To an advance persons in the field of photography, Aperture is a common relatable and applicable term and one of the three components of the so-called, Exposure triangle aside ISO and Shutter Speed. But to starters, it's still a vague idea that's more of a theory that practical. In this article, I will be shedding light on it's role in a digital camera and showing you examples Of what I have personally achieved using it.
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Exposure Triangle |
Just like the Iris in human eyes, aperture basically is the size(big or small) of physical opening or hole in the camera lens that allows light into the sensor. It's one of the three elements of the exposure triangle as given in the picture above. This idea should be put in mind so that it's application can come easily. The aperture(small or big opening) is measured in numbers represented by F/2.8, F/4, F/8.........F/16 depending on the camera. The higher the 'F' number the lower the aperture size and the lower the light that goes into the camera and vice versa.
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Decreasing in aperture from left to right. |
1. It determines the the image exposure.
2. It controls depth of Fields.
3. It's broadens specialization in photography.
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1. APERTURE effect on image Exposure.
In application, F/2.8 with lower number means big aperture which allows more light into the camera as twice as F/4 with higher 'F' number. Generally image taken from big aperture is usually brighter than the small one. See the pictures of one of my clients below to drive home the point..
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F/2.8/larger aperture= more Bright image. |
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F/4 smaller aperture= less bright image |
2. APERTURE effect on image DEPTH OF FIELD.
Aside exposure, aperture also plays a key role in determining depth of Field. Depth of Field is the distance away from the camera lens that is in focus or clear in the image. The aperture to depth of Field principle is, "The bigger the aperture the shallower the depth of Field while the smaller the aperture the deeper or the depth of field". Although, many things also affect the depth of field aside the aperture such as object distance, type of lens etc which I explained in my previous post titled "Understanding depth of Field". See the effect small and big aperture on the depth of field in the images below.
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Big aperture= shallow depth of field |
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Small aperture=Large depth of Field. |
3. APERTURE BROADENS PHOTOGRAPHY FIELDS.
Yes!!! The result of depth of field is controllable by aperture. This gives different photography fields. Example includes, Portrait photography and Landscape photography.
In these two fields, major control that distinguishes them from each other is basically the depth of field which is under the influence of aperture and lens type. Portraits photograpers use big aperture to obtain close ups of artist or players with completely blurred background, hence, giving shallow depth of field. While landscape photographers take large crowd or space with clarity through out the scene, hence, giving deep depth of fields.
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Portrait shot taken large aperture |
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Landscape image shot with small aperture. |
In conclusion, Do well to practice the knowledge you have gained here and practice it regularly because we learn by practice.
I hope this has moved you forward as an upcoming photographers, For more clarification, you can hit me up through the comment section.
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