Can somebody explain the relationship between Aperture and Shutter speed?

Question

Can somebody explain the relationship between Aperture and Shutter speed?

Answer 1

Aperture is how much light your lens lets it. The smaller the number the more light gets in. (see picture)

http://photographertips.net/wp-content/u...

Shutter speed also has to do with how much light gets in. But the shutter speed determines how long the shutter is open. The longer the shutter is open the more light comes in.

Slower shutter speeds allow you to capture motion over time.

http://ftp.pcworld.com/pub/screencams/wa...

Faster shutter speed "stops" time. (like water will look frozen in the air)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/71/181573...

To use the two together you have to make sure not to let to much light in to your picture (your picture will be too bright and washed out). Or too little light in your picture (it will turn out dark).

So... If your aperture is letting in a lot of light then you want a fatser shutter speed. And vice versa.

If you are just starting out see if your camera will let you set one (like you shutter speed) and have the other on auto. Experiment and have fun!

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Aperture and shutter speed are two legs of exposure.  The wider the aperture the more light is let in.  Shutter speed determines how long the shutter stays open.  Aperture determines how much light is allowed to hit the sensor or film.  Shutter speed determines how long light is allowed to hit the sensor or film.  

Fast shutter speed will freeze action

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21125021@N0...

A wide aperture will blur the background( great for portraits)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21125021@N0...

Answer 3

As mentioned in all the posts,

Aperture is the size of the hole that allows light to hit the sensor/film. The SMALLER the number (ie: f/1.4, f/2.8) the BIGGER the hole. The difference is between each major F/stop is 1/2 the size of the previous hole.

That is f/1.4 is TWICE as large as f/2.0 which is TWICE as large as f/2.8, etc. F/16 then is a very small hole.

Shutter speed is the amount of time that hole is open for. (ie: 1/100th of a second, 1/500th of a second etc).

The relationship is that increasing the aperture by 1 stop requires you to double the shutter shutter speed.

ie: f/8 at 1/250sec is exactly equal (in exposure) to f/5.6 at 1/500sec.

(larger hole)       ----->                                 (smaller hole)                        

f/ 1.0 - 1.4 - 2.0 - 2.8 - 4.0 - 5.6 - 8 - 11 - 16 - 22 - 32

Common shutters speeds

30sec 15 8 4 2 1 1/2 1/4 1/8 1/15 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000 1/200 ...

Answer 4

Also key here is that they both contribute to the exposure.  

If you put your camera in an auto mode, you will see the shutter speed and aperture that was selected.  If you now select a smaller aperture (bigger F stop, lets less light in), the camera will compensate by picking a slower shutter speed (to let more light in).

The third component to a proper exposure is selecting sensitivity - called setting the ISO.  Higher numbers are more sensitve to light but at the risk of introducing more noise into the photo. 100 or 200 good for daylight or light shade, 400 for early evening.  

Answer 5

aperture known as an f. stop will allow an amount of light to pass though the lens. the smaller the number the more light it will allow though. this is how you control depth of field. having the subject in focus, and the background out of focus. or have the hole photo in focus, as point and shoot cameras does. thay have the lack of ability to control the f. stop.

shutter speed will allow you to stop motion at high speeds which is a fraction of a second. or can create motion of slow objects by decreasing the numbers ie increasing the time the shutter remains open. point and shoot cameras do not have the ability to change these 2 settings, which limits your control of the final print.

the correct exposure to an image, = f-stop, shutter speed, and the available light source

Answer 6

Think of the aperture of a camera as the pupil of your eye. The bigger it is, the more light that gets through the camera to the film, while the smaller of a number it is, the less light exposes the film. The shutter speed is how fast the shutter of the camera opens and closes, and therefore, how much light reaches the film of the camera. Generally speaking, you should use higher shutter speed with a lower aperture to control the exposure.