What is Shutter Speed?

Shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter is open and it is measured in fractions of seconds. The bigger the denominator, the faster the speed. For example, 1/250 is faster than 1/30. In film photography, the amount of time the film is exposed is the same for digital photography. The difference being digital cameras use a sensor rather than film to create an image.

Here are a few creative shooting situations and appropriate shutter speed settings for the best photographs:

Moving Water – To make water look “frozen”, use a high shutter speed such as 1/500 or higher. To achieve the misty, ghostly look you see in a lot of waterfall shots, use a slow shutter speed.

Movement – To freeze motion, as shown in the image above, choose a faster shutter speed. To show movement, choose a slower shutter speed

Panning – Panning is a technique used to suggest fast motion. Typically, you are using your camera to follow the moving object using a slow shutter speed such as 1/30 to 1/60 of a second. The length of exposure needs to be long enough to allow the background to blur around your subject.

Zoom Burst – This is a technique where the focal length of a zoom lens changes during a long exposure. When the shutter is opened, the lens is zoomed in, changing the exposure. Here’s the cool part: the center of the image stays sharp, and the everything away from the center form a radial blur.

Practicing is the best way to gain a better understanding of shutter speed, so have fun experimenting. Try your hand at short and long exposures, moving objects and even night photography. If you remember nothing about shutter speed, remember this: higher shutter speeds freeze action and lower shutter speeds create motion.

Want to learn more? Check out:

What is ISO?

Photo Composition: Rule of Thirds

Four Tips for Shooting Awesome People Portraits

Understanding Aperture and Depth of Field

Finding Your Photography Style - Part One

Finding Your Photography Style - Part Two