Lockstein Photography

First off, Aperture is my favorite setting on the camera. I always shoot in manual mode, but the aperture setting is generally what I change the most. Your point and shoot camera may have a setting labeled A which means Aperture.

So what is Aperture? The best way for me to explain aperture is for you to…

Try This Experiment: Go into your bathroom, look in the mirror, and turn off the lights. Be patient and wait about 30 seconds. Turn the lights on and look at your eyes in the mirror. What do you see?

For a split second you should have seen that your pupils were really large and then shrunk to a size that was appropriate for the bathroom light. This happened because your eyes were trying to adjust to see in the dark. For this to happen your pupil needed to enlarge to allow more available light into your eye.

This is the exact concept your camera is using with Aperture. Your shutter speed is how fast your eye blinks, and the aperture setting is how large or small the pupil is.

Finding the balance between Aperture and Shutter is what gives you a properly exposed photograph.

For Aperture on your camera, follow this simple rule:

Smaller Number = Larger Lens Opening

This means that an Aperture number of 2.8 will allow in more light then an Aperture number of 16.

Now for the reason I enjoy Aperture so much. The larger the opening in your lens reduces your depth of field in the final photograph. This means that with the lens wide open (your aperture at the smallest number) you can have a spot of focus with the rest of the photograph a little blurry.

For example, the photograph above is of my wife Pam. This was shot at an aperture setting of 2.8. Notice how her wedding ring is in focus but her eye is slightly out of focus. On the extreme side, the photograph of the bed frame has a setting of 1.6. Having a setting of 1.6 works well in really low light, but has a very shallow depth of field.

On the flip side, you need a smaller hole in your lens when you need lots of detail. I use larger numbers when I am shooting large groups and need everything in focus.

The example of the wedding party on the playground equipment has an Aperture setting of 11. You will also use a larger aperture number when outdoors in bright sunlight. The smaller lens hole will allow less light into the camera assisting you to properly expose your photograph.

So, with this information your assignment is to get your point and shoot camera off  Auto and start shooting in Manual or Aperture mode to practice your creative photography.