logo

1.2. Shutter Speed Explained (4:06min)

Read the transcript to the above video:

Shutter Speed is quite an easy term, but a little misleading. There is a shutter in your camera that opens to let the light into your camera and onto your sensor. After a certain time it is closing again. Finishing the process of taking your image.
To understand what happens if you take an image, go into a darker room and take a picture. Listen closely. We hear two clicks: first click shutter opens – second click shutter closes.

To see what just happened in your camera, here is a draft of the shutter: first click, shutter curtain opens – second click – shutter curtain closes.

The shutter curtain - a draft that shows you how the shutter in your camera works

To even better understand this component of exposure, lets think of Shutter Speed as opening time. How long is the shutter opened to let light in.

How does the opening time affect your image? The longer the shutter is open, the brighter your image.

Lets consider we are taking a picture of the sun. 

  1. As soon as we press the shutter button, the shutter opens and exposes your sensor to the light of the sun
  2. The longer the shutter is now opened, the more light will hit the sensor, and the brighter your image will get
  3. As soon as the shutter closes, the image taking process is over and you see final image
The brighter your subject, the faster your shutter speed

Just to give you an idea: the image we took of the sun was shot at 1/1000 of a second.
Be sure to understand, that. You divide a second into 1000 pieces. And the shutter was only open for that very short while. Don´t confuse that with 1000 seconds
it is 1/1000 of a second.

But what if we want to photograph a rather dark scene?
All we need is a longer opening time. There is less light available within a given time. So if we extend the time we will get more light and with it a brighter image.
It was shot with a shutter speed of 30 seconds – don´t confuse that again with 1/30 of a second. It was really dark so we needed a loooooooong Shutter Speed.

The darker your subject, the slower your shutter speed

So all you need to know to understand shutter speed for now are two things:

  1. The brighter your subject or scene, the faster your shutter speed has to be (and therefore the shorter the opening time).
  2. The longer you light the same scene, the brighter your images get.

NOW you understand how shutter speed influences the exposure of your images

Together with the Aperture from our previous movie, you already know two of the three factors of Exposure.
Its time for the third. Next up is ISO.

QUESTIONS? Please don´t hesitate to post in the comments on youtube

NEXT LESSON: 1.3. ISO explained - learn about ISO in less than 3 minutes