Shutter Speed: The Other Half of "Exposure"

The "Shutter Speed" is the length of time that the shutter (a tiny metal curtain) clicks

open, allowing light from the lens into the camera. The photographer can change the

shutter speed with a control on the camera body.

Shutter Speeds are given in seconds – usually in fractions of seconds. The bigger the

number, the slower the shutter speed. There are other shutter speeds too – from 1/8000s

to many hours! Each number in the series is considered to be 1 "stop" different than the

last, allowing 1/2 as much light into the camera. For example, 1/125s is two stops slower

than 1/500s.

Usually, only expensive camera bodies have shutter speeds from 1/4000s to 1/8000s.

Newer, computerized cameras will have shutter speeds from 30s to 1/2000s. Older

manual cameras range more from 1s to 1/500s. For shutter speeds longer than 30s, you'll

have to lock the shutter open and time it yourself.

Cameras will usually just show you the bottom part of the shutter speed number: for

example, 1/15s will be shown as 15. When the numbers get bigger than a second, they'll

add a quotation mark: for example, 1s will be shown as 1".

Shutter Speed Fact #1

The faster you make the shutter speed, the less light can come through the shutter.

You may have to balance a faster shutter speed with a wider aperture opening to

let the right amount of light into the camera, and vice versa. (More on this later!)

Shutter Speed Fact #2

Fast shutter speeds "freeze" action, while slow

shutter speeds show action as a blur. For

example, if you were to photograph a person

riding a bicycle with a shutter speed of 1/250s,

the rider in the photograph would appear to be

almost motionless. If you took the same

photograph with a shutter speed of 1/15s, the

rider would appear as a streak across the

photograph. 1/8000s is fast enough to freeze

the motion of an airplane prop! 2s (with the

camera steady on a tripod) is long enough to

make flowing water look smooth and silky.