Shutter speed in Underwater Photography:
How to use shutter speed to its best advantage?
Shutter speed takes care of two things:
1. Well-exposed photos
2. Sharp photos
In photography in general, but certainly also in underwater photography. Together with aperture and ISO, shutter speed ensures the perfect exposure of your photo. But how do you determine the right shutter speed underwater? In this article, you will discover how shutter speed works in underwater photography and which settings are best to use. The right shutter speed will give you more control over exposure in your underwater photos.
What is shutter speed?
Shutter speed is the duration, the time, that light enters your camera. It determines how long your camera's sensor catches light to take your picture. You can compare it to a curtain that opens and closes. The longer it stays open, the more light gets in, the brighter the photo becomes. If the curtain opens and closes faster, less light enters the camera and the photo remains darker.
Shutter speed is expressed in seconds or fractions of a second, such as 1/10, 1/100, 1/160 or 1/500 etc.etc. Together with aperture and ISO, shutter speed forms the basis of exposure of your photo.
So, on the one hand, shutter speed determines how much or how little light shows up in your photo.
On the other hand, shutter speed determines how sharp the photo is.
There are two types of ‘sharpness’, namely motion sharpness and depth of field. These are two different things in a photograph. Shutter speed affects motion blur.
MOTION BLUR
Motion blur in underwater photography refers to how sharp or blurry a moving subject is captured in your photo. I always find it easier to understand when I say: how frozen your subject is in the photo. Frozen in time :-)
- a fast shutter speed, e.g. 1/160 and faster:
freezes movement and provides razor-sharp details. Your subject is frozen in its movement and appears to stand still in your image. - a slow shutter speed, say 1/30 and slower:
the movement becomes a blur, your photo has been moved. Usually this is undesirable and we consider a moved photo ‘a failure’. But with the right balance, you can also use your slow shutter speed photos creatively to highlight movement in underwater life.
Which shutter speed is best underwater?
Unfortunately, I can't tell you what shutter speed to use. Because that depends on the circumstances in which you are going to take your picture. How much light there is, how much movement your subject has, are you using a flash, do you want to be creative etc.etc. However, I can tell you the following to make your choice in your shutter speed easier:
Underwater photography has different shutter speed requirements than above water, mainly due to the lack of light and the use of flash. Generally, the most common shutter speed used underwater is between 1/80s and 1/160s. This is fast enough to avoid motion blur, but still allows enough light.
Still, there are situations where you can deviate:
- Faster shutter speeds (1/250 - 1/500):
Needed with fast-moving animals such as dolphins or sea lions. - Slower shutter speeds (1/10s - 1/60s):
For creative effects such as motion blur, intended motion blur.
The photo above was taken at 1/160 sec. The shutter speed is fast enough to freeze all the fish, including those in the background that don't/can't get as much flash light. The shutter speed was enough to reflect some background light in the photo. The dark blue contrasts nicely with the fish's yellow fins.
Shutter speed and natural light underwater
Shutter speed directly affects the amount of ambient light in your photo:
- Faster shutter speed (e.g. 1/125 and faster):
Less ambient light, black or darker blue/green backgrounds. - Slower shutter speed (e.g. 1/60 and slower):
More ambient light, a lighter shade of blue/green in the background and a more natural look.
You often see photos with a darker background in macro images, mainly exposed by the flash. With wide-angle photos, you often see slower shutter speeds, for a nice balance between natural light in the background and flash light in the foreground.
Shutter speed and strobe
In underwater photography, you will most likely use a strobe.
Shutter speed in underwater photography does not effect niet the brightness of the flash light in your photo, because a flash is always a fraction of a second. The duration of the flash is shorter than your shutter speed. What shutter speed does affect is the background exposure in your photo. You can choose how light or dark your background is in the photo.
- Short shutter speed → Dark background, often black or deep blue tones.
- Long shutter speed → Meer achtergrondlicht, met blauwere/groenere of kleurrijkere waterkleuren.
An important aspect here is flash sync on your camera. Most cameras have a maximum shutter speed for flash use, often between 1/160s and 1/250s. If you go faster, you may experience a black bar in your image, because the shutter starts to close before the flash has fired completely. So in that case, your shutter speed is faster than your flash!
In the picture below, you can clearly see a black bar at the top. The black bar is the shutter already closing while the flash is not yet ready.
Why does a slower shutter speed work better in underwater photography than above water?
If you shoot above water and like to use slower shutter speeds in your photos, you need a tripod. Underwater, of course, you could theoretically use a tripod, but only for very specific photos. A tripod does stop the camera from moving, but for underwater photography it's not much use. After all, all our subjects move! Underwater, there is always something moving in the current, swell of the water. If you shoot with a wide angle, you can get by with a slower shutter speed. As soon as your shutter speed becomes so slow that you see your own movement in your photo (and the photo is no longer sharp), you should use a tripod above water. Underwater, you can let go of this rule and experiment with slower shutter speeds.
It is easier to use slower shutter speeds underwater than above, thanks to:
- Flash light: This freezes your subject even at slower shutter speeds.
- Wide-angle lens: The larger your angle of view, the less likely motion blur will be visible.
- Neutral buoyancy: Assuming you have a good buoyancy and your camera also has neutral buoyancy, as a diver you have less movement than when holding a camera above water, making you your own tripod, so to speak.
Practical tips for shutter speed underwater
- Test your settings: Start with 1/125 and adjust based on light and subject.You test your settings by taking a test shot when you are underwater. You can then check whether the light in the background, your ambient light, is as you would like it to be in your photo. Take that test shot more often, because when you change depth, the amount of ambient light changes too.
- Use your flash units wisely: They help freeze movement. Make sure your subject is sufficiently exposed by the flash.
- Play with ambient light: Want a black background? Faster shutter speed. More colour (blue or green, depending on the colour of the water) in the background? Slower shutter speed.
- Keep your buoyancy and trim under control: The quieter you are in the water, the more stable you are. It is definitely worth training this a lot. Also practise on your backkick. Being able to swim backwards is really going to boost your photography!
In this photo, you can see a nice balance between the flash-exposed foreground and the natural blue in the background. The shutter speed in this photo was 1/160 sec. If the shutter speed were slower, the blue in the background would become lighter in colour.
And now specifically: what shutter speed in underwater photography do you choose?
Okay, I wrote at the beginning of this blog that I couldn't tell you what shutter speed to set. After all, that depends on the circumstances and your idea for the photo. But I can give you a starting point. Something you can set on your camera when you jump into the water. Then you are well on your way to the ideal photo!
- Macro (1/125 – 1/250s)
Omdat je bij marco vaak niet veel omgevingslicht in beeld nodig hebt, kun je hogere sluitertijden gebruiken. Hoe hoger je sluitertijd, hoe donkerder je achtergrond. De flitser belicht je onderwerp. - Wide-angle: 1/60 - 1/160
The flash still illuminates your subject. By playing with the shutter speed, you control the amount of natural light in the background. - Fast-moving animals, such as dolphins or seals: 1/250s - 1/500s:
Fast-moving subjects can be frozen with a fast shutter speed. You don't use flash with those fast animals because they often don't come within your flash range. (If they do, flash is very cool!) - Creative motion blur: 1/10 - 1/60:
By playing with slower shutter speeds combined with the flash freezing your subject, you can shoot creative images.
Underwater photography is all about balance between movement, light and sharpness. By consciously playing with shutter speed, you can not only take technically better photos, but also create increasingly creative images. A final tip: make sure you first control your camera settings on normal images before diving deeper into creative imagery. That way, you won't get confused which settings create which effects within your photo.
Want to learn more about shutter speed, aperture and ISO and how the three of them work together?
Then this course might be for you. I explain in detail how shutter speed, aperture and iso work together with clear examples.
Would you prefer a personal explanation while we look together at how it works on your camera? Then you can request an online coaching session or a theory and practice day with me.
A nice example with a faster Shutter Speed in Underwater Photography on the left and a slower one on the right. You can clearly see the difference in the exposure in the background. Both fish are ‘frozen’ because the shutter speed was fast enough for their movement. (And a flash was used, which is also important)