17
Concepts in Photography
Shutter speed
Shutter speed refers to the amount of time it takes to open and close the
shutter. It controls the amount of light which passes through the aperture
before it reaches the image sensor.
Usually, the shutter speed is manually adjustable. The measurement of the
shutter speed is known as the "Exposure Value" (EV), which is marked in
intervals of 1 s, 1/2 s, 1/4 s, 1/8 s, 1/15 s, 1/1,000 s, 1/2,000 s, and so on.
Exposure
+1 EV
-1 EV
1 s 1/2 s 1/4 s 1/8 s 1/15 s 1/30 s
Shutter speed
Therefore, the faster the shutter speed, the less light will be let in. Likewise,
the slower the shutter speed, the more light will be let in.
The photos below illustrate that a slow shutter speed allows more time
for light to enter the camera. This adds a motion blurring eect to moving
objects. On the other hand, a fast shutter speed allows less time to let light
in and the photo more easily freezes subjects in motion.
0.8 s 0.004 s