How can I get a faster shutter speed in a dim room without motion blur?
Asked 11/24/2015
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I was shooting indoors in a fairly dark room during the day, with curtains closed. In aperture priority at f/2 and Auto ISO, the camera raised ISO to 3200 but still chose a shutter speed of 1/10s. I want to avoid motion blur and would prefer a faster shutter speed. What settings or techniques should I use in this situation?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
6
Hopefully you are aware of the relationship between the three main controls that affect exposure: Aperture, Shutter speed and ISO.
In this case you've set an aperture of F/2. You have left the decision of shutter speed and ISO to the camera (by selecting Aperture Priority mode, and having Auto ISO on).
It's a low light scene, so the camera doesn't have much choice but to boost ISO to an "extra high" value of ISO 3200, and shutter speed to an "extra slow" value of 1/10s.
If you want faster shutter speed you have to do one of the following.
Increase light. Use flash or other lighting, let more natural light in, shoot when the weather is sunny outside, etc.
Increase ISO. At ISO 3200 you're already going to suffer grain/noise but you may accept that boosting this further is an acceptable trade-off to getting a faster shutter speed.
To do this you could leave it in Aperture Priority and go into the menus where you tell the camera how far to boost ISO when using Auto ISO, or you could set the ISO manually to a higher value.
Increase aperture. This may not be possible for your lens, and in a shot like this your depth of field is already going to be less than you'd probably like.
Originally by user3422. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3422
10y ago
0
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In that light, the camera was already close to its limits: at f/2 and ISO 3200, it still needed 1/10s for a correct exposure. To get a faster shutter speed, you must change one of the exposure variables:
- add more light: open curtains, use flash, or add lamps
- raise ISO further if your camera allows it, accepting more noise
- use your camera’s Auto ISO minimum shutter speed setting, if available, to tell it not to go below something like 1/60s handheld
If the scene is still too dark after that, the photo will be underexposed unless you add light or accept more noise.
For static scenes, a tripod and longer shutter speed can work. For people or motion, 1/10s is usually too slow.
If it’s a planned shot rather than a candid, one workaround is to shoot the room separately on a tripod and then shoot the people with settings or lighting that freeze them, combining the images later in editing.
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