What is Shutter Speed?

PAULA ALVEAL THE GRANGE SCHOOL

Definition
Shutter Speed is one of the three pillars in

photography.
It is responsible for creating dramatic effects by

either freezing action or blurring motion. It is also known as EXPOSURE TIME.

Shutter Speed is the amount of time that the camera

shutter is open.

What is a Camera Shutter?

Curtain in front of the camera sensor that stays

closed until the camera fires.

When the camera fires, the shutter opens and fully

exposes the camera sensor to the light that passes through the lens aperture.

How does shutter speed work?

Fast Shutter Speed

freezes action completely

Slow Shutter Speed

creates a sense of motion (effect called motion blur)

How is it measured?
They are typically measured in fractions of a second, when they are

under a second.

1/250

a quarter of a second four milliseconds

Remember that thinking of shutter speed in isolation is not a good idea. As

you change shutter speed youll need to change one of the other elements to compensate for it. For example if you speed up your shutter speed one stop (for example from 1/125th to 1/250th) youre effectively letting half as much light into your camera. To compensate for this youll probably need to increase your aperture one stop (for example from f16 to f11).

Examples

6 1/3