Shutter speeds for action photography

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SHUTTER SPEEDS

FOR ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY

The way to sharp action shots is through the shutter speed. But just how do you control this on your camera and what speed do you need to freeze your subject?

BY NINA BAILEY, updated 9 August 2021

If you are photographing a fast-moving subject, such as a racing vehicle or a bird in flight, set shutter-priority (Tv) shooting mode for a controllable way to freeze the action. This shooting mode is available on all EOS DSLR and mirrorless cameras.

Tv mode allows you to select a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the action and help ensure a sharp photograph. It does this by limiting the amount of time the movement can be recorded by the sensor.

For example, during a shutter speed of 1 second, a moving subject will be captured in different positions on the sensor, giving a blurred image. At faster shutter speeds, the subject will move a shorter distance during the exposure... until you get to a speed where the image appears sharp as the subject has not had sufficient time to travel at all across the frame.

Much will depend on the speed of the subject and the direction of travel (see table below).

ABOVE: Most EOS cameras have a mode dial, where you can select the mode you wish to use. Tv mode can be ideal for shooting action.

If you don’t have a mode dial, press the MODE button on top of the camera and select Tv.

Often, the image can look sharp when reviewed on the small LCD on the back of the camera, even when you zoom in. It is only when you see the image on a large computer screen that slight subject movement might become visible.

This guide suggests suitable shutter speeds for action photography. However, a number of factors can affect what you need, and your results.

• How close are you?

The more distant you are from a subject, the slower it will appear to be moving – which is why planes seem to move slowly across the sky.

• Which direction is the subject travelling in?

The direction that the subject is moving relative to the camera affects its apparent speed – a car coming towards you requires a slower shutter speed to freeze its movement than one travelling across the frame.

ABOVE: The dog is running straight towards the camera, so requires a slower shutter speed than other subjects travelling in a different direction relative to the camera.

ABOVE: Any subject moving parallel to the camera requires the fastest shutter speeds. This is because it’s moving across the frame much faster relative to a diagonal direction. However, the shutter speed will also be determined by how far the subject is from the camera and its own actual speed.

The shutter speed values in the table below are, of course, only a guide. Use them as the starting point for your own experiments.

DISTANCE	SPEED	ACROSS	DIAGONAL	TOWARDS / AWAY
6ft / 2m	5mph / 8kph	1/1000 sec	1/500 sec	1/250 sec
6ft / 2m	10mph / 16kph	1/2000 sec	1/1000 sec	1/500 sec
6ft / 2m	25mph / 40kph	1/4000 sec	1/2000 sec	1/1000 sec
6ft / 2m	50mph / 80kph	1/8000 sec	1/4000 sec	1/2000 sec
6ft / 2m	100mph / 160kph	–	1/8000 sec	1/4000 sec
12ft / 4m	5mph / 8kph	1/500 sec	1/250 sec	1/125 sec
12ft / 4m	10mph / 16kph	1/1000 sec	1/500 sec	1/250 sec
12ft / 4m	25mph / 40kph	1/2000 sec	1/1000 sec	1/500 sec
12ft / 4m	50mph / 80kph	1/4000 sec	1/2000 sec	1/1000 sec
12ft / 4m	100mph / 160kph	1/8000 sec	1/4000 sec	1/2000 sec
25ft / 8m	5mph / 8kph	1/250 sec	1/125 sec	1/60 sec
25ft / 8m	10mph / 16kph	1/500 sec	1/250 sec	1/125 sec
25ft / 8m	25mph / 40kph	1/1000 sec	1/500 sec	1/250 sec
25ft / 8m	50mph / 80kph	1/2000 sec	1/1000 sec	1/500 sec
25ft / 8m	100mph / 160kph	1/4000 sec	1/2000 sec	1/1000 sec
50ft / 16m	5mph / 8kph	1/125 sec	1/60 sec	1/30 sec
50ft / 16m	10mph / 16kph	1/250 sec	1/125 sec	1/60 sec
50ft / 16m	25mph / 40kph	1/500 sec	1/250 sec	1/125 sec
50ft / 16m	50mph / 80kph	1/1000 sec	1/500 sec	1/250 sec
50ft / 16m	100mph / 160kph	1/2000 sec	1/1000 sec	1/500 sec
100ft / 33m	5mph / 8kph	1/60 sec	1/30 sec	1/15 sec
100ft / 33m	10mph / 16kph	1/125 sec	1/60 sec	1/30 sec
100ft / 33m	25mph / 40kph	1/250 sec	1/125 sec	1/60 sec
100ft / 33m	50mph / 80kph	1/500 sec	1/250 sec	1/125 sec
100ft / 33m	100mph / 160kph	1/1000 sec	1/500 sec	1/250 sec

Other factors to consider

• How fast is your subject travelling?

Of course, not everything moves at the same speed. A greyhound will outrun a terrier; a pushbike will be travelling far slower than a motorbike.

Even different parts of a subject can move at varying speeds. The wings of a bird in flight are often the hardest to freeze, because that’s the part of the animal that’s working at the highest rate.

Here are a few examples for you:

Ball sports like football & rugby

Parallel: 1/500 - 1/1000 second
Towards: 1/250 - 1/1000 second

The random nature of the action in these types of sport means that faster shutter speeds are often the safest to use. Slower ones may mean that arms and feet aren’t completely frozen.

Motorbike stunts

Parallel: 1/2000 - 1/4000 second
Towards: 1/1000 - 1/2000 second

There are so many elements to this type of subject – wheels, handlebars, arms and legs – that you need a very fast shutter speed to guarantee that all parts are sharp.

Runners and athletes

Parallel: 1/500 - 1/2000 second
Towards: 1/250 - 1/500 second

There can be significant variation in speed with these types of subjects. A marathon runner will be slower than a sprinter; a professional athlete faster than an amateur.

Only Tv mode?

Whilst Tv mode may seem the obvious choice – as it allows you primarily to take control over the shutter speed – there are other ways to work, of course.

• Manual mode – you are in control of all of the settings, including the shutter speed. This mode can work well, so long as your conditions are consistent.

• Fv mode – this new kid on the block is a versatile mode, once you’ve got to grips with it. You can take control over whichever of the exposure settings you want, or let the camera sort them out. So you can use it like Manual mode, or Tv mode, or Av mode, or even hand over full automation to the camera. And you can do all of this without changing mode (hence its name, Flexible priority).

• Av mode – this may seem less than obvious, as this mode allows you to set the aperature, and the camera remains in control of the shutter speed. Surely the whole point is that you want to be in control of the shutter speed?

However, when Av mode is used in conjunction with the ISO speed setting options (selected EOS cameras), this can be a powerful combination. You can specify an minimum shutter speed from which the camera can choose.

How to set a minimum shutter speed

Go to 'ISO speed settings' in the SHOOT menu (exact tab varies by camera). Press SET or tap on it (if your camera has touch controls). This brings up a new menu with four items on it.

(Screens shown here are from EOS 90D.)

When 'ISO speed' is set to Auto, you can then set both a minimum and maximum ISO speed when Auto ISO is being used – via the third option down, ‘Auto range’. This means that you maintain some control over the ISO settings even when the camera is in control of the ISO.

Here the Auto ISO range has been restricted to 1600-25600, which you’ll need to enable you to achieve some of the really fast shutter speeds.

Scroll down to 'Min. shutter spd’, which is set to Auto by default. Press SET.

Change the setting to Manual, and then choose the slowest shutter speed you want the camera to be able to use. For fast action, like birds in flight, you might choose to set it to 1/500 or 1/100 second. Then, when shooting with Auto ISO in Av or P mode, the camera will be forced to used a fast shutter speed along with a higher ISO setting.

Sounds like too much to deal with at the moment? Well, when just starting out with action photography, we recommend sticking with Tv mode at first. It can give you a reliable and predictable way of working, with more control than the fully automated modes.

Fastest shutter speeds

All Canon EOS cameras offer a fast shutter speed of at least 1/4000 second – enough to ‘freeze’ the movement of most subjects you will encounter.

The majority of the EOS-1D-, 7D- and 5D-series cameras go up to 1/8000 second, as do the EOS 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, 70D, 80D, 90D and R-series camera models.

The EOS-1D, introduced in 2001, had a fastest shutter speed of 1/16000 second. This professional camera used a CCD sensor: the top speed is obtained electronically by switching the sensor on and off while the shutter curtains are open.

All other EOS cameras use CMOS sensors which, while offering some advantages over CCD sensors, cannot be switched on and off at high speed. This is why EOS cameras continue to rely for now on the tried and tested focal plane shutter, though recent cameras have started to offer an electronic shutter option which opens up new possibilities for shooting certain types of action.

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