Shutter Speed for Slow Motion

Moving water and fireworks provide wonderful opportunities to experiment with and practice photography techniques when using shutter speed for slow motion. This can include the creative effect of blurring the motion of moving water and capturing the bursts of fireworks.

Capturing fireworks and feathering the appearance of moving water requires a slower shutter speed than capturing details to “freeze the action,” as you’ll see below with the dueling Ruddy Ducks.

Water flowing over the rocks and foliage is captured with a slow shutter speed to soften the details in the water as it splashes over the landscape. Camera capture: f/22, 1/8 (one-eighth of a second shutter speed), ISO 800.

When you encounter a scene with flowing water, consider the possibility of extremes, such as the pictures above and below, by using shutter speed for slow-motion effects.

The silky flow of the Miette River in Jasper National Park. The scene was captured using film, and when I find my notes, I’ll post the settings. Unfortunately, they are tucked away somewhere.

However, the flow of the water indicates a slow shutter speed.

The fireworks below are also captured with a slow shutter speed.

This slow-shutter-speed capture almost fills the frame with fireworks. The camera settings are: f/11, 6.7 seconds shutter speed, and ISO 800.

Fireworks in the night sky were captured with the following camera settings: f/9, 4.4 seconds, ISO 800.

The capture of the Ruddy Ducks starkly contrasts to using shutter speed for slow-motion capture. By using a fast shutter speed setting, notice the detail in the water as the action is suspended, and crisp detail is visible in the churning water.

A technique of this nature is often called "freeze the action” in photography.

Photographing two Ruddy Ducks with a fast shutter speed captures action and water in crisp detail with no motion blur. Camera capture: f/9, 1/4000 (of a second), and ISO 1600

Camera shake is often challenging when using a slow shutter speed for slow-motion capture.

Camera shake is the inability to hold the camera steady enough to avoid blurry photos caused by minuscule or obvious movement.

For this reason, a tripod was used to take pictures of the water and fireworks.