In the last post I wrote about the best F Stop (or aperture) for real estate photography. So it makes sense to look at the best shutter speed for real estate photography.
The best shutter speed for real estate photography is 1/125th when shooting handheld. If you are using a tripod this is less important, and depends if there is anything moving in the scene. But the important thing is to use the right shutter speed to get super sharp photos every time.
OK – I have given you a number to work with. And before you get on at me saying that you can take sharp photos handheld with a 12 second exposure using some miracle setting in your fancy camera please remember the point of this.
What Is The Best Shutter Speed For Real Estate Photography? I am answering a simple question with a simple answer that we can all take away and use on a day to day basis.
Of course, like a lot of things in photography, it Is not that simple, but I will explain all of that in this post ok?
Why 1/125 second?
Well there is a long established, general rule of thumb that 1/60th second is the slowest shutter speed for hand held shooting. This is the slowest shutter speed we can take photos with and not have any movement blurring the photo. When I say movement I mean of us, the photographer. You should always select the correct shutter speed for your subject matter, so this does not apply if you are photographing motor racing.
And this is if the camera is held correctly of course.
So why 1/125th second?
Simple. This gives a bit of breathing space. It is one stop faster than 1/60th second. Now I know that we can take photos hand held with slower shutter speeds, but this is the general rule that I use for hand held shooting, which has served me well.
1/60th second is a long accepted shutter speed for hand held shooting, but I do not want to be always on the edge when taking photos – I want a bit of latitude, a bit of breathing space, like I said.
And anything faster is fine, but using a low ISO and F8 you won’t be far from this in normal conditions.
Just don’t go slower handheld.
The bit about the focal length
OK – there is another rule of thumb. When taking photos handheld your shutter speed should be faster than the reciprocal of the focal length.
What? The reciprocal of the what?
Quite simply, if you are shooting handheld at say 200mm, your shutter speed should be a minimum of 1/200th second. This is another well-established principle.
But this does not apply beyond, say 1/60th second. You can’t shoot at, say 10mm and be fine using a shutter speed of 1/15th second. You might be ok but you probably will not.
Remember I am talking about the best shutter speed for real estate photography.
So 1/60th second is the cut off for this rule for me. With a safety factor built in this is why I say 1/125th second.
Focal lengths for real estate photography
I take most of my real estate photos using a focal length of 17mm, so the 1/125th second shutter speed will always be fine for me. And I rarely shoot with a focal length longer than 100mm so I am good with this number ok?
And I would not use the reciprocal thing and try to get super sharp photos using 1/25th second at 17mm.
Another thing to remember – I am telling you what I have been doing for years that works for me time after time.
Taking photos handheld
Shooting handheld is a necessary skill, and most of the time there is a better way that I prefer.
Using a tripod
Yes I put my camera on a tripod. If I can take every photo with my camera on a tripod I am quite happy, and if not I know what I need to do to shoot handheld and get sharp photos.
Image stabilisation
You can get image stabilisation in lenses and camera bodies these days.
Now this is something that somewhat changes things. My Canon 17-40mm lens does not have image stabilisation. Nor does my Canon 6D.
- But my 70-200mm lens does. And it has 4 lovely stops of image stabilisation.
What does this mean? It means that if my meter said 1/250th second was the correct shutter speed for a photo I am taking without image stabilisation, with image stabilisation I can use 1/15th second to get an equally sharp photo.
Really. And quite amazing.
Image stabilisation and tripods
But if you are using a lens with the image stabilisation turned on you might have to turn it off to get sharp photos on a tripod – check the instructions.
Good shooting practice
I covered this in my Photography Explained Podcast, in the following episodes
How Do You Hold A Camera Properly? This Is Very Important!
How To Take Photos Handheld – Camera Settings That Work For Sharp Photos
Why is the shutter speed used in real estate photography important?
Because you need to get the sharpest photos you possibly can, every time. Blurry photos are no use to anyone ever. And the shutter speed used will determine if you get a sharp photo or not.
So this is important ok?
Stuff that moves
Now this is the thing that I need to think about. If I am using a slow shutter speed, which is quite often the case as what I am photographing is not moving (i.e. a building), there are things that I need to consider.
- Clouds
- Trees, bushes and foliage
- Windy days
These three combined can affect a photo, and if the trees, say, look awful and blurry on a windy day then I might need to do something about it. Normally this is not a problem to me. And if it is fast moving clouds this can look pretty cool and add to a photo anyway.
What do I do?
Well I use a tripod whenever I can so this is not an issue for me. Sure I have to be mindful of the stuff that I mentioned that might be moving, but the aperture is my priority when I am taking real estate photos. And yes I use aperture priority mode to take real estate photos.
I normally select F8, ISO 100 and let the camera sort out the shutter speed.
But I need to know this stuff myself as there are times when I cannot take photos with my camera securely planted on a tripod, so I have to go handheld.
Like when there just is not room.
Summary
We need to be aware of the shutter speed when taking real estate photos to make sure that the subject, and the photo, are as sharp as we can get them.
After all our aim with every photo is to get them as sharp as possible.
Related reading
There is lots of related stuff on my website, but the best place to go for my real estate photography stuff is my, erm, Real Estate Photography page.
Makes sense, where else would you expect to go? See this is not just thrown together!
Related viewing
Yes, related viewing. Just haed over to my You Tube Channel and watch the video all about this post.
Thanks for reading this post, any questions get in touch. Cheers from me Rick
