What Does Shutter Speed do in Photography?

In this video we will be completely understanding the setting of shutter speed in photography. We will first understand what exactly is a shutter and then we will understand what shutter speed is.

After that we will do a practical exercise to understand fast and slow shutter speeds. Finally, we will see some different examples of shots where shutter speed has made all the difference. Here is the video:

This video is from our Basics of Photography course, which has 15 videos and 2.5 hours of content. You can access the full course via Udemy, using the link below:

Basics of Photography course

Video Summary

This video provides a practical explanation of shutter speed, one of the three core pillars of photography. It explains how this setting controls both the duration of light hitting the camera sensor and the appearance of movement in an image.

Key Takeaways

• The Shutter Mechanism: In a DSLR, the shutter is a “door” or set of curtains located directly in front of the sensor. When you take a photo, the mirror flips up, and the shutter curtains open and close to expose the sensor to light [00:50].
• Defining Shutter Speed: It is the duration for which the shutter remains open, usually measured in fractions of a second (e.g., 1/500) or full seconds (e.g., 2″) [03:02].
• Fast Shutter Speed (Freezing Motion): * A fast speed, like 1/400th of a second, opens and closes so quickly that it “freezes” action [05:01].
  • The video demonstrates this by moving a hand rapidly in front of a Batman figure; at 1/400, the hand appears perfectly sharp despite the movement [06:19].
• Slow Shutter Speed (Motion Blur): * A slow speed, such as 1 full second, keeps the shutter open longer, allowing moving subjects to blur [07:23].
  • The exercise shows that the same hand movement results in a “ghostly” blur at a 1-second exposure [08:15].
• Creative Applications:
  • Fast: Used for sports, wildlife, or capturing high-speed events like a bursting water balloon [09:05].
  • Slow: Used for artistic effects, such as “silky” waterfalls, light trails from cars, or blurring crowds for a sense of motion [10:35].

The video emphasizes that mastering shutter speed allows photographers to decide whether to capture a precise moment in time or artistically represent the passage of time.