Shutter Speed : What it is and How it Works?

Shutter Speed is measured in seconds or fractions of a second. Digital SLR and also advanced compact digital give the possibility to set the Shutter Speed. Previously, we wrote about Shutter Speed in Photography and Exposure Triangle. This is an advanced article on Shutter Speed. In the article about the exposure triangle, which we recommend to read before this, we had mentioned that one of the three parameters that determine the situation in a photograph is the Shutter Speed. In that occasion, we also told that, shutter speed indicates the amplitude of the time interval during which the aperture remains open. The longer the time interval, the greater the amount of light that enters. In this article we will see some more details on the timing of exposure with this affects our photographs. Shutter Speed and Exposure Time is Synonymous.

What is Shutter Speed ?

The shutter speed is measured in seconds or fractions of a second (e.g. 4” or 1/125 s). The camera’s shutter speed, the lens’s brightness (f-number), and the scene’s luminance together determine the amount of light that reaches the film or sensor (this is exposure). Exposure value (EV) is a single quantity that accounts for the shutter speed and the f-number.

The digital SLR and also the most advanced compact digital gives the possibility, in the non-automatic shooting modes, to set the exposure time. The camera determines the minimum exposure time . For example, in the Nikon D3000, the minimum exposure time is equal to 1/4000 second, the maximum exposure time is equal to 30 minutes.

Cameras can have intervals of exposure times of larger scale. Digital SLR cameras show the exposure time even inside the viewfinder. In this case, when the exposure time is equal to a fraction of a second, the viewfinder display only the value of the denominator. However, when the exposure time is equal to one second or more, the viewfinder will show the value in seconds of the second following the symbol (“). So that, we will have an exposure time equal to 1/125s which will be indicated with the number 125, while an exposure time equal to six seconds will be indicated by 6 “. This is usually documented on the camera model’s booklet.

As in the case of the opening, there is a time scale of exposure, divided into full-stop and third stop. Each full stop is obtained by dividing or multiplying by 2 the previous stop and rounded up to a full number. The starting value is 1 second. A subset of the scale could be so 1/1000s 1/500s 1/250s 1/125s 1/60s 1/30s 1/15s 1/8s 1/4s 1/2s 1s 2s 4s … Again, as we said for opening, even the digital cameras are able to calculate the third stop of exposure. For the shutter speed, we can say that it does not only helps to determine the correct amount of light that reaches the camera’s sensor. It can have a big impact on the aesthetics of the photo, the exposure time is also an artistic tool in the hands of the photographer. From this point of view, such considerations can be made about the exposure time in relation to the effect we want to achieve ?

Short exposure times are sometimes called “fast” and long exposure times “slow” or “slow”.

Fast Shutter Speed or Short Exposure Time

Shutter Speed of of 1/1000 of a second or less values ??are necessary when we want to freeze the action of subjects that moves quickly. For example: sporting events, children playing, birds and insects in flight, vegetation blowing in the wind. In these cases and in many similar cases, it is often necessary to use Shutter Speed even much shorter than 1/1000 s, as movement of the the subject can be really very rapid. The biggest problem of using the shutter speed so shorter is that; reduced to very limited amount of light reaches the sensor. Therefore, unless there is in a very bright place, for example under the sun, it may become necessary to increase ISO and / or the opening. An advantage of so fast Shutter Speed is that hardly there is chance of camera shake.

Long Exposure Time or Faster Shutter Speed

In this category we can include the shutter speed that go by one thirtieth of a second, approximately. The first thing to keep in mind when using Faster shutter speed of this kind is that, you will need to use a tripod in any case, to avoid blurred photos. When we photograph a still subject, posing as a person, a landscape or a still life, using a long exposure time may not have notable effect (except of course the greatest amount of light captured by the camera). The nice thing is when we photograph moving subjects. When we use a slow shutter speed light sources in movement become bright stripes, people who are walking become ghosts. This is because, as long as the aperture is open, the sensor continues to record what it sees. So, if an object moves, the sensor will record all the positions in which “sees”. Use of long exposure times allows you to create images of great impact.

Very Long Exposure Times or Faster Shutter Speed

We think that, they deserve special attention, those who are in the order of minutes. In particular, it is often applied to night photography. Using long exposures of several minutes, you can get a lot of spectacular photos of natural landscapes and also of the city lights at night. For this type of picture, however, you need to have special attention. The exposure times that do not fit into any of the categories just mentioned, times are generic that will work in the most usual and that probably will not introduce special effects in our photos.

It is suggested to read What Camera Mode to Choose Depending on the Situation, Long Exposure with Neutral Density Filters and Guide to Long Exposure Photography with Neutral Density Filter.