In photography, shutter speed or exposure time is the length of time when the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light, also when a camera’s shutter is open when taking a photograph. The amount of light that reaches the film or image sensor is proportional to the exposure time.

If the shutter speed is fast, it can help to freeze action completely. If the shutter speed is slow, it can create an effect called “motion blur”, where moving objects appear blurred along the direction of the motion.

Depending on the speed of the shutter , it can effect how exposed the image is. If the speed of the shutter is low, about 3 seconds then,  the image is going to be over exposed because a lot of light is getting into the camera. If the speed of the shutter is high, about 1/60 of a second , then the  image is going to have a low exposure.

The image above is the display shown on the camera when on the shutter speed setting. The TV sign in the top left corner stands for Time Value. The number  next to it shows the speed of the shutter.