Shutter priority mode is a camera feature that allows you to manually choose the shutter speed you wish to use and leave the camera to select the appropriate aperture size so that the image is exposed correctly.

This camera mode is usually used in one of two cases. Either when you wish to freeze very fast movement, perhaps in sports photography (in which case you would want to select a short shutter speed, usually 1/125s or below), or if you wish to create special effects, such as flowing water.

In the example below, a shutter speed of 2 seconds was selected in shutter priority mode to blur the fast-flowing water. The camera then chose an aperture of f/29 automatically. (A neutral density filter was also needed to ensure correct exposure).

Many camera manufacturers indicate shutter priority mode on their camera controls with the letters Tv (for ‘Time Value’).