*Author and House of Rose Contributor, Jessica – One July Living.

This is a series of posts teaching you how to understand your camera.  Be sure to check out 3 Steps to Better Pictures and Introduction to Manual Mode to get caught up.

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Have you been practicing shooting in manual?  I sure hope so!

Today we’re going to talk about my favorite corner of the exposure triangle –aperture.

As a refresher, aperture is the setting that ultimately determines your depth of field.  You know that beautiful, buttery, blurred background effect you love in pictures?  That’s aperture.

 And what about the ability to capture an entire landscape of rolling wheat, mountains, and sky in focus?  That’s aperture.

Understanding aperture is an essential building block to giving you the WOW images you’re after.

Let’s talk numbers…

So what do the numbers really mean when you’re setting your aperture?  To understand that, we’re going to take a peek inside your camera’s lens…

Aperture is essentially the size of the hole inside your lens, which is measured in something called f stops {more photography jargon to impress all your friends!}.

The smaller your aperture setting number =

• the larger the hole in your lens
• the shorter the depth of field {less will be in focus}
• the MORE light you’re letting into your lens.

The larger the aperture setting number =

• the smaller the hole in your lens
• the greater the depth of field {more will be in focus}
• the LESS light you’re letting into your lens.

Putting it into practice…

I know I’m a visual learner, so let’s take a look at some examples.

Example 1:

Settings: ISO 400, f 2.7, shutter speed 1/320 sec

Example 2:

Settings for both images:  ISO 160, f 3.2, shutter speed 1/640 sec

Note: I used this example to show you how your depth of field will change based on WHERE you choose your focal point.  Choose wisely – it can completely transform an image!

Example 3:

Settings: ISO 100, f 8.0, shutter speed 1/200 sec

Cause and effect…

So you MIGHT be thinking…ok great, I want a blurred, buttery background so I’ll use a low number for my aperture setting.  Or I want LOTS o’ stuff in focus so I’ll choose a high number for my aperture setting – EASY PEASY!  … not so fast.

Remember our good friend the exposure triangle?  ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture.  When you change one setting in the exposure triangle, you will need to adjust the others to maintain proper exposure.

 

Here’s my perfectly exposed image of a not so little kitty we met at the zoo the other day.  This was taken with an aperture of f 2.5.

Settings: ISO 560, f 2.5, shutter speed 1/2000 sec 

Note: I did that intentionally because the smaller depth of field helps minimize the view of the fence.  See how it looks like his cute lil head is sticking out of the fence and about ready to come pounce us?

Now what happens if I decide to shoot at an aperture of f 11.0, BUT DON’T CHANGE ANY OTHER SETTINGS?!

Settings: ISO 560, f 11, shutter speed 1/2000 sec

Who turned out the lights?

So let’s think about what just happened to my image here.  By increasing my aperture to f 11 and not changing any other settings, I significantly reduced the amount of light flowing through my lens.  And since I didn’t change any other settings to compensate for that change, I ended up with a severely underexposed image.

Translation – not good.

How would we compensate for the higher aperture in our example?

Let’s say I really wanted that higher aperture of f 11 because I desperately wanted a greater depth of field and wanted to see those cars in the parking lot.  I would have to do one or both of the following to ensure proper exposure:

• REDUCE shutter speed to allow in more light
• RAISE ISO to increase the light sensitivity of my DSLR’s sensor

Now remember how those changes will impact your image:

• Reducing your shutter speed means the image won’t be captured as quickly.  If you reduce your shutter speed TOO much, you will end up with a blurred image.
• Raising your ISO will mean more grain and reduced quality of your image.

Here’s where my settings ended up in order to compensate for an aperture setting of f 11 but still have my image as well exposed as the first example.

Settings: ISO 1100, f 11, shutter speed 1/250 sec

So now that you’re an enlightened photographer…YOU need to make the best decision for your images and find the perfect balance of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to create the image you want with the best exposure and image quality.

Fun, right?  I love being smarter than my camera.  You will too!

Your Assignment:

• Learn how to adjust your three manual settings – aperture, ISO, and shutter speed if you haven’t already.
•  Set your aperture to a LOW f stop {for a blurred background} and adjust your ISO and shutter speed in order to keep your image properly exposed.
• Take the SAME picture, but this time set your aperture to a MID-RANGE f stop and adjust your ISO and shutter speed accordingly to keep your image properly exposed.
• Again, take the SAME picture, but this time set your aperture to a HIGH f stop {for the maximum depth of focus} and adjust your ISO and shutter speed accordingly to keep your image properly exposed.
• After this exercise, celebrate.  You’re wrapping your head around the elusive exposure triangle!

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