Contents
Shutter Speed
Shutter Speed is the length of time that the sensor is exposed to light to create the photograph. It is measured in seconds or fractions of a second.
The full stops for shutter speed are: 30”, 15”, 8”, 4”, 2”, 1”, . sec, 1/2,1/4., 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000, 1/8000
When shooting with a cameraphone and the Lightroom Photoshop app, you can set the shutter speed of your cameraphone between 1/10,000 and 1/4 sec.
Doubling the time, doubles the amount of light that reaches the sensor.
A good rule of thumb when shooting with a camera is: Any shutter speeds slower then 1/60 require the use of a tripod. When shooting with a cameraphone, you will need a tripod to shoot at 1/15 or slower.
Capturing of Motion
Your choice of shutter speed will change the way motion is captured in the photograph.
Frozen Motion-Motion is stopped and captured in the frame with a fast shutter speed.
![](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pelkacomd1340d087fall22/files/2022/09/CARNEGIE_2700003.jpg)
![](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pelkacomd1340d087fall22/files/2022/09/TQV37A3M65FCDERDFOM3KG65VU-1-1024x576.jpg)
![](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pelkacomd1340d087fall22/files/2022/09/joeBrook3-1024x678-1.jpg)
![](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pelkacomd1340d087fall22/files/2022/09/joeBrook2-688x1024-1.jpg)
How to freeze motion:
- Use a shutter speed of 1/ 500, 1/1000 or faster
Blurred motion-moving elements blur with a longer shutter speed.
![](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pelkacomd1340d087fall22/files/2022/09/Coney_island_sandcastle_octopus-1024x819-1.jpg)
![](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pelkacomd1340d087fall22/files/2022/09/unisphere-1024x819-1.jpg)
![](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pelkacomd1340d087fall22/files/2022/09/28250826-1.jpg)
![](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pelkacomd1340d087fall22/files/2022/09/28250827-1.jpg)
![](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/pelkacomd1340d087fall22/files/2022/09/28250828-2.jpg)
How to blur motion:
- Use a slower shutter speed – 1/4 sec to 30″ or even longer
- Direction-if the subject moves parallel to the picture plane there is more visible movement than if the subject moves toward or away from the camera.
- Focal length-a subject will appear blurrier when photographed with a telephoto lens than when photographed with a wide-angle lens.
Timing
The exact moment that you take the picture is as important as how long the shutter speed is. This is often called:
The Decisive Moment: A term coined by Cartier Bresson- “the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression.”
![](https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/comd1340ol89fall2020/files/2020/08/ASLAMIG_10313361288.jpg)
Photographer: Henri Cartier-Bresson
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