A Beginner's Guide to Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is one of the three fundamental exposure parameters, and having a mastery of it is crucial to taking full creative and technical control of your images. This informative video will introduce you to the basics of shutter speed so you can begin to take better photos. 

Coming to you from The Slanted Lens, this great video will introduce you to the concept of shutter speed. Along with aperture and ISO, shutter speed is one of the fundamental parameters of exposure. Beyond its technical impact on your photos, you can also use it for creative purposes. If you are handholding your camera, it is a good idea to follow the reciprocal rule, which says to get sharp images, you should keep your shutter speed faster than the reciprocal of your focal length. For example, if you are shooting on a 100mm lens, your shutter speed should be at least 1/100 s or faster. Check out the video above for the full rundown.

And if you want to learn about the exposure triangle more, check out this article. If you are new to photography and looking to improve all the more, our beginner's tutorial, "Photography 101: How to Use Your Digital Camera and Edit Photos in Photoshop With Lee Morris," is currently completely free in the Fstoppers store!

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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1 Comment

always good to get some 101 course here and there.