What the heck is aperture??
We’ll talk about that in a minute.
First, you need to understand that people take photographs…not cameras. It does not matter what kind of camera you have. The type of camera that you have might allow you to do certain things that others can’t, but it doesn’t make you a good photographer. It just doesn’t. I have watched many people drop thousands of dollars on the highest-end photographic equipment and you know what? They still sucked at photography. Trust me, I used to manage a retail photography shop. You wouldn’t believe how bad some of the photographers are who own the best equipment in the world.
And again, that’s because people take photographs…not cameras. With that said, we are going to explore some of the ins and outs of photography this week no matter what type of camera that you have. It could be a $50 point-and-shoot or a $5,000 digital SLR.
Now I will say this, it would be nice if you have some control over the cameras settings, such as aperture or shutter speed…or ISO at least! (more on what those terms mean later) Just know that whatever you have, the goal is to get the best possible photographs that you can get. Don’t expect to go 200mph in a Ford Pinto and we’ll be on the same page. More bells and whistles will allow you the opportunity for different kinds of photographs…however, you can never underestimate the artistic potential of a creative photographer with a $10 camera.
Moving right along…
I’d like to start things off with a little info about APERTURE. I want to start here because I tend to do the most “photographic alterations” with aperture. I change the look and feel of my photographs with aperture. I keep my camera in “Aperture Priority” mode at least 90% of the time. This mode allows me to change apertures on the fly…blah, blah, blah…
Here. Look at this.
Imagine these are wine corks placed on a diagonal approximately 2 inches back from one another. This should be easy to envision…as that’s what these are.
Now check out this illustration that I’ve created to show you what different apertures AKA f/stops can do for you. It’s all about depth-of-field baby.
You like that, don’t you? Go ahead. Look at it again. Sure. Another time is fine. I’ll be right here whenever you’re ready.
…
…
Done checking it out? Cool. You see what’s happening there right? That’s right. The depth-of-field is changing with the aperture. You see, the aperture is the opening in which light is able to travel through a lens on your camera. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got an automatic point-and-shoot, or a really advanced camera with lots of interchangeable lenses. It’s still working with apertures.
Look! I stole this photo from the aperture page on wikipedia.
Image #1 shows a lens with a “Large” or “Fast” aperture. It’s f/1.8 to be exact. Image #2 shows the same lens with the aperture changed to something “Small” or “Slow”. f/22 to be exact. The larger the number, the smaller the opening in the lens. That’s why it is considered slow…it will slow down the time it takes to expose the photograph. F-Stops are the measurements of apertures. Examples of F-Stops would be; f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.8, f/3.5, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/13, f/16…and so on and so fourth.
Honestly…if these numbers mean nothing to you, that’s perfectly okay. Here’s what you need to know:
Small Number = Large Aperture
Smaller aperture numbers, or f-stops, indicate a larger opening in the lens. This allows more light to come through the lens and a faster exposure. It also creates a more shallow depth-of-field.
Here’s an image that I shot at the zoo yesterday. I had my aperture set to f/1.4 - This created a nice, sharp foreground image of the foliage with some elephants blurred out in the background.
f/1.4
Large Number = Small Aperture
Larger aperture numbers, or f-stops, indicate a smaller opening in the lens. This will allow less light to come through the lens and makes for a longer exposure time. It will also create a deeper depth-of-field.
Here’s another image shot in the same area, with the aperture set to f/11. This created an image that is sharp in the foreground and in the background. The depth-of-field grew much larger with the smaller aperture.
f/11
Confused yet? Here’s an image that shows both large and small apertures at the same time:
f/32 on top…f/5 on the bottom
Big number (such as f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32) means big focus. Big depth-of-field. Big exposure times.
Little number (such as f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.8, f/3.5) means small focus. Small depth-of-field. Small exposure times.
More examples:
f/1.4 - Extremely shallow depth-of-field
f/1.8
f/8 - Wide depth-of-field with foreground and background in sharp focus.
f/22
Aperture is a part of every camera/lens combo. You may or may not have complete control over aperture depending on what camera you have. If you’ve got a point-and-shoot camera, the aperture control might look like this:
Most small cameras have a portrait and landscape function within the “scene” menu. What does portrait do? It changes the aperture to a smaller number aperture…this will blur out the background and create a nice, shallow depth-of-field portrait.
What does landscape mode do? It changes the aperture to a bigger number which will create an image with a wide depth-of-field.
How about on a SLR camera?
The “A” doesn’t stand for auto. It stands for Aperture Priority. This is the mode I use most often on my camera. It allows me to quickly change the aperture. Having a quick control over this function allows me to choose from a variety of photographs in my head.
I would love for you to check out these sites for more info:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/
Feel free to ask questions and even answer questions within the comments of this post. I’ll be checking back in later today to answer whatever I can regarding aperture.
63 Comments
I’m looking forward to your “photo class” series. I learned a lot from today’s class. Very clear explanations. I’m heading outside to try some photos. THANKS!
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Great post! I’m off to show my basic camera how “I” take pictures.
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That’s a really nice explanation. Clear and easy to understand. One of the things I hate most is when I’m trying to get a nice, crisp landscape view. I’ll scoot the aperture out to F/11 or so and still can’t get the crispness I’m wanting…even with a wide angle shot and relatively fast shutter speed with plenty of light. Either using manual or auto focus…using either Aperture Pri. or Manual modes…
thoughts?
-Chris
Weather Moose
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Thank you so much. I knew where the on button was but not much else. Your explanation was simple enough I’m off to try new things.
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Ryan - you rock! And you are a fantastic teacher!
THANKS!
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I love shots with shallow depth of field and though I do not have a DSLR, I have a point and shoot that lets me have an aperture priority. The problem I have with shallow depth of field shots is getting the camera to focus on the right part of the photo. My camera seems to default to focusing on the center and leaving other parts of the photo pretty blurry. I’ve flipped through my manual a few times but haven’t found a good solution for this.
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That is very helpful!! One question…if you set the camera to A (aperture priority), then how do you change the ap? By the lens or the controls on the camera?
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*that sound you just heard was the light bulb turning on in my head* Thanks for clarifying this!! Very helpful… off to play with my camera…
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Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have a Sony CyberShot point and shoot, and have been using the settings you speak of here. I just never knew what they were actually doing! You are absolutely right when you say it is the person taking the pictures, and not the camera. My husband has a Canon XSi, which is WAY fancier than my Sony, but when we compare pictures, mine are just as good, or sometimes better, than his. I think this class is awesome, and I’ll be checking it out everyday~!
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To be honest, I almost did not read this post because I have had aperture explained to me several times and I have never really understood it. I loved the cork pictures and now what aperture is has finally “clicked” for me. Thanks! Great post.
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I love it. I am excited to see what else you have in store!
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Helpful. Thanks.
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I like that the explanation of all this is in simple terms. Now I get it. Thanks. So.. .umm.. . can you do a section on macro function? More often than not mine turn out blurry and I can’t figure out what I am doing wrong.
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Thank You ,Thank you, I don’t feel like a dummy now that you explained all this so I could understand it.
Can’t wait to see what else I can learn.
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I have the same question as Debbie S - I have the dial of my SLR Camera set on the A, but how do I change the aperture?
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Thanks, Ryan. I didn’t know about those settings on my point and shoot. So now I’ll play with that a little.
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Ooooh, this is very helpful, and I have a dummy question for you as well. What exactly is good lighting? Obviously my photos tend to look good if I am outdoors, the sun is out, and the sky is blue, and they look worse if the sky is cloudy. But in general, should I try to have the sun behind me? Directly above? Are there any tips/tricks to dealing with a gray sky?
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I just bought a new camera so these lessons couldn’t come at a better time. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to read more!
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Ok, question. I get smaller aperture = longer exposure time. BUT, how does that translate in real time? Sometimes my camera takes several seconds after I depress the button to actually TAKE the picture, and if I’m not perfectly still, the whole thing comes out blurry. Is this aperture related? It’s not like I walk around with a tripod attached to my hip, so a lot of my photos come out a mess because of this.
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SO SO helpful!! I’m excited to see where this class will go!
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I can’t wait to start fooling around with this. I always just let my camera do whatever it wanted, with just a bare concept of how to change things around. Thank you so much for this, I look forward to future installments!
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This has been one of the simplest and best explanations I’ve been given about apertures. Thank you!
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To Sara~
Not sure what camera you have, but try this- point your camera at what you want it to focus on, press the shutter 1/2 way to lock that focus, then re-frame your photo how you’d like it to look. As long as you keep the shutter pressed 1/2 way, it shouldn’t change the focus, even if you move your camera. Hope it helps….
~Kelly
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Thanks for such a clear, simple lesson! I’m in the baby stages of learning how to use my camera.
I’d love a future lesson on how to photograph people - obviously, you’re quite good at that! (And have lovely subjects, too).
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Thank for this info. I have a DSLR (Canon EOS Rebel XSi, to be exact) and am still learning how to control my aperture. One question: How do you control WHERE the focus should be when you’re taking a photo with a shallow depth-of-field? (i.e. the left-most cork in the photo was the focus and the point of the knife was the focus.)
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Great teaching post.
My camera has a separate button for scene. It has standard, sports action, night view, night portrait, macro & landscape. I played with it looking at each setting. I assume these options are the same at the apertures?
I guess I’ll just have to play with it to see what kind of shots I can get with them. I tried to take a pic of the moon last night with the night view… all I can see are what looks like lights in the dark. No definition at all. Next time I’ll try the night portrait and see what it does.
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Ah! I finally understand Aperture Priority! I always used Manual and had to do too much work for my wee little brain!
One desperate question…I will be shooting in a sanctuary tomorrow night and it will be low lighting. I am not allowed to use my flash and the lowest aperture on any of my lenses is f/4. I do have a 50mm lens that goes as low as f/1.8, but it does not zoom. Any helpful hints???? Thanks!
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THANK YOU for the visual on the point-and-shoot! I’ve stopped reading photography tutorials because everyone talks DSLR and I can never figure out what the heck to do on my cheap little Canon. You just made my day!
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Ok, I’ve had my camera (Nikon D40x) since November.
Two things -
1. I am LIVING PROOF that spending more money on a camera DOESN’T make you a better photographer. I know nothing except that I like it more when I don’t use flash. And that I like to take pics of my kids.
2. I had no idea what that A stood for.
And I have no idea how to adjust the amount of aperature when I am on A.
Dang, I’m gonna have to keep reading and learn what the M, S & P mean too!
~K
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I’m so glad you started doing these tutorials. I love PW’s tutorials just as much, but I love the visuals from this. I’m a visual learner.
I’m like katehopeeden. I, too, have a D40. But I use my Aperture Priority mode quite frequently. I hope you go over lenses in your tutorials, because even though I have a D40 and use aperture, my pics still don’t come out looking as good as yours or PW’s. I’m thinking lenses make a difference.
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Dude, You rock! Thanks!
I studied these once and read a book about them, but somehow it doesn’t really “stick” most the time. I appreciate a simple overview to refresh my memory
Looking forward to your next posts.
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I’m so excited, my point and shoot has a manual mode where I can change the aperture. I’m off to practice. Thanks
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I took a class from you when I was 16 and I sure didn’t get what you were talking about but that could have been I was giggling with Carol the whole time. I think I get it this time but I need a camera to experiment with again. Good job explaining this!
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Loved today’s session!
Thanks for sharing all this with us.
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Thanks so much for showing us how to do that on a little point and shoot. Will we still get the same result like you do in the 1.4 or 2.8 that you show? Is it better to zoom in on the shot or get close? I’m very new to this and would like to get better photos of the food I post on my blog.
Thanks again!
PS- WHat does SLR stand for?
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I always shoot in Aperture mode, but I’m still trying to understand how it works exactly. I think it’s starting to sink in - this tutorial helped a lot!! Thank you!
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I stumbled upon your blog off of a friends and I am glad that I did. Great example of aperture. I just took a photography class so I understood the terminology, but did not fully get the concept until seeing your example. Thanks! I look forward to your other posts.
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This is probably a dumb question and I probably have no business having this camera but I have a Nikon D60. Somehow I managed to make a light hystogram appear on my screen when viewing pictures. Does anyone know how I turn this off? I’ve looked through the manual and am finding nothing.
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Ernestine-If it’s like my camera, you just push the arrow button (the round button with up,down, right and left) up until it goes back to the normal display. It took me a long time to figure that out, too.
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Amy. One try (arrow up) and it worked! Suffering all this time for nothing. Thank you! Thanks to Ryan to for holding this photo class too!
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Thanks for the simple explanation. I spent the afternoon outside experimenting after reading your tutorial. I am a faithful reader of PW and even she has never made it quite as easy to understand. THANKS THANKS THANKS !!!
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Ernestine- Trust me. I felt like such a goober when I finally figured it out. I think mine was like that for a couple of months. haha
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WOW! I have a CanonPowerShot SX110 IS and I had no idea it had an aperture setting. On my camera it is the “AV” on the rotating knob on the top. I just took a few photos with it and changed the aperture on each one and I’m so excited now! I also discovered I have settings in there for “beach”, “snow”, “fireworkds”, etc. I never knew I had these because I usually just keep it on “auto”. Thanks for this post! You’ve been VERY helpful!
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I hope you will do more posts like this! I have many more buttons on my camera that remain unused!
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Keep this up! I hope it’s okay if I link to you? I’m creating an area on my blog for photography help.
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Thanks for the link to the Ken Rockwell website. I’m reading his version of the Nikon D90’s user guide and its a lot easier and more interesting to read than the user guide that came with my camera.
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Thanks a bunch!! I actually get it!!
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PR~ Thank you for a very well written, well illustrated post on aperature! Your visual with the overlayed photos was amazing and I’m jealous that you can do it (I suck at web-stuff), I can’t even create a blog! lol
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Here’s a question I have and there is probably a very easy answer in some obvious place, but I’m me, so I won’t ever find it on my own. When you take pictures in the “A” mode are they always in the RAW category (see, I’m talking about things I know very little about, so excuse wacky wording, please) which are huge when you put them on your computer, or can they be more along the lines of what the JPEGs come out like, smaller files or whatever what-have-you. I think there is supposed to be a question mark at the end of that sentence but by the time I got there it looked funny. Please help me.
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Thank you so much for the cork picture! For the visual learner in me, that was exactly what I needed to finally understand what the heck aperture was. Now I get it!
I’m excited for the rest of your classes! Thanks!
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Ok, that was the first tutorial, I’ve read that didn’t automatically get switched (in my head) to,”Blah.. blah.. blah… Camera… blah… blah ..”
That was great. Looking forward to the rest. Thanks!
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“I am sorry to say that this might be a classic case of “shutter-mashing”.”
I’m pretty good with the “half-press, focus, press completely” method. So I wonder if it is a camera issue. I’ll have to play around with the settings some more, since it doesn’t always happen, and see if I can figure out exactly what settings are making it happen.
Thanks!
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Hi Ryan,
Over the weekend it was really sunny and I was trying to get some great portrait type shots of kids - I used the lowest aperture setting (1.8) - my photos ended up being whited out. Should I have also messed with the ISO or shutter speed to prevent that?
Thanks!
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Wow!! Thanks Ryan for a great {& easy to understand} tut.
I have a pretty basic P&S {FinePix A920} that I’m able to get some pretty decent pictures with, but your explanations of aperture that include tips for a P&S really help.
I’ll be stopping back for more!
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Thanks! I’ll take both of my cameras and try out a higher ISO with one and my 50mm/crop idea with the other. I REALLY appreciate it!
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You know, I never truly understood this until you daid big aperture = big focus. Seriously. I totally get it now. THANK YOU!
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Ryan,
Thank you for your Photo Class. Your Aperture explanation is great. Helped me out a lot. I’m going to get out and shoot some photos and try these different settings. I’ve been a “Auto” shooter for years now and this will hopefully free me up. BTW on a another subject…I tried your bread-in-a-pot recipe. Delicious! Thanks man!
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This is great! And so is your post today about shutter priority. I just got a new Canon Rebel xs, so I’ve been playing with it A LOT lately. I love the look of a shallow depth of field, so I’m always shooting in AP mode. By problem is that my images in AP always come out looking so BLUE(especially compared to shooting in Auto, or one of the other pre-set modes). I end up trying to correct them in Photoshop, but they never look quite right. How can I remedy that so they come out looking good SOOC?
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Great posts! I also spent time in a photo store (process c-41? anyone?) and alot of people have been spoiled by the point, shoot, and view of digital photography. Even if all people gain from this one post is, “I can change what is in focus?” you will have improved the quality of a million graduation, birthday, night out, vacation slideshows.
Now when do we get to bracketing?? -chris
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Thanks for the lesson. I too am a visual learner and your explanation finally clicked for me. Nice job, I think you must be a natural teacher. I am hopeful to finally get my first DSL by July. I’m having a difficult time deciding on the Canon Rebel or Nikon D60. I feel like I don’t understand enough to make the decision. But, your posts have helped me to understand a bit more.
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Holy crap, I’ve finally found someone that will hold my hand and talk to me like I’m a cute but stupid 3-year-old when it comes to figuring out how the heck to work my new Canon Rebel. THANK YOU. I even bought the “Canon Rebel for Dummies” book and it was still all blurring together in my head, until I came here. You, sir, are made of win and I will be forever grateful.
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Wowzers! This was great, Ryan! You explained this in a way that even my 40-year-old-mother-of-three brain can handle. And that’s sayin’ sumpin.
Thanks!
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I’ve very recently begun to teach myself photography, and I’ve been very confused about things like this up until now. You explained it so well! I’ve looked through several websites and books trying to figure out how to understand how a camera works, and not one thing has made sense to me yet. This is the first time I’ve truly understood something about cameras! Thank you so much, I’m so glad I found out about your blog.
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[...] a telephoto lens of some sort for a while now. They make a decent version of this fast aperture lens that is a much better value. To be sure…it’s probably not as super-sharp as a [...]