Shutter Priority is a Great Mode for Beginner Street Photographers

TV or S mode (depending on the camera brand) on your camera’s dial, switches your camera into Shutter Priority mode.

This is a great mode for Street Photography as it allows you to choose directly how you want to capture the subject - do you want to freeze them completely, or capture them with some degree of blur. Shutter Priority allows this kind of granular control.

So how do you use it, you are probably asking, and why do I think it is one of the best modes to use when you are starting Street Photography?

Let’s get into it.

How it works..

When you select Shutter Priority, it is important to know that, whilst you have full control over the Shutter Speed, the camera will pick the Aperture. What Aperture the camera chooses is dependent on how slow or fast the Shutter Speed that you have chosen is, and also how low or high your chosen ISO, is.

The slower the Shutter Speed, the longer the camera’s shutter curtains are open, letting more light in. The faster the Shutter Speed, the shorter the the time the Shutter is open, letting less light in. Shutter Speed is measured in fractions of a second. However, the slower it gets, from under a second, it is measured in half seconds.

Night and Day…

Therefore, if you are shooting at night, you will more than likely need to pick a slowish Shutter Speed of around 1/80 seconds. You will also need a high ISO, of around 3200. Because of these variables and because it is dark, the camera will pick a wide aperture of approximately f/5.6 -f/2.

Conversely, if you wanted to photograph a subject on a bright day, and if you wanted that subject blurred slightly you might choose the same Shutter Speed (1/80 sec) and a low ISO of 100. This time the camera’s meter will ultimately select a narrower Aperture, because the sensor already has so much light hitting it as the Shutter is open for a relatively long period of time.  It is possible that your shot will be overexposed, depending on the weather conditions.

So the general rule of thumb is, when shooting Street photos during the day, if you pick a slow Shutter Speed, the camera will pick a narrower Aperture to meter for the correct exposure. Whereas, if you pick a fast Shutter Speed, the camera will choose a wider Aperture. The wider the Aperture, the more light enters the lens. With a narrow Aperture, the less light enters through the lens.

Besides the chosen Shutter Speed, the Aperture that the camera chooses is dependent upon your ISO (the higher the ISO, during the day, the less light is needed, therefore the camera is likely to pick a narrower Aperture) and also the available light plays a significant factor as well. The darker your scene, the more likely it will be that your camera will pick a wider aperture even with a high ISO.

During the day, if the sun shines brightly you may need to increase the Shutter Speed when using Shutter Priority and choose the base ISO. This is because a slower Speed might bar too bright to the point of overexposure.

Generally for street photography this is fine, as unlike ISO (noise) and Aperture (too much depth of field) there are no downsides when using fast Shutter Speeds for street photographers.

In practice…

A fast shutter speed is great for freezing action. I am quite happy shooting anything from 1/200 seconds up to 1/1000 seconds, depending upon the subject’s motion and the light conditions.

A faster subject, such as a street performer who is juggling, will require a faster shutter speed, whereas a slower subject, like someone talking on the phone whilst standing against a wall, obviously requires a slower Shutter Speed.

You can get creative with slower Shutter Speeds when capturing someone who is walking. The slight blur that will be visible in the image conveys an interesting sense of motion. You can experiment with even slower Shutter Speeds for some ghostly looking pedestrians or some abstract looking Street Photography. Experiment with Shutter Speeds slower than 1/80 seconds.

As a Street Photographer it is important to train and keep your eye keen. One method for doing this is looking for someone standing in front of a moving train or in front of a heavy trafficked street. You can take advantage of using a slow Shutter Speed for that blurred effect whilst capturing the subject in sharp detail. Give it a try next time you are out with your camera,

You can also try panning. Follow your subject as they move and try to keep them in the same position in the frame. If you use a slow Shutter Speed the background will be blurred and this will create a sense of motion in the frame.

Why Shutter Priority is great…

I think that Shutter Priority should be part of every beginner Street Photographer’s curriculum as you are able to focus on what Shutter Speeds work for what subjects you are shooting. The more you practice the sooner you will master Shutter Speed and depending upon your path, you can either step across to Aperture Priority or head up the next level, to Manual Mode. Or you can even just stick with Shutter Priority. Either way, give it a try today.

Go forth and create.