There are several camera settings that are important to understand in order to capture properly exposed images with other key attributes. According to landscape pro Brian Matiash, however, there’s one setting in particular that plays a vital role in achieving the exact shot you envision. Care to take a guess?

Matiash says he spends a lot of time thinking about shutter speed, and he explains his obsession like this: “By understanding and mastering how shutter speed affects your images, you’ll be able to get some truly creative photographs.”

At 22 minutes this episode is longer than most, but we encourage you to stick with it because the knowledge Matiash imparts will significantly boost your skills —whether you shoot landscapes, nature and wildlife imagery, or just about any other genre you can imagine.

We all know that the shutter speed you choose is informed by several variables, like the amount of available light, lens aperture and ISO settings, and whether or not you’re shooting hand-held. But Matiash argues that “the one thing that should dictate your shutter speed is the subject; or rather how you want to convey the subject to the viewers.”

Take birds in flight for example. Do you want a precisely focused subject or would you rather convey a sense of motion? Fast or slow shutter speeds are what enable you to capture the specific effect you desire. The same holds true for sports/action photos or landscape images with billowing clouds blowing through the frame.

Panning with the camera is another good example, and the proper shutter speed can determine the degree of motion—either more or less—that’s apparent in the story you’re trying to tell. And then there are times when super-long shutter speeds are required to flatten out seaside shots with soft and smooth water.

Matiash illustrates all this with photos in four different categories: fast shutter speeds, “kinda slow” shutter speeds, slow shutter speeds, and extremely slow shutter speeds. The overriding point is that choosing a shutter speed is about much more than arriving at a correct expose. In fact, that’s just the starting point for capturing great imagery.

Brian’s instructional YouTube channel is full of videos describing post-processing techniques and getting things right in the camera, so be sure to pay a visit.

And on a related note, don’t miss a tutorial we featured recently from another adept instructor who reveals five reasons, including incorrect camera settings, that prevent you from capturing sharp photographs with mirrorless cameras and DSLRs.