Aperture is a term widely used in the photography industry. It is a confusing topic for the amateur photographer to pick up and understand it. In this article we will not define the image in technical terms but give you a better understanding of the different settings and what you can achieve when shooting wedding photography and landscape photography.
The most common aperture settings used are mid-range between f8-f11 which is basically set on automatic depth of field. When first starting off set the camera to Auto or P mode and the aperture will be set automatically combined with shutter speed.
Technical Photography
Wedding Photography
If you are shooting weddings, set the camera to Aperture mode with a f2.8 to f5.6 which produces a shallow depth of field. This will highlight the subject you are taking in photos blurring out the background. Fantastic for portrait and kids photography where you want to focus on the people as opposed to what is in the distance. This is known as large aperture settings.
Technical Photography
Landscape & Real Estate Photography
Smaller apertures are most commonly used for photographing wildlife and landscapes. This will create sharp images both in the foreground and in the background. An aperture from f16 to f32 will create sharp images. You will find landscape photographers using these settings to capture the mountains and clouds in the distance.
Aperture in Technical Terms
• Smaller the aperture (larger f-stop numbers) produces longer depth of fields allowing all elements in the image to be in focus.
• Larger aperture (smaller f-stop number) produces shallow depth of fields focusing on near subjects and blurring out the background.
The best method to understand the capabilities of your camera and aperture is to test drive different settings and work out what suits the photography you are shooting.
Aperture With Wedding Photography and Landscape Photography
Pexels is a free stock photography website.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn’t until last year that I learned about this site (thanks to a reader), and I’m so glad I did.
I absolutely love Pexels. It’s the only website I use when I need free stock images for my blog posts.
I think this could actually be one of the most useful websites for bloggers. Especially in a time where visuals are a must for your blog content.
Images on Pexels are free for personal and commercial use. They can be modified, distributed, and do not require attribution.
If you’re looking for more websites that offer free images, check out my post Where to Find Free Images for Your Blog.