Shutter speed is just one of many ways to control a camera's exposure, and to custom tailor photographs and film for an artistic, or documentarian effect.!

!Shutter Speed Mechanics!!By employing shutter speed, you control the speed or length of time a camera's sensor is exposed to light. With a very fast shutter speed, for example, 1/500, 1/250 the camera's sensor is exposed to light for one 500th of a second, or one 200th of a second. This means just a tiny fraction of the subject is captured by the camera.!!When you use a slow shutter speed, you are exposing the camera for a period such as a full second, or even longer. These shlow shutter speeds are very senstive to movement, so one would normally use them only for a very low light situation with a tripod to offset minor movements in the hand, or for a photographic effect.!!Shutter Speed Effects!!As an effect of a fast shutter speed, the image captured would be just a "snapshot" of the subject or action in focus taking place. Thus if you are watching something in motion, a fast shutter speed, depending on its degree of speed, would give you a freeze frame of that action.!!For instance, if your subject is a spinning object, a fast shutter speed will show that object suspended in motion, or as if it has stopped. If you are using a slow shutter speed, you will have the effect of blur, in which the object's motion can be seen. While this works for film too, it is called trails. While usually plays back at 24 frames per second unless in slow motion, one can still set the shutter speed on a video camera in order to see the (somewhat subtle) effects of trails. This is better seen in slow motion.!!Shutter Speed in Use!!In terms of film, using shutter speed is best seen in slow motion. In the work of Wong Kar Wai, he often employs slow motion where the film is slowed down, but the shutter speed is unchanged. This creates the dreamlike effect of blurr and slurred motion, where action is fuzzed over and somewhat unclear. Where a movie like The Matrix uses a high frame rate in order for the slow motion to be sharp and exact. When shot in 60 frames per second, and played back in 24 frames per second, the image looks clear and sharp.