When starting with photography, you’re dealing with a lot of questions. It’s only natural to also think about the shutter speed you should use for your street photography.
When going out with your camera to do street photography, one of the questions you probably have is, ‘What shutter speed should I use for my street photography?’
It’s a good question, too. It’s a good question because there’s no straight answer to it.
Shutter speed is both a technical and creative setting you use to create your vision. However, there are some ‘rules of thumb’ that can help you.
But first, what is shutter speed?
Let’s start with the definition, as that’s often the best place to start. Shutter speed refers to the duration during which your photo is exposed—the time your sensor is exposed to the light.
You can talk about long and short, or fast and slow. Long and slow means you expose your photo for an extended period of time. Fast and short means you expose your photo for a brief period.
Usually, anything longer than 1/50 of a second is considered slow, and anything shorter than 1/200s of a second is fast.
The effects of shutter speed in street photography
Shutter speed allows you to create (motion) blur in your photos. Either so little blur that everything is sharp. For example, with a fast shutter speed of 1/2000, you freeze all the action on the streets.
Alternatively, you can achieve a lot of blur by using a slow shutter speed, such as 1/15; however, your subjects may become blurry due to their movements.
Some photographer prefer to freeze their subjects. Others want the imperfections and motion blur to enhance the movement. It’s up to you to decide which you like for your subject, situation, or even style.
Using a fast shutter speed in your street photography
Using anything from 1/50 and faster, like 1/200 or even 1/8000, will freeze your subject. There will be no motion blur. Your subject will be entirely sharp.
Ofcourse, this still depends on how fast your subject moves. A car speeding at 120km/h won’t be as sharp at 1/100 as a pedestrian will be.
Using a slower shutter speed in your street photography
Anything slower than 1/50 is a long exposure. It can help you blur the background behind a moving subject. Enhancing their movement.
You can either keep the camera still and blur out the moving subject. Making them appear ghostlike. Or you can follow your subject, blurring out the background.
You can also get into ICM, making a blurry image. Usually, to make your scene and subject more abstract. It’s a fun technique to play around with, especially on dark winter evenings.
Setting your shutter speed
When using aperture priority in auto mode, you won’t be able to set your shutter speed. If the exposure time is crucial to you, it’s best to use shutter priority mode or full manual mode. This will give you complete control over your exposure timing.