Making use of shutter speed is easier, once you fully understand how shutter speed works and in which photography situations you need to change the shutter speed. Use these tips to answer the question: What is shutter speed?
Most of the time, shutter speed is measured in a fraction of a second. A measurement of 1/500 means the shutter is open for only 1/500th of a second. However, long shutter speeds are an option, too, such as 30 seconds or more.
The shutter speed options on most cameras increase by about double the speed of the previous setting or decrease by about half the speed of the previous setting. For example, you can shoot at 1/125th, 1/250th, 1/500th, or 1/1000th of a second.
When shooting in good lighting, you can shoot at a faster shutter speed and “stop” the action more easily. With less light available, you’ll probably have to shoot at a slower shutter speed.
If you’re shooting at a shutter speed that’s slower than 1/60th of a second, you’ll probably have to use a tripod. It’s difficult for a photographer to hold the camera steady long enough to avoid a slight blur in the photo (called camera shake) when the shutter speed is slower than 1/60th of a second.
With most cameras, you can set the shutter speed manually or use the “shutter priority” mode on the camera (marked with an “S” on the mode dial). In this instance, the shutter speed will be set first, and the camera’s other settings will be set to work with that shutter speed.
Shutter speed works in conjunction with the aperture (or f-stop) setting of your camera, as the aperture controls the size of the opening in the lens. A larger opening allows more light to strike the image sensor, and vice versa. So, in the most simplistic terms, you can increase the shutter speed, while creating a larger opening in the lens at the same time, basically allowing the same amount of light to strike the image sensor. It’s not an exact trade-off, but you can think of the shutter speed and aperture relationship in this manner.
