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Aperture

What is Aperture?
Every time you take a photograph, the
lens of your camera opens to let in
light.
The APERTURE setting determines
how much or how little your lens
opens when you take a photograph.
The bigger the aperture (f/22)the less
light
The smaller the aperture the more
light(f/2.8)

Why Aperture Really Matters

When your lens is open very wide, the background is
typically out of focus.

Wide-open aperture is good for portrait

photographs, when you don't want the
background to interfere with your subject.
When your lens is only open a small amount, everything
from the foreground to the background is in focus.

Slightly-open aperture is used for landscape

photographs, so that all of the scenery in the
photo is in focus.

Depth of field and Aperture

Aperturehasabigimpactondepthoffield.
Largeapertures(smallerf/stops)willdecreasethedepthof
field:makingthebackgroundoutoffocus
Smallapertures(higherapertures)willincreaseyourdepthof
field:makingthesubjectandthebackgroundbeincrispfocus.

F10.
7

F5.4

F3.9
F5.
4

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f/22

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f/2.8

Let me illustrate

The Aperture / Depth of Field

Relationship
When you focus your camera on an object in
space, you are also focusing on everything else
around the object that is the same distance away
from the camera.
This can also be described as focusing on a
PLANE, rather than a point.The following
illustrations will introduce you to two important
concepts: plane of focus and depth of field.

The camera is focused on GWEN STEFANI (Item B)

Since the camera is focused on B, this is where the plane of focus
is located you may have heard of a point of focus (or focal point)
but in reality everything that is on the plane of focus (even if it is to
the side but the same distance from the camera) will be in focus.
CIARA (C ) is also in focus since it is on the same plane as GWEN
The MIC, Kayne and Jay-Z are not in focus

The camera is now focused on the MIC

Since the camera is focused on the MIC, this is where the
plane of focus is located
Only the MIC is in focus
Gwen, Ciara, Kayne and Jay-z are not in focus

FSTOP TRANSLATION
f4.5 (wide open) = LARGE AMOUNT OF
LIGHT
f8.0 (somewhat open) = MEDIUM
AMOUNT OF LIGHT
f22 (almost closed) = SMALL AMOUNT OF
LIGHT

(Relationship between aperture and actual light)

What is Aperture priority?

Many digital cameras can be set to
aperture priority mode. A

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In this mode, you set the aperture and

the camera automatically selects the
shutterspeed so that the photograph
has the right exposure.