Understanding Aperture

Aperture is one of the two (the second being shutter speed) of the most important aspects in photography. If used the wrong way it can ruin your pictures-but hopefully when you finished reading this you will be able to improve your pictures with a new-found knowledge of aperture.

**I will be talking a lot in reference to f/stops/numbers- f/stops/numbers are the same thing. It is the numbers used to change your aperture setting.**

Aperture is found in the lens- not the camera body. In the lens there is something like a door, and the f/numbers control how much the door is open, and how much light is let in.( You can control your aperture by using the AV-Aperture Value- setting on your camera)

Aperture controls how much light comes through a lens and how much clarity is shown in the background .The lower the aperture (f/stop numbers) the more light comes through the lens.

The higher the aperture (f/stop numbers) the less light comes through the lens.

Aperture also controls the depth of field (DOF) in the background of the picture. The lower the f/stop numbers the more unclear the background it. The higher the f/stop number the more clear the background gets.

Got that?

Example of increasing anddecreasing sizes of aperture.

f/3.5 is the one of the lower apertures- where the light comes in the MOST. Making the shutter speed faster.As you can see in the picture below blurring out the background, makes the main subject pop, and the softening in the background adds a good colour contrast.

An example of a low aperture level:(f/3.5)

A low f/stop number is wonderful for taking portraits.Having the distorted background draws brings the right amount of attention to the subject.

This is using a higher f/number, making the background

as clear as the person. There is too much "distraction"

going on behind the person, taking the focus off

the main subject.

f/20 is a higher aperture number. A f/stop of 20 would show the main subject and it's background to be in equal focus. The higher f/number is best for taking landscape pictures.It evens out the focus, making it clear in all areas. If ever taking portraits of people with a high aperture number it is best used when you want to see a landscape, or another scenic place behind you.

Example of a portrait with a high f/stop.

Example of a high f/stop with landscape.

I hope that this post has helped you understand aperture. Once you get the hang of it, you will truly see a difference in your pictures.