Beginners Guide on Camera Aperture
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Beginning photographers soon realize from reading instruction manuals for their cameras or listening to seasoned photographers speak that there are terms specific to photography and they have no idea what the term means or how it applies to what they should know. Aperture is one of those terms, and it is important to understand how your camera’s aperture works. To help shed some light on aperture, what it is and what it does, we have compiled this beginner’s guide.
Aperture – What Is It?
Your camera’s aperture is the lens opening that allows light to come into contact with your film. Adjusting the opening can be done by using what is called the F-stop. If you have a digital camera this adjustment is accomplished by adjusting manual settings. Many digital cameras have a fixed aperture mode where you choose the aperture and the camera does the rest.
What is an F-stop? Aperture is measured in F numbers. You’ve probably seen an F8 or F/8 or something similar on your camera. The lower the amount of light let into the camera, the higher the F number. For example, 1/4 F value is wide open while 1/22 is closed as much as possible.
Aperture – What Does It Do?
Aperture has everything to do with how your final photograph looks. If the aperture is closed, very little light is let into the camera giving you the opportunity to expose the film longer. Slow shutter speeds and long exposures are accomplished by adjusting the F-stop.
Understanding your camera’s aperture will allow you to adjust your camera according to available lighting. In low light setting a very low F-stop will give you greater flexibility in capturing your image; maybe even without using a flash. A high F-stop will let you use a slower shutter speed in a bright setting.
Aperture – Should I Use It?
If you just want to point and shoot, you don’t need to manipulate your camera aperture as most SLR cameras will automatically adjust for your photo. But, if you want to take control of your image, adjusting the aperture directly influences the depth of field of an image. Close your aperture to make your photographs more detailed and open your aperture if you want the subject near the camera to be clear and the background to be blurry.
Experiment with your aperture so you can see how it affects your image. Shoot your picture twice using a low F-stop and again with a high F-stop to see the difference. Understanding your aperture is a valuable photographic tool and will result in a more creative pictures you'll love displaying in a picture frame on your wall.
