Shooting with a camera and adjusting settings manually can be an intimidating task for the new photographer. Most veteran photographers will no doubt remember the first roll of film that was ruined by misreading the light, or the photos that were lost when the lens cover was closed. A photographer’s job is to be the conductor of a symphony of moving parts, influencing each element to ensure that the end result is more than the sum of its parts.

Without understanding each element of the photograph, it is impossible to know how they are related as a whole. So let’s begin our journey through the inner workings of photography with one of the less familiar subjects: aperture.

What is Opening?

The aperture is simply what controls the amount of light exposed on the film or on your digital camera’s sensor. It can be opened and closed using your camera’s F-Stop, which is usually a ring located around the lens between the focus ring and the camera body. If you’ve ever looked into someone’s eyes while the light was on and saw the pupil get smaller, that’s how the aperture works.

Most cameras have an f-stop range of 1.7/2.0 to 22 and the range of values ​​generally increases with the quality and cost of the camera. You can see the range of your camera by looking at the numbers around your lens. Lower F-Stops are more open and expose the film to more light, while high F-Stops close the aperture and turn off the light.

How Aperture Can Affect Images

Using your F-Stop to intentionally manipulate the camera’s aperture will allow you to change the depth of field in your photos. If you’re not familiar with the term “depth of field,” it describes how much of your photo is blurred and how much is sharp. The aperture directly affects the amount of time a frame is exposed. And, the longer the film has to absorb light, the more clarity and depth will appear in the final image.

For example, if you were to take a picture of a row of dominoes from one end using a low F-Stop number (an open aperture), you would probably see one or two dominoes clearly and the background ones blurred. Open apertures create a shallow depth of field. If you were to take the same photo with a high F Stop (a closed aperture), you would see many more dominoes in the future.

Fun experiments with Aperture

Playing around with the camera aperture can be a lot of fun once you know what you’re doing. Here are a couple of ideas to try the next time you’re shooting and want to give it a try:

• Take each picture twice: once at a high F-Stop and once at a low F-Stop.
• Challenge yourself to take a full roll at an F-stop and then switch it up.
• Put your camera in full manual and adjust the F-Stop on the fly to adjust the light

Don’t forget to adjust your camera’s shutter speed to allow more or less light (faster speeds for more light, slower speeds for less), or you may end up with overexposed or underexposed images. Many digital cameras have a fantastic option called “aperture priority mode” that allows you to choose an F Stop and it will then adjust the shutter speed automatically. It’s worth noting that the best types of lighting to experiment with aperture are on cloudy or overcast days. When faced with low or bright light, your options for F Stop values ​​will be limited.

Of course, the best way to improve your images is to never stop taking pictures. Now is the time to get out there and have fun taking photos!