DPReview Intro to photography: What is shutter speed?
This video is part of our Intro to Photography series, where we break down some of the fundamental concepts of the image-making process. You can find a written version below. What is shutter speed? Shutter speed, along with aperture value, is one of the fundamental properties of exposure: ie, how much light your camera gets exposed to. A faster shutter speed helps freeze action, whereas a slower one lets in more light but can result in blurred movement. How do I choose my shutter speed? There are two important factors to consider when choosing a shutter speed: how fast is my subject moving? And if that's not a concern, how steadily can I hold the camera? For sports and action, you'll need a very high shutter speed. For portraits of a subject who's posing, you can get away with something much slower, but in low light, there'll be a limit to how long you can hold the camera without shaking it, even if your camera or lens has image stabilization. Left: a photo shot at a 30-second shutter speed. Right: a photo shot at a 1/1600 shutter speed Working at the other extreme, long exposures can give some interesting creative effects: blurring the motion of crowds or traffic, or conveying a flowing effect with water, rather than freezing its movement. Much of the time, you're more likely to want to set your shutter speed (or let your camera set the shutter speed) in response to your choice of aperture value and the light level in your scene. We'll be continuing this series with more discussions on the fundamentals of exposure and photography. Check back soon for links to more entries!
This video is part of our Intro to Photography series, where we break down some of the fundamental concepts of the image-making process. You can find a written version below.
What is shutter speed?
Shutter speed, along with aperture value, is one of the fundamental properties of exposure: ie, how much light your camera gets exposed to. A faster shutter speed helps freeze action, whereas a slower one lets in more light but can result in blurred movement.
How do I choose my shutter speed?
There are two important factors to consider when choosing a shutter speed: how fast is my subject moving? And if that's not a concern, how steadily can I hold the camera?
For sports and action, you'll need a very high shutter speed. For portraits of a subject who's posing, you can get away with something much slower, but in low light, there'll be a limit to how long you can hold the camera without shaking it, even if your camera or lens has image stabilization.
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Working at the other extreme, long exposures can give some interesting creative effects: blurring the motion of crowds or traffic, or conveying a flowing effect with water, rather than freezing its movement.
Much of the time, you're more likely to want to set your shutter speed (or let your camera set the shutter speed) in response to your choice of aperture value and the light level in your scene.
We'll be continuing this series with more discussions on the fundamentals of exposure and photography. Check back soon for links to more entries!
