Using Aperture
The camera's aperture controls the amount of light that reaches the film or digital sensor. This function plays a vital role in one of the basic aspects of photography: depth-of-field. This tutorial provides some tips on how to effectively use aperture to control depth-of-field and make your photographs more creative.
Large Apertures (f2.8 to f5.6)
Large Apertures, such as f2.8 to f5.6, produce shallow depth-of-field. Basically, this means the area of sharp focus in the picture will be small. This can be useful when you want to isolate the subject of your picture while throwing the background and other distracting elements out of focus. Some useful applications of wide apertures include portraits and wildlife closeups.
Small Apertures (f16 to f32)
Small Apertures, such as f16 to f32, increase depth-of-field which means more elements of a picture, from foreground to background, become sharply focused. This can create a distinct sense of depth to a photograph, drawing the viewer into the picture. It's no surprise that small apertures are a must for most landscape photographs.
Lens "Sweet Spots" (f8 and f11)
Due to technical aspects of lens optics, the mid-range apertures of f8 and f11 often yield the sharpest images. When neither a large nor a very small aperture is needed, these are good apertures to use to maximize the sharpness your lens can deliver.
We hope you have enjoyed this article. You can find more like it in our Photography Guides.
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