower-05237-nevit.JPG|Effect of different shutter speeds on photograph.
File:The NTT Spinning like a Top.jpg|A 30-second exposure of the rotating [[New Technology Telescope]]
</gallery>