Shutter Speed: A Beginner’s Guide

 

Shutter speed is a best tool to perfect the exposure, control depth of field and create some interesting effects. In this tutorial we will learn how to use it. Shutter speed is one of the three element which determine the exposure of the photo.

What is Shutter Speed?

 

Inside your camera, there is a small flap in front of sensor called shutter. When you capture a photograph it will open and close once to letting the light to reach the sensor to create a n image. Shutter speed determines how quickly or slowly shutter opens and closes again.

In a fast shutter speed , shutter is only open for the short period of time. In slow shutter speed the shutter is open for longer period.

How it is Measured?

Shutter speeds are measured in seconds or millisecond/fraction of seconds. If the shutter speed is set to 1/100 sec it will expose the sensor for 0.01 seconds. It is also called exposure time.

Shutter speed may vary from few thousandth of second to several second. DSLR Cameras also have a Bulb mode where you can keep the shutter open for as long as you want.

Choosing the Shutter Speed

In auto mode camera guesses the best settings for you to capture the scene. It doesn’t always get it right, and your photo can end up poorly exposed.

Always shoot in manual mode and take control of your shutter speed. Following things should be considered while doing so.

Camera Shake

Camera shake occurs mostly when the camera is hand held. No matter how steady you are ,you can never perfectly stand still. Slight movement will  get you blurry images and will lack sharpness.Avoid camera shake by using faster shutter speed

Motion Blur

Motion Blur occurs when you photograph a moving subject, for eg a moving car. If you use a slow shutter speed it will appear as a blurry streak in a final image. To eliminate motion blur use faster shutter speeds.

 

Exposure

Make sure that your scene is properly exposed. Keeping the slow shutter speed will let in more light, while faster shutter speed lets in less light. Choose shuter speed in such a way that your photos are perfectly exposed. Exposure also depends on Aperture and ISO speed.

Adjust the shutter speed to achieve right amount of blurring and then adjust Aperture and ISO speed.

We hope you found this article helpful. If you have any queries feel free to comment.