What shutter speed is necessary to prevent motion blur at a "gathering"?

[splproductions]

I know, I know - why don't I just shoot at a gathering and find out.

To be honest, most of my "people" photo work are candid shots of my little boy. I find I need 1/160 to be absolutely sure that any swinging motion of his arms or "sudden-dash" crawls are tack sharp. I really haven't done much photography at events like family parties, BBQs, weddings, etc, since I really got into photography.

So is 1/160 plenty fast for an event like a wedding or party? For you event-photographers out there - how slow of a shutter speed are you comfortable with?

 

[480sparky39 38]

Depends on the lens you're using.

 

[MLeeK]

Yes and no. It depends on the motion. If you want to capture the motion such as during a dance then slower. If you want to stop motion of the dance maybe faster or if you are using flash then no, that's more than adequate.
For the front of the church ceremony you can go down to 1/125 or even 1/80 if you are STEADY and they're still. If you are shooting the general action of the party I try to stay about 1/200 if I am not using flash. If I am using flash I drop much slower to get more ambient light.

There is no real standard. If I had to say anything I'd assume you want to stop the action of a fast moving toddler and say 1/250.
If you are using a long lens you'll need a faster shutter, if you are using a short lens you'll be steadier on a slower shutter.

 

[fjrabon]

Depends on the lens you're using.

Not for motion blur. (assuming that the OP means motion blur is subject blur due to motion, and that camera shake blur is not what he's talking about).

 

[KmH]

To stop motion like a person walking - figure 1/250 or faster. For dancing figure 1/500.

For controlling camera shake, and assuming good camera holding technique, a rule of thumb is 1/the focal length of the lens. At a focal length of 100 mm, you need a shutter speed of at least 1/100 to control blur due to camera shake.

 

[fjrabon]

To stop motion like a person walking - figure 1/250 or faster. For dancing figure 1/500.

For controlling camera shake, and assuming good camera holding technique, you need at least 1/the focal length of the lens. At a focal length of 100 mm, you need a shutter speed of at least 1/100 to control blur due to camera shake.

With really good technique I think you can go lower than that. Also, crop v. full frame makes a large difference as well. And I tend to find that rule of thumb isn't truly linear. It tends to hold better from 28mm-150mm than it does once you get past those marks.

I've generally found that guideline is more for average technique on a full frame. Good technique on a full frame and you can get about a full stop. Great technique ona full frame and you get about a stop and a half extra, maybe more at certain lengths.

On my crop frame, if I'm able to steady myself, and use 'da grip', am mindful of my breathing, and squeeze the shutter as opposed to just jamming it down, I can shoot well under 1/focal length.

for an example, with good technique, I can shoot 180mm on a full frame in the 1/60-80 second range with no sharpness issues. However, at 15mm, 1/10 second is really pushing what I can do.

 

[dhris]

I also feel pretty confident shooting slower than 1/focal length on my full frame. If I'm using the 50mm, e.g., I'll go as low as 1/30 with people who are static, and even lower for still life (architecture, e.g.). The thing is, you really can't fix a shot with motion blur in it, so it's best obviously to err on the side of more noise--meaning, if you're shooting indoors, start at 800 ISO at the minimum to give yourself some slack with shutterspeed. If I'm shooting an indoor gathering, I'll often be at ISO 1600 all night-even when using flash.

 

[Dikkie]

As shutter speed, I mostly calculate 2*focal length of the lens as a minimum to be sure.

(of course, lots of times you get it sharp with a longer shuttertime, but just to be sure... if it's a bright day outside, you'll get quickly faster shuttertimes and have no worries)

3*focal length if you're moving aswel, or you're shooting from top of a banana boat, or if the people you're shooting are moving too, or if they're hopping on top of a banana boat in front of yours.

4*focal length when taking photographs while jumping around, aswel when the model victims are jumping around too.

 

[rambler]

Try cranking up the ISO to get a fast shutter speed, like 1600! If you have a good 85mm it probably has a low aperture setting, f/1.8 or f/1.4. Take advantage of it.

 

[kateean2]

Outstanding thread, thanks all for joining. I'll visit often.

 

[Dao]

For regular gathering type party, you can use a flash and bounce the light off the ceiling if the gathering place has a low enough ceiling. It helps a lot with the added light so that you can lower the ISO value with faster shutter shutter speed.

From my experience, I can shoot with ISO 200 to 400 with f/4 to f/5.6 and shutter speed around 1/160 while the flash set around 1/4 to 1/8 power bounce off the ceiling. (less flash power setting = faster flash recycle time + shoot longer without changing batteries)

Once you familiar with / know what works (correct exposure), you can shoot with a wider aperture and adjust other settings accordingly. And you may need to lower the shutter speed to exposure the ambient correctly while using the flash to freeze some motion especially for big room because the bounced flash may not be able to reach that far.