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If you’ve looked up tutorials on photography or anything like that, then you’ve probably heard of the exposure triangle.
The exposure triangle is referring to the relationship between the three primary camera settings that contribute to the exposure when you take a photo.
Shutter speed
The shutter speed determines the duration that the cameras shutter is open for to allow light to hit the image sensor. Most SLR and mirrorless cameras these days will range from 30 seconds to 1/4000th of a second and faster. It seems obvious that the chosen duration the shutter is open for will allow lots or little light to hit the sensor. A very fast shutter speed will let the light touch the sensor for a very small amount of time. This affects a couple of things primarily. Obviously it affects the exposure as less time to capture the light will mean a darker image (or underexposed) unless other settings are adjusted to make it work. The second thing and most important thing the shutter speed controls is motion.
How shutter speed affects motion in a still photo
Imagine you’re at a sports game but you’re inside a pitch dark box so you cannot see anything. All of a sudden a hole in the front of the box opens, it stays open for 5 seconds and you see through that hole a spectacular kick of the ball and then it closes. You got to see 5 seconds of that ball moving through the air.
Next time it opens, it opens for a split second and that’s it. What you’ve seen of the…
