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Health & Fitness

Shutter Speed 101

What is shutter speed? Shutter speed refers to the amount of time the shutter is open.

What is shutter speed?

Shutter speed refers to the amount of time the shutter is open.

There are two main functions that you can set your camera to which will allow you to control your shutter speed. The first major function is to have your camera on manual and the other is the TV mode (or shutter priority). When you adjust the shutter speed in the shutter priority mode the aperture (I will talk more about aperture next week) will adjust automatically to prevent over (too bright) or under (too dark) exposure.

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Shutter speed is measured in seconds or in many cases a fraction of a second. The larger the denominator the faster the speed, such as 1/1000 says that the shutter is open for 1000th of a second and is much faster that 1/30, 30th of a second.

In most cases you’ll most likely be using shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second or faster. This is because anything slower than 1/60 can be difficult without causing camera shake. Camera shake is when your camera moves while the shutter is open the image comes out with a little bit of blurring. If you are going to use a shutter speed slower than 1/60 you will either need a tripod (or something that you can rest your camera on to prevent movement) or if you use image stabilization which many DSLR cameras are coming with, some lenses as well.

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Increasing the shutter speed is moved up by one stop (example: 1/250 to 1/500) will let in less light because the shutter is not open for as long. Vice versa when the shutter speed goes from 1/250 to 1/125 the image will be exposed to more light. Some cameras also give you the option for very slow shutter speeds; such as 1second, 10seconds, 30seconds, etc. These are used in very low light situations, when you are going after a special effect and/or trying to capture a lot of movement. Some cameras also give you the option to shoot in ‘B’ (Bulb) mode. This mode allows you to hold the shutter open for as long as you want until you release.

When considering what shutter speed to you for an image, you should always consider if there in any movement in the scene and whether you want to capture that movement (intentionally blur) or to stop the movement (so it looks still). 

If you want to know more feel free to contact me at christian@christianjanderson.com. You can even check out my photoblog or portfolio and Like me on Facebook. 

 

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