The Shutter Speed In Your Camera

If you want to take clear pictures with your digital camera, then, you need to understand the shutter speed setting.

What is it? Well, you can find it in your camera with numbers like 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500, etc. They are actually fractions of a second. For example, 60 is 1/60 of a second and 125 is 1/125 of a second.

This means... it is the time set for the light to expose the photograph. So, if you set it for 125, the shutter will open for 1/125 of a second to take the picture.

Shutter speed seems to control the amount of light to expose your photographs... but, it also controls motion of your photographs. Faster settings (above 125) can freeze movements. The slower settings can show some blurs in the subject.

So, what is the best shutter speed setting for your digital camera? Well, there is no standard setting. It depends what picture you want to take. It depends what you want your picture to look like. Do you want to capture someone in the air after a jump? Or do you want to put some blurriness of someone running so it looks like there is some movement effect?

It is not an easy answer. The best way to find out is to test. Try and try several shutter speed settings. See how they come out. This is not a hard setting to master... but it does take some effort to understand and learn.

Just remember... in the slower shutter speed settings (below 60), you might want to consider using a tripod. The shaking of your hands can affect the picture sharpness.

Go ahead... take some pictures of someone running. Take some pictures of moving cars. Take some pictures of a water stream. Use different shutter speeds in your digital camera. In no time, you will see how simple shutter speed can be useful for taking great photographs.

David