Do I always need the fastest shutter speed possible? (1 Viewer)

Hi..........hope everyone is well. I was wondering if someone could give me some advice. I always shoot using shutter priority mode so I can get the highest speed possible. This is because I usually handhold and have pretty shaky hands. Also i want to get the sharpest possible! So if the lights O.K........I'm always 1/2,500 etc. The image ( eyes ) will often be sharp but there sometimes isn't much colour or detail in the wings! The eyes look good but the colour is fairly samey ( made up word ) ...bland! Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Do I always need to be a speed junkie? Does lowering the speed add more colour, contrast etc....? Thanks in advance..Bye!

p.s....specifically talking about stationary targets!

Speed shouldn't affect colour?

But to answer your question, no you do not always need the fatsest speed. A fast shutter is needed to capture: fast moving objects, freeze motion or lower the affects of camera shake. If you have a solid base then lower speeds are not only OK, but can show movement/life in the subject.

If you're shooting stationary birds - then I think you're making a BIG mistake in choosing shutter priority .
When choosing shutter priority and aiming fo 1/2500 sec etc ...- you force the camera to open up the aperture in order to get enough light . Therefore - making you DOF very shallow - and loosing detail on most of the bird. That's why the colours may look dull .
Static subjects can be shot at very low speeds - IF you use a bean-bag or tripod .
Rule of thumbs 1/focal length- is OK most of the time , but in poor light , and closed aperture - you can even go to VERy slow speeds -when using a tripod , and still get pin-sharp photos .
TRy using aperture priority - and see what shutter speed the camera sets- that will give you a good estimate what you actually need .

Lots varibles to consider here. Can you share the camera and lens you are using?

If you are using 1/2,500 at ISO 400 it should be fine but if you are going to iso 1600 to get this speed then it could introduce quality concerns. I find I'm always balancing the need for speed with keeping ISO down for high quality.

As others have noted, it'd be helpful to know what lens/body combination you're using. Chances are if you're going for the fastest shutter speed possible, especially around 1/2500s, you're shooting at maximum aperture. Many lenses are softer at max aperture than they are stopped down, and many of them also have lower contrast at max aperture. And, as already noted, if you're at a a high ISO, sometimes this affects color rendering as well.

Agreed with the others on this - shutter priority set to max speed isn't the way I'd shoot birds. The general rule isn't to use the fastest shutter speed possible, but to use the fastest shutter speed needed for a given scene...or put another way, use the slowest shutter speed you can that isn't too slow to freeze the action. A bird standing on a branch can be shot as slow as 1/100, while a small bird in flight might need 1/2500. I generally prefer to control my aperture, keep my ISO to the lowest setting possible to get the shot, and then keep an eye on my shutter speed - if it gets too slow, I bump open the aperture a half-stop at a time until I have the shutter speed I need. So Aperture Priority, or Program with shift, is my preferred shooting method.