Basics of Photography - Understanding Aperture and F Stops
Shooting with a camera and adjust the settings manually can be a daunting task for the new photographer. Most photographers veterans will remember the first roll of film they ruined by reading the light wrong or photos they missed having a closure cap from the lens. The work of a photographer is to be the conductor of a symphony of moving parts influencing each element to ensure that the final result is more than the sum of its parts.
Without understanding each element of the photograph, it is impossible to know how they relate as a whole. Therefore begin our journey into the workings of photos with one of the most familiar topics: Aperture.
What is Aperture?
Aperture is simply what controls the amount of light exposed on the film or sensor of your digital camera. It can be opened and closed using the F-Stop on your camera, which is usually a ring around the lens ring between the focus and the camera body. If you've ever looked in someone's eyes that light was directed in and watched the pupil becomes smaller, thus opening also works.
Most cameras have an f stop range of 1.7/2.0 to 22 with the range of values generally increasing with the quality and cost of the camera. You can see the range of your device looking figures around your goal. Lower F-Stops are more open and expose the film more light, while high F-Stops close the opening and shut the light on.
How Aperture can affect Images
Use your F-Stop to deliberately manipulate the opening of the camera allows you to change the depth of field in your photographs. If you are not familiar with the term "depth of field", he describes how much of your photo is blurry and how is strong. Opening directly affects the amount of time a frame is exposed. And the more time the film to absorb light, the greater clarity and depth come through the final image.
For example, if you were to take a photograph of a line of dominoes throughout with a few F-Stop (open aperture), you should see one or two dominoes clearly and background as those blurred. Open apertures create a shallow depth of field. If you were to take the same photo with a high F Stop (closed aperture), you see a lot more of dominoes on the line.
Fun experiences with Aperture
Playing with the opening of the camera can be great fun once you have an influence on what he does. Here are some ideas to try next time you are out hunting and you want to test:
Take each picture twice - once at a high F-Stop, and once at a low F-Stop.
Challenge yourself to take a whole roll an F Stop and then put in place.
Put your camera on full employment and adjust the F-Stop on the fly to adjust the light
Do not forget to set the shutter speed of your camera to allow more or less light (faster speeds for more light, slower speeds for less), or you can end up with overexposed images or under overexposed. Many digital cameras have a fantastic option called "mode Aperture priority", which allows you to choose an F stop and then adjust the shutter speed automatically. It is interesting to note that the best types of lighting experimentation opening cloudy or overcast days. When faced with low or bright light, your options for the F stop value will be limited.
Of course, the best way to improve your images is to never stop taking pictures. Now it's time to go out and have fun taking pictures!