Shutter speed is a part of exposure.
You can set your shutter speed to vary the amount of light that falls onto your light sensitive material of choice.
- Longer/slower shutter speed = more exposure = brighter picture
- Shorter/faster shutter speed = less exposure = darker picture
Sometimes when I give a review during my photography classes, photographers get the shutter speeds mixed up. Given a choice of shutter speeds, when asked which shutter speed provides more or less exposure, sometimes photographers in the class pick the wrong answer.
It’s a fraction thing. And if you’re not comfortable with fractions it’s easy to make a mistake.
Here’s what helped me when I was learning about shutter speed and exposure and I hope it will help you.
- Think of, or look at, a one inch mark on a ruler.
- You can break an inch into 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch, 1/8 inch, 1/16 inch,etc..
- Do you understand and agree that 1/16 inch is the smallest increment of a inch listed?
- If you understand and agree that 1/16-inch is the smallest increment of an inch listed, then you understand shutter speed.
- Shutter speed is an increment of time, instead of an increments of space.