motion blur | FUJI X WEEKLY

Exposure Triangle, Part 2: Understanding Shutter Speed

*Fujifilm X100VI – f/11, ISO 500, 1/15 shutter – Kodak Gold 200*

Shutter speed simply controls the amount of time that light is exposed to the camera’s sensor. How motion is rendered—either frozen still or as a blur—will depend on the shutter speed. There are a few key things to know, but overall this is all fairly easy to understand.

Before we dive in, I want to quickly revisit aperture, because there’s something I forgot to mention in Part 1. How sunstars and lens flare will appear depends on a number of factors, including (among other things) the aperture you’ve selected. For more pronounced sunstars, use a small aperture, such as f/16. If you want to minimize sunstars and lens flare, use a large aperture, such as f/2. This is just one more factor to consider when choosing the most appropriate aperture for the scene in front of you.

*Forest Sunstar* – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-T50 & Fujinon 23mm f/2 lens at f/14 – California Summer

Now, with that out of the way, let’s talk about shutter speeds. What is it? What does it do to your pictures? How do you control it to get the images that you want?

The quick and simple definition of shutter speed is that it is the amount of time the camera’s shutter curtain is open, allowing light to reach the sensor or film. A fast shutter speed allows very little light to expose the sensor, while a slow shutter speed allows a lot of light in. Shutter speed is one of three elements of the exposure triangle, along with aperture and ISO, and must be used in balance with the other two elements. On many Fujifilm cameras, the shutter speed is controlled by a knob on the top of the camera, marked with numbers like 125, 250, 500, etc., etc..

*Fujifilm X-T30 & Rokinon 12mm f/2 + tripod – 0.4 second exposure – Kodak Gold 200*

Some common shutter speeds are 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 and 1/500. There are, of course, many other shutter speeds, this is far from a comprehensive list. 1/15 is an example of a slow shutter speed, and 1/500 is an example of a quick shutter speed. You’ll note that these are fractions, as in fractions of a second. You’ll also note that they’re half or twice as long as the shutter speed on either side, which means that 1/60 lets in half as much light as 1/30, and 1/15 lets in twice as much light as as 1/30. Like aperture, there are intermediate stops in-between the full stops—most commonly one-third stops, but sometimes half-stops.

Shutter speed is about motion, either freezing or showing it. A slow shutter speed will show motion as a blur, while a fast shutter speed will freeze it. In the first picture below, which was captured with a 1/450 shutter speed, you’d never know that the car was zooming by, because the motion was frozen. The second picture below, which was captured with a 1/80 shutter speed, shows the motion through the car’s blur. The third picture below, which was captured with a 1/60 shutter speed, shows the motion through panning, where the car is sharp but the background blurred from the sweeping lens.

*Fujifilm X-M1 & Fujinon 90mm – 1/450 shutter speed*

*Fujifilm X-M1 & Fujinon 90mm – 1/80 shutter speed*

*Fujifilm X-M1 & Fujinon 90mm – 1/60 shutter speed*

In order to freeze motion, there are a few considerations: the focal length of the lens, the distance of the moving object, and it’s speed. The longer the focal length of the lens, the faster the minimum shutter speed needs to be; the shorter the focal length, the slower the minimum shutter speed needs to be. The closer and faster the moving object is, the faster the shutter speed needs to be; the further and slower the moving object is, the slower the shutter needs to be in order to freeze it.

If nothing is moving in the frame, the only motion is the photographer. A tripod will eliminate camera shake; if you don’t have a tripod, in-body-image-stabilization (IBIS) or optical-image-stabilization (OIS) can help to a degree. If your gear doesn’t have stabilization, you’ll want to use this rule of thumb: whatever the focal length of the lens is (or in the case of Fujifilm cameras, the full-frame-equivalent focal length), the minimum shutter speed should be a similar number. For example, if the lens is 18mm, which has a full-frame-equivalent focal length of 27mm, the slowest hand-held shutter speed is around 1/30. If the lens is 90mm, which has a full-frame-equivalent focal length of 135mm, the slowest hand-held shutter speed is around 1/125. With good techniques, you can often get a sharp picture with even slower shutter speeds, but that takes practice.

*Fujifilm GFX100S II & Fujinon 80mm f/1.7 – f/9, ISO 320, 1/680 shutter – 1970’s Summer*

In order to freeze motion, for portraits, events, kids, and pets, I recommend a minimum shutter speed of 1/125, but faster is better, such as 1/250. For sports and moving wildlife, the minimum shutter speed should be 1/250, but faster is better, such as 1/500. If the motion is blurry, increase the shutter speed. In order to show motion as a blur, the maximum shutter speed will likely need to be under 1/125, and probably under 1/30, just depending on the situation. If the blur is insufficient, decrease the shutter speed.

Another shutter speed consideration is in regards to flash photography. Some cameras, such as the X100-series, have a leaf shutter, which allows for high-speed flash sync; however, most cameras don’t have a leaf shutter, and have a maximum shutter speed for flash. On Fujifilm models, this is marked by an “X” next to the shutter speed—for example, on the X-T5, the maximum shutter speed for flash photography is 1/250, which is marked as 250X on the shutter knob. The fastest shutter speed you should use with flash photography is the one with the X next to it.

*Fujifilm X-T5 & Fujinon 56mm f/1.2 + flash – f/4, ISO 500, 1/250 shutter – Nostalgic Americana*

The two main things to remember about shutter speed are 1) that it is used to show motion, either frozen still or as a blur, and 2) it is one aspect of the exposure triangle, and must be balanced with both aperture and ISO. Increasing the shutter speed reduces the light, so you may need to use a larger aperture and/or a higher ISO to compensate; reducing the shutter speed increases the light, so you may need to use a smaller aperture and/or lower ISO. It’s a balancing act. Used thoughtfully, shutter speed can express movement in creative ways, so take a moment to consider how to best use it for the scene in front of you.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm GFX100S II:
Amazon, B&H, Wex
Fujinon GF 80mm f/1.7:
Amazon, B&H, Wex
Fujifilm X-T5 in black:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujinon 56mm f/1.2 R WR:
Amazon, B&H, Wex, Nuzira
Fujinon 90mm f/2:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex
Fujifilm X100VI in black:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X100VI in silver:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira

Creative Collective 033: FXW Zine — Issue 12 — November 2022

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Ritchie Roesch

The 12th (yes, 12th!) issue of FXW Zine is out, and if you are a Fuji X Weekly Creative Collective subscriber, you can download it now!

What’s in the November issue? The cover story is about embracing blur! Have you noticed the recent blurry picture trend? In this issue we dive into the what, how, and why of it all. There are 22 pictures, including the cover, across 16 page.

If you haven’t joined the Creative Collective, consider subscribing today to get access to bonus articles and the FXW Zine—not just this issue, but the first eleven issues, too!

Creative Collective 017: Slow Blur for Creative Effect

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Ritchie Roesch

*Nature in Motion* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

The rule-of-thumb that I was taught in photography school is that the minimum shutter speed should be the closest number to the focal-length of lens for sharp handheld photographs. This, of course, is assuming good techniques (such as how you stand, how you hold the camera, and how you breathe while capturing a picture). Fujifilm X cameras are crop sensor, so we have to take that into account. For example, the 23mm lens on my Fujifilm X100V is 34.5mm full-frame equivalent, so the minimum shutter speed for hand-held (not on tripod) pictures should be 1/40, perhaps 1/30 if you’re good. If you go less than that you are in real danger of “camera-shake” blur—fuzzy pictures from your movement. Even above that, if you aren’t careful, you could get it, so I personally try not to go slower than 1/60 handheld on my X100V if I can help it. If you aren’t using good techniques at all, you might even have to use 1/125 or faster to ensure sharp pictures.

But what happens when you purposefully go slower? What happens when you deliberately shake your camera during exposure for creative effect? Let’s find out!

Note: this was a Creative Collective article, but now it’s available to everyone.

*Path Insecure* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

So why did I do this? For fun. To spark creativity. Because I like doing unconventional things just to see what happens. Maybe this will help spark some creativity in you, too.

I set the shutter speed on my X100V to 1/8, which is much too slow for handheld photography. Typically, the camera would be on a tripod with such a slow shutter speed. The exact shutter speed you will need depends on the focal-length of the lens. I feel that 1/8 worked well for this camera, but if you were using a more wide-angle lens you might need to go even slower, and if you are using a more telephoto lens you might need to be a little faster.

I utilized the camera’s built-in Neutral Density filter because the shutter was going to let in a lot of light. If your camera doesn’t have a built-in ND filter, you could screw an ND filter onto the end of the lens. If that isn’t an option, simply try this technique indoors, or just before the sun rises or right after it sets, or on darker days.

I set the Flash to On. Why? My theory was that the flash would make whatever it bounced off of “sharp” for a moment, so that there would be a little sharpness in the otherwise blurry picture. I think if you are close enough to the subject this does work, and can create a ghostly effect, but was unnecessary for most of my images.

The other settings? Both Aperture and ISO were in Auto (basically, I was operating in Shutter Priority). I used the Negative Print film simulation recipe.

When I opened the shutter, I moved the camera around. Sometimes just a little. Sometimes a lot. I moved it up or down or left or right. I even tried a swirly motion a couple of times. I also tried pushing the camera forward and pulling it back. Whichever direction you move the camera and how much you move the camera during the 1/8 exposure will greatly affect the outcome, so try different ideas.

When you do this, there are a few various looks that you get. One is an abstract impressionist image, such as in Nature in Motion at the top and Three Trees at the bottom. Another is a ghostly almost-double-exposure-like picture, such as in Ghostly Chair below. A third is simply a soft dream-like fuzziness, like in Hidden Trash below. Path Insecure (above) and Fading Memories (below) are a little bit of impressionism and dream-like fuzziness mixed together.

*Ghostly Chair* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Hidden Trash* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Fading Memories* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Three Trees* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

This isn’t a technique for everyone, and certainly not for every photo. I could see it being a project. Maybe use this technique for a specific topic. Perhaps you’ll find that you like it more than you thought you would. If you are looking for something different to try, this might be just what you need.