Lesson 7. Use a Slower Shutter Speed
From the beginning of our photography education we are taught to freeze motion. The fastest shutter speeds get all the glory. I think, in part, it’s our weird addiction to perfect sharpness in all areas of the image. But the sense of motion created by a slower shutter speed can bring energy and life to a photograph. The longer I photograph, the more comfortable I become at the slower end of the shutter dial. I’ve already got nearly 30 years of usually sharp photographs under my belt. I’m no longer asking, “Are they sharp?” I’m asking, “Are they alive?”
Fuji XE-1, 18mm, 1/15 @ f/14, ISO 1600
The waiters at one of the oldest coffee shops in the world, The Florian in Venice, Italy, are in constant motion. 1/15 of a second seemed the most appropriate shutter speed to convey this hustle.
You don’t need a fast shutter speed to get a sharp image. As long as there are parts of an image that are sharp, we’re not bothered with other areas that are blurred due to motion. It’s not a question of sharpness; it’s a question of which part of the image is sharp—or intentionally choosing to make none of the image sharp, and we’ll get to that too. For now I want you to spend some time getting comfortable with slower shutter speeds; they’re a powerful way of communicating life and action, and they can bring life to an otherwise static photograph.
Fuji XE-1, 18mm, 1/15 @ f/13, ISO 1600
