Understanding DSLR Shutter Speed

What is Shutter speed or exposure time?

Once you have understood the working of a DSLR camera the next step is to know about Shutter Speed. In layman’s language shutter speed is the time shutter of the camera takes to open & get closed. When the click button is pressed the shutter of the camera opens and fully exposes the camera sensor to the light that passes through the lens aperture. After the sensor is done collecting the light, the shutter closes immediately, stopping the light from hitting the sensor. The button that fires the camera is also called “shutter” or “shutter button”, because it triggers the shutter to open and close.

Measuring of Shutter Speed

Shutter speeds are measured in fractions of a second, when they are under a second. For example 1/8 means one-eighth of a second, while 1/750 means one seven-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second.

In the above figure the shutter speed has been set at eighth of a second.

Shutter Speed Values

Shutter speeds change as shown below.

Choosing a shutter speed one step faster than the current shutter speed means “increasing shutter speed by one step” and halves the amount of time the shutter is open. Choosing a shutter speed one step slower than the current shutter speed means “slowing shutter speed by one step” and doubles the amount of time the shutter is open.

Effect of Shutter Speed

Shutter speed hugely impacts a photograph. A photograph can become great and in the same scenario it can become unrecognizable if shutter speed is not adjusted accordingly. Every second impact the amount of exposure which the camera sensor receives when light passes through the aperture. Higher the domination of the shutter speed, higher is the shutter speed and vice versa.  

Shutter speed impacts the image in these ways

• When the shutter speed is high the moving objects in the frame gets a clear picture and when the shutter speed is slow the moving objects gets blurry.
• When the shutter speed is high the sensor gets exposed for less time to light thus the image would have controlled lighting effect (depending upon the lighting used at the shoot).
• When the shutter speed is low the sensor gets exposed for more duration to light thus the image would have lots of light. 

In first (Right corner) clicked image the shutter speed is high almost 1/500 and as a result the object is clear while it is in motion. In the middle image the shutter speed has been reduced to 1/160 due to which the moving part becomes blurry. In last (Left Corner) image the shutter speed is almost near to 1/40 which creates more blurry impact. 

In case there is lot of light at the location and shutter speed is quite low then the image would come out similar to this one. 

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What is a DSLR camera?

Once you are through with the use of mobile phone camera & digital camera, it’s time to move up the ladder.  The next step is to own a DSLR Camera but before that, you should know what actually a DSLR Camera is. Using a DSLR without understanding it is similar to driving a car without any training. 

DSLR Camera

A digital single-lens reflex camera (also called a digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera combining the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor, as opposed to photographic film. Earlier in a photographic SLR Camera instead of digital imaging sensor a Photography film was used on which image was captured and after processing it could be printed on paper.

Working of DSLR Camera.

We all know light travels in straight direction and it is main element for photography. Without the source of light, photography cannot be done. The main parts of a DSLR Camera are

• Lens
• Reflex Mirror
• Matte Focusing Screen
• Pentaprism
• Eyepiece
• Focal-Place Shutter
• Sensor

Each of these parts performs key role in photography such as

• Lens helps in focusing, zooming in out and has the part which control the aperture. The light is passed through the lens, which is then reflected by the reflex mirror.
• The Reflex Mirror helps in correcting the inverse image passed through the lens. The image is then projected through the Pentaprism and could be seen in the area of eye piece by the person. This entire process is in real time without any delay.
• Behind the Reflex Mirror, the Focal-Place Shutter mechanism is located, which controls the speed of the shutter. The speed of the shutter is similar to the lid of the eye, the higher the shutter speed; the lesser is the time duration for the exposure of the light and vice versa.
• Whenever a click button is clicked the reflex mirror goes down with controlled shutter speed and image is imposed on the sensor, which captures it in digital format. 

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Things you need to know before clicking a photograph

Before you start using a Camera the very first foremost step you need to do is to generate a mindset for the photograph. By thoughts & mind set we mean to say the idea, concept, understanding of the subject and the way you want it to look after getting clicked. There are certain things what you need to know before clicking a photograph which are

1. What the photograph is all about: You should have a clear vision of what you want to show in your photograph. Is it a story? Is it a news article or a wedding photograph?

2. Frame to be captured: By frame we mean the entire surrounding which is to be captured in a single image. A photographer needs to exactly understand what all things he or she wants to show in that particular image.  By eliminating few unwanted things an average image could be turned into an attractive image. 

3. Understand the lighting: Different type of lighting makes different effects on the photograph. A simple photograph can be made dramatic by use of few color lights, for example – during a stage show lights play an important role.  Special emphasis need to be put in night or low lighting and it is advisable to click photograph in soft lighting.

4. Colorful or black & White: A photograph in colors might be able to communicate happiness but at the same time a black & white photograph might communicate it as a memory. Both have different effect on the viewer. For some black & white photographs are dull and for few they are just elite. So, the photograph needs to decide according to him or her.

 5. Angles: Different angles can change the perception of the image. A image clicked from the bottom of a subject can make it look like huge thing in similar way a image clicked from a corned can make a room seems too large. So, a photographer needs to understand what angle he or she should take and outcome of it.

 6. Can you feel the emotions: While clicking, the photographer needs to introspect whether he is able to connect with the subject or not. The deeper the bond with subject the better is the understanding of the photograph. Emotions could be related to sadness, enjoyment, care, guilt and every human feeling known.

 7. Color combination & background: A photograph needs to understand how he or she can highlight something. Color combination & background plays a crucial role in a photographer.

By practicing above mentioned points & understanding them a person can improve his or her basic photography skills to a great extent. 

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