Shutter Speed

How does shutter speed affect your photography?

Shutter speed refers to the duration of time an image sensor (or film in case of film photography) is exposed to the light. 

This duration is very important and I will explain using some simple examples. 

Have a look at these pictures of a ceiling fan in motion and also understand motion blur. 

ISO 100, f/1.8 Shutter Speed 1/30 seconds

ISO 100, f/1.8 Shutter Speed 1/100 seconds

ISO 100, f/1.8 Shutter Speed 1/400 seconds

ISO 100, f/1.8 Shutter Speed 1/1000 seconds

The shutter speeds range from 1/30 seconds to 1/1000 seconds. Fan blades are almost invisible at lower shutter speeds, at shutter speed of 1/100 we can see the blades however they are blurred. This type of blur caused my moving objects is called motion blur. At high shutter speed we have somewhat managed to freeze the motion of blades. 

                    

This is another example of motion blur where you can see the trail of lights behind the vehicle and ghost images of the to be passengers. Anything that moves will get blurred in the image. Look at this next picture which displays an example of motion freeze. 

                    

This is a picture of a man jumping into the Arabian sea. High shutter speed helped freeze this motion. 

Next we will see how shutter peed affects the exposure of the image. The brightness and darkness of the image. 

Do notice that the following images become darker when shutter speed has been increased. 

ISO 100, f/1.8 Shutter Speed 1/15 seconds

The image of the speaker here is correctly exposed, i.e neither over or under exposed. Now see what happens when only the shutter speed is increased. 

ISO 100, f/1.8 Shutter Speed 1/40 seconds

ISO 100, f/1.8 Shutter Speed 1/100 seconds

ISO 100, f/1.8 Shutter Speed 1/250 seconds

As the shutter speed increased from 1/15 to 1/250 the exposure time is reduced. Thereby the amount of light reaching the sensor to produce the image has reduced. 

Similarly if we decrease the shutter speed in darker conditions we will get an image which appears to be well lit. Maybe night appears to be day!

Siswan Dam. Shutter Speed 15 seconds

We need to balance shutter speed with other settings such as Aperture and ISO to get an image we imagined. 

Do note that correct exposure as per the camera is based on certain parameters. However the correct exposure for our image is only decided by you, by the story you want to share. 

Do it Yourself: 

Try photographing cars in the night by varying your shutter speed and check the results. Maybe try low light photography by decreasing the shutter speed. Let me know how it worked for you. 

Also click here for more on Exposure.

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