READ: Camera Modes

Speed/Sports Mode

Most cameras have a speed mode. This is a quick setting you can set your camera to that allows you to freeze motion in a photo with little to no blur. This can gives you a dynamic sport photo. This is mainly a shutter speed setting - the shutter speed is pumped up to be extremely fast.

Have you ever seen a strobe light used in a room with a fan? The light blinks and it looks like the fan is not moving. It is the same idea with a speed mode. The shutter open and closes so fast that it can freeze the movement into a picture. Go take a photo of cars driving past or go to a sports game and photograph someone running. Notice how clear they are in the photo? It is almost like they were not moving at all.


Look at the example here of the water droplet.This shot was taken at 1/200th of a second and it looks like the water has stopped moving.

Most cameras that have speed/sports mode don't allow you to change the speed under that setting. That is why you will want a camera that allows you to control the shutter speed yourself. We will go through shutter speed mode later.