Use Shutter Speed to Freeze or Blur Motion

Shutter speed decides how movement looks. A fast setting such as 1/500 of a second freezes a child mid-jump or a dog mid-run; a slow one turns a waterfall silky and car lights into streaks, but only if the camera is held perfectly still or rested on something. For handheld shots, a useful guide is to keep the shutter speed no slower than one over the lens's focal length, so roughly 1/50 second at 50mm, adjusted for a smaller sensor's crop factor. Stabilisation buys some leeway; it does nothing for a moving subject. Exercise: in shutter priority (S or Tv), photograph a tap running at 1/1000, 1/60 and 1/8 second. Phone users can try the same with a long-exposure or Live Photo effect.