Aperture

Shallow DOF: blurry background

Extended DOF: focused background

Side by Side

Aperture and Depth of Field

• The amount of light coming into the lens effects the depth of field because of a very scientific principle.
• You don't really need to know that principle. I get by very well without understanding it.
• What you need to know is that a wide aperture (low number) produces a shallow depth of field.
• On the opposite end of the spectrum, a narrow aperture (a high number) will produce an extended depth of field.

Aperture and Light

• Like I said earlier, the width of the aperture effects how much light enters the lens.
• The wider the opening, the more that enters the lens and vice versa.
• A low number denotes a wide opening.
• A high number denotes a narrow opening.

What does it control?

Like ISO and shutter speed, aperture controls two things:

• how much light enters the lens (pupil)
• the depth of field
• how focused the background is

Let's go more in depth on both of those points.

What is aperture?

• Aperture is the measurement of the opening of the eye of the lens.
• Typical aperture measurements are 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22
• Essentially, think of aperture as a pupil in an eye.
• When it's bright outside, what do your pupils do? What about when it's dark outside?

Aperture