Crystal Clear

APERTURE

One of the number one reasons you want to learn how to change the settings on a camera is to control the focus. Aperture is how you control how much is in focus.

To practice using aperture I when out to shoot using prio aperture setting on the DSLR. I kept my ISO at 200 and let the camera take care of the shutter speed while I changed the aperture or in other words I controlled how much the shutter opened.

The size of the opening can either keep the whole background in focus, just the subject in focus or anywhere in-between. The way it was explained to me is that it is like a water hose. If the hole is really small it will shoot really far (a photo that has a deep field of focus). If the hose has a large opening the water will just drop out and not go very far (focus is only on the subject).

Small Aperture

To begin used a small aperture. I was out at the sand dunes and wanted to take advantage of the beautiful background. While I was out there a line or dune buggies drove by and I was glad I had an aperture that would keep a deep field of focus so I could have all of the little rovers in focus.

Later taking a picture of a couple out at the sand dunes I used a small aperture so I could get their footprints in the shot and so the background didn’t just become a brown blur.

Wide Aperture 

When using a wide numbered aperture you get a beautiful bokeh effect. This is when you get that nice smooth blur in the background and just the focus is sharp.

The first photo was of a statue that had a few light fixtures hanging behind it. If there had been a small aperture the light fixtures would have made the image look confusing and messy especially since they are the same color and texture as the focus.

For the second Image there is bokeh behind and in front of the focus. The wide aperture keeps the bowl in focus but the fabric in front is blurred and kept from being a distraction.

Another note with aperture:

LIGHTING

a wider aperture will need less light and a smaller aperture will need more. This can be controlled using lighting, shutter speed, and ISO.