Posts Tagged ‘camera aperture’

Camera Aperture - The Basics You Need To Know

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

If you’re just starting out learning photography, then you’ve probably noticed that photographers have a language all their own. Camera aperture is just one of those common photography terms that gets used a lot without much explanation.  No need to worry though, as this article will give you a great and clear guide to understanding aperture.  Here is a breakdown on what aperture is, how it works, and why you want to use it:

Camera Aperture Explained

Put simply, camera aperture is an opening in your lens that allows light to come into contact with your film. This opening can be adjusted by using your camera’s F-Stop, or if you have a digital camera by tinkering with some of the manual settings.  Many digitals have a fixed-aperture mode in which you can choose the aperture and the camera will figure the rest out.

Aperture is measured in “F” numbers and is usually represented on your camera in abbreviations such as F8, F/8 or some variation in between. As the F value increases in number, the amount of light allowed into the camera decreases. For example, an F value of 1/4 is a wide open aperture while 1/22 is considered as closed as possible.

What Does Aperture Do?

Your camera aperture can make a significant impact on the quality of your photograph. A closed aperture will let in very little light into the camera, which will give you the chance to expose the film (or digital sensor) for a longer period of time. Adjusting the F value is an effective way to use slow shutter speeds and long exposures without overexposing your image.

Additionally, using aperture allows you to react on the fly to changes in lighting.  If you’re photographing in a bright environment, a high F stop (very closed aperture) will give you the chance to use slower shutter speeds. In contrast, when shooting in a low-light environment, opening up the aperture to a very low F value will provide you with greater flexibility in capturing your image and may even save you from requiring a flash.

When is a Good Time to Change the Aperture?

You don’t have to manipulate your camera aperture.  Many SLRs adjust the aperture automatically to great success making it easy not to worry about it. However, manually adjusting the aperture of a camera allows you to directly influence the depth of field of an image. An open aperture (low f stop) will give you very little depth of field (subjects close to the camera will be clear while the background is blurry) and a closed aperture will make everything in your photograph seem more detailed.

Knowing how to adjust your aperture and when to best use it is a powerful tool to have in your photographer’s toolbox. One way to see how it affects your picture is to take two images - one with a low F stop and one with a high F stop. Aperture is an amazing way to expand your creativity with the turn of a dial.

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Photography 101: How to Understand Aperture

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

Aperture and other photo basics can induce yawns in the most eager of new shutterbugs, but once these basics are understood, the rest of photography comes easily into focus. Aperture, ISO and shutter speed are all important terms to know, whether you have a point-and-shoot or a professional camera. This article explains the basics of aperture and provides tips on how to use it to take better pictures that you’ll be proud to display on your wall in a hanging picture frame.

To best understand aperture, consider how the irises of your eyes widen and narrow to allow more or less light into the pupil. Like your irises, the camera’s lens diaphragm widens and narrows to let in more or less light. Thus the aperture determines the exposure of the picture, that is how bright or dark it is. The aperture also has another important function which we’ll look at shortly.

“Aperture” refers to the size of this opening and is measured in F stops. The smaller the F stop, the wider the aperture. This is why it can be confusing. Actually the F stop numbers represent ratios, which is why the larger the F stop number, the smaller the aperture.

In addition to controlling light, aperture also controls depth of field. To better understand this, make a fist and hold it in front of your eye. Now gradually open your hand. See how the focus changes as you open your hand? Sure you can see more through the larger opening, but notice how when the opening in your fist was small, everything that you could see was equally in focus? Try it again, and notice how when you open your fist, the object closest to you will come into sharp focus while objects farther away will be out of focus. This is how aperture determines depth of field, that is how much of a photograph is focused.

If you are taking pictures in Auto Focus (AF), the camera will attempt to focus on what it sees as the main subject, but often it may not be what you want.

For this reason, many cameras have an Aperture Priority setting to help eliminate this problem. This allows you to set the aperture and then it automatically adjusts the shutter speed to compensate for the larger or smaller aperture. For example, if you set the aperture for a landscape, it narrows it and therefore lets in less light. The camera would automatically lengthen the time the shutter stays open so that your photo isn’t underexposed (too dark). Aperture Priority isn’t perfect, but generally this how it works.

Now if you have an SLR and are taking pictures in manual mode, you can adjust the shutter speeds and aperture separately.

Most will have a camera with preset modes such as landscape, sports or portrait. When the mode is set for landscape, the aperture automatically narrows so everything will be brought into focus. At the same time, the shutter speed automatically slows down, leaving the shutter open longer to offset the smaller amount of light coming through the lens diaphragm.

When you switch to portrait mode and focus on someone in front of you with the landscape in the background, the camera will make your subject in focus and make them stand out from the background. And it will speed up the shutter speed so the picture isn’t overexposed by the additional light allowed in with the larger aperture.

Remember: the smaller the aperture, the greater the F stop number (because it represents a ratio not a whole number) and the greater the depth of field.

Understanding photo basics like aperture is super important for using manual settings or aperture priority but also helps those using preset modes as well. Here are three preset modes you should better understand:

  • Portrait: How much the background blurs when using this mode depends on your camera and the distance between your subject and background – a minimum of 10 feet works best. This mode can be used for any subject you want to bring into focus while taking the background out of focus.
  • Landscape (also called “infinity” on some cameras) is the mode represented by a mountain peak or a figure 8. You can use this for anything where you want everything in the picture to be in focus, such as seascapes, cityscapes or your garden. And for shots of breathtaking vistas, try framing them in a panoramic picture frame to make your images really stand out.
  • Macro: This mode, often depicted by a tulip opens the camera’s aperture extra wide so you can take super close ups. Depending upon your camera, you should be able to get anywhere between an inch to a foot of your subject. When preparing to take photos outdoors of items like flowers, remember that even the smallest petal movement can cause the image to be blurry because of the slower shutter speed. Also remember to focus on the part of the subject that you want most in focus, whether it be a butterfly’s wing or a caterpillar’s eyes.

Just applying this knowledge can help you produce some beautiful photographs that you’ll be proud to display in a gallery picture frame on the wall.

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