Basics: Shutter Speed in Photography

RJ by Longristra

Yesterday we went through briefly what Aperture can do for our photos. Today, we’ll be taking a look at how Shutter Speed can affect your images.

Shutter speed refers to the time that the shutter is left open for light to reach the film or image sensor for film cameras and digital cameras respectively. This is normally achieved by a mechanical shutter between the lens and the film or image sensor that opens and closes for a period of time specified by the shutter speed. Shutter speed is measured in seconds and the usually appear in fractions of a second, 1s, 1/2s, 1/4s etc.

So how does shutter speed affect your photos?

The longer the shutter is open, the more light is allowed to reach the film or sensor. This will again determine the amount of light that is contained in your photos, just like the aperture of a lens.

However, shutter speed also has another behavior that will “blur” your image. A general rule is to use 1/60s and above if you’re using a compact camera. For more advanced SLR and DSLR users, the rule is to use a shutter speed of 1/(focal length) to capture images. If your shutter speed is too long, your images will turn out blurry due to your hands shaking or movement of the subject. Try to use a tripod in such situations, especially for Night scenery/landscape shots.

To capture fast moving subjects and action shots, you will need a high shutter speed to “freeze” the action. Otherwise your subjects will appear “ghosted” and blurry. Try playing around with shutter speed and you can achieve amazing effects like this:

Shutter Speed Train ColorPop By BennCapon

What kinds of effects have you gotten with shutter speed? Let us know in the comments!