Take the camera as your eye, the aperture is the pupil of the eye. This is what allows in light. It controls the amount of light that goes inside the camera. Since the opening is adjustable, the amount of light that goes into the camera varies widely. The aperture range is better known as f stops and they range between f/1 and f/64. The more the aperture, the better the quality of the photo. However, the aperture also depends on the type of camera. You may find a camera with f/8 producing sharper photos than when an aperture is set to f/22.
- As you already know, light reflects off of different objects in all directions. This is referred to as Circles of Confusion. These Circles of Confusion are focused onto the sensor by the lens and are reduced to smaller objects as the aperture becomes smaller. As such, smaller apertures have more objects in focus. However, if the aperture used is too small, the image becomes blurry because of the blending together of the circles of confusion. This, in turn, results in what is known as diffraction.
- In almost all camera features, the amount is doubled or divided by two. As for the case of aperture, each f-stop either cut the amount of light in half or doubles it. This depends on your individual setting of the aperture. Most manufacturers calculate their f-stop numbers for a specific lens by dividing the focal length by the diameter of the aperture. The focal length normally varies from one lens to another.
- As much as the aperture size affects the exposure, it also has a significant impact on the depth of field. This is basically the amount of the image that is in focus. The best thing with apertures is that you can decide to focus on a single part of an object and blur everything else. This makes the photo look more artistic.
- However, to experience the best of what aperture can do, you need to combine it perfectly with other camera features such as shutter speed and ISO. In a number of modern cameras, when you change the aperture, the others automatically change to blend well with the aperture and bring out the best photos.
Conclusion
Photography is all about the perfect lighting. Considering that the aperture is the one that controls the amount of light that gets into the lens, it is important to know how to use it to for sharper and more artistic photos.