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Concepts in Photography
Shutter speed
Shutter speed refers to the amount of time it takes to open and close the shutter, and it is an
important factor in the brightness of a photo, as it controls the amount of light which passes
through the aperture before it reaches the image sensor.
Usually, the shutter speed is manually adjustable. The measurement of the shutter speed is
the exposure value (EV), which is marked in intervals of 1 s, 1/2 s, 1/4 s, 1/8 s, 1/15 s, 1/1000 s,
1/2000 s, and so on.
+1 EV
Exposure
-1 EV
1s
1/2 s
1/4 s
1/8 s
1/15 s
1/30 s
Shutter speed
Therefore, the faster the shutter speed, the less light will be let in. Likewise, the slower the
shutter speed, the more light will be let in.
As the photos below illustrate, a slow shutter speed allows more time to let light in, so the
photo becomes brighter. On the other hand, a fast shutter speed allows less time to let light
in and the photo becomes darker and more easily freezes subjects in motion.
0.8 s
0.004 s
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