Introduction to Aperture Settings in Digital Cameras

Digital cameras are wonderful because they make taking photos very easy. They are automatic and this means that you can point and shoot. However, there are lots of advanced settings which can be adjusted. Some of these settings include the aperture settings, but what is this and how can it help you to take better photos?

What is Aperture?

To understand aperture it's first important to understand the basic method that a camera works. When you press the shutter button this causes the shutter to open for a certain amount of time. This amount of time is known as the shutter speed. The diameter of the open shutter is known as the aperture.

The shutter opens to allow light into the camera which will come into contact with the photosensitive components inside. The bigger the aperture, the more light is allowed into the camera.

By default your digital camera will handle the aperture settings automatically, however there are a number of reasons why you might want to adjust this aperture setting.

Taking a Great Photo

When you are trying to take a great photo there are a number of things which can affect this. You need to have a good subject, the right shutter speeds, enough light and the right aperture settings. Aperture simply sets the amount of light which is allowed to enter the camera through the shutter. If too much light is allowed to enter this will wash the photo out; if too little light enters then the photo will be too dark.

Apertures

There are lots of different sizes of apertures, all of these are measured in "f" numbers. By increasing the f number by one each time, you will double the amount of light which is allowed to enter the lens and camera. Standard aperture lenses range between f/1.8 and f/16.

If the aperture is smaller, this will allow much less light to enter the camera, an f/16 lens lets in half of the amount of light compared to an f/8 lens. The aperture will also work with the shutter speed to determine the amount of light which can enter your camera.

Shutter Speed

If you are taking photos of moving objects then you will need to set a high shutter speed to capture all of the action. However, when taking photos of landscapes a slower shutter speed is preferable. When taking photos in poor lighting conditions a slower shutter speed will work much better.

Adjusting Settings

If you are serious about getting the most out of your camera possible then you will want to adjust the shutter speed and the aperture. By carefully adjusting both of these you will be able to create a beautiful picture. However adjusting these settings can be very difficult. There are so many things that need to be considered, including the amount of image in focus, and the depth of field.

Automatic Settings

If you aren't interested in tinkering about with these advanced settings then you will normally be fine when working with the automatic settings. Your camera will be able to automatically handle all of these requirements without you needing to do anything complicated. This may not create results which are quite as good, however it will be much easier.