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The shutter speed of a camera controls how long light reaches the film in the camera during exposure of an image. This page is a guide on how to change shutter speed on a camera.
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The shutter speed of a camera controls how long light reaches the film in the camera during exposure of an image. This page is a guide on how to change shutter speed on a camera.
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Introduction
- If you have a manual camera, you will need to choose a shutter speed very time you take a picture. If your camera is automatic or semi-automatic, this is not necessary and most pictures will come out great without any changes to the shutter speed. Sometimes, however, you might want to change the shutter speed to freeze action, create cool effects or take pictures at night.
Step 1: Shutter Speed Basics
- The shutter speed controls the amount of time light reaches the film.
- Shutter speed is written in fractions of a second, for example, 500 or 1/500 means 1/500 of a second.
- A slow shutter speed mean a long exposure. This generally creates blurry pictures when capturing movements, but can also be used to get enough light into the camera when taking night pictures.
- A short shutter speed means a long exposure. It's often used to freeze action.
- Shutter speed and aperture work together to determine the exposure of a picture. They need to be in sync or the picture will be under- or overexposed.
- Your can typically hold the camera still for 1/30 or 1/60 seconds. When the shutter speed is slower, the picture will be blurry unless you use a tripod.
- Choose a fast shutter speed, for example 1/500 or 1/1000 to freeze action, such as to capture the drops of water.
- Choose a slow shutter speed, for example 1 (one second), for special effects when capturing movements or when taking pictures at dark.
Step 2: Choosing Only Shutter Speed
The easiest way to choose a shutter speed is to set the camera to a semi-automatic setting, if it has one. In this setting, you choose a shutter speed and the camera determines the matching aperture. Consult your camera for instructions on how to change the shutter speed.Step 3: Choosing Both Shutter Speed and Aperture
- To choose both shutter speed and aperture at the same time, you need to be familiar with basics of photography, such as how exposure works. Most cameras have ways to indicate if you are over- or underexposing the picture, but it's best if you learn more about exposure to use the correct settings instead of just guessing. There are specific recommendations for what type of aperture and shutter speed you need depending on the circumstances, such as weather and time of the day. Many of these can be found in tables and photography books, but they should be used as a starting point and not as a final answer.
