Aperture refers to the opening of a lens's diaphragm through which light passes. It is calibrated in f/stops and is generally written as numbers such as 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11 and 16. The lower f/stops give more exposure because they represent the larger apertures, while the higher f/stops give less exposure because they represent smaller apertures.
Aperture affects both the Depth of Field and the Shutter Speed settings depending on what adjustments you make.
How Aperture Affects Depth of Field:
Depth of field is defined as "the zone of acceptable sharpness in front of and behind the subject on which the lens is focused." Simply put: how sharp or blurry the area behind your subject. Here's the equation:
How Aperture Affects Shutter Speed:
The f/stop also affects shutter speed. Using a low f/stop means more light is entering the lens and therefore the shutter doesn't need to stay open as long to make a correct exposure which translates into a faster shutter speed. Again, the reverse is true: using a high f/stop means that less light is entering the lens and therefore the shutter will need to stay open a little longer which translates into a slower shutter speed.
Information Sources: nikonusa.com, wikipedia.org, google.com
Artist Research:
Artists who provide carefully detailed examples of varying apertures are Ansel Adams and Sally Mann.
Ansel Adams:
Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American photographer and environmentalist. His black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park, have been widely reproduced on calendars, posters, and books.
An example of different aperture ranges are:
This photograph has a shallow depth of field because the subject is in focus but the background is not. Therefore, the photographer has taken this photograph using a large aperture setting - a smaller f-stop number. This type of camera settings are used typically when the photographer wants to capture the subject in great detail without the background distracting the viewer from the detail of the subject.
This photograph however has a greater depth of field than the first image so that the photographer could capture everything in the frame in great detail and clarity, rather than just focusing on one subject. The photographer therefore must have used a small aperture setting when taking this photograph.
This is an example of the same photograph with different aperture settings:
How Aperture Affects Depth of Field:
Depth of field is defined as "the zone of acceptable sharpness in front of and behind the subject on which the lens is focused." Simply put: how sharp or blurry the area behind your subject. Here's the equation:
The lower the f/stop—the larger the opening in the lens—the less depth of field—the blurrier the background.
The higher the f/stop—the smaller the opening in the lens—the greater the depth of field—the sharper the background.
How Aperture Affects Shutter Speed:
The f/stop also affects shutter speed. Using a low f/stop means more light is entering the lens and therefore the shutter doesn't need to stay open as long to make a correct exposure which translates into a faster shutter speed. Again, the reverse is true: using a high f/stop means that less light is entering the lens and therefore the shutter will need to stay open a little longer which translates into a slower shutter speed.
Information Sources: nikonusa.com, wikipedia.org, google.com
Artist Research:
Artists who provide carefully detailed examples of varying apertures are Ansel Adams and Sally Mann.
Ansel Adams:
Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American photographer and environmentalist. His black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park, have been widely reproduced on calendars, posters, and books.
source: wikipedia.org
Sally Mann
Sally Mann (born 1951) is an American photographer, best known for her large black-and-white photographs—at first of her young children, then later of landscapes suggesting decay and death.
This is an example of Ansel Adams work where he has used a large aperture giving the effect of a shallow depth of field. This is seen by the above tree being very in focus and the rest of the images background and mid ground are blurry and out of focus.
This is another example of Adams work, however, this time he has used a smaller aperture because the depth of field is much greater. The majority of this image is in focus therefore supporting my judgement.
Sally Mann (born 1951) is an American photographer, best known for her large black-and-white photographs—at first of her young children, then later of landscapes suggesting decay and death.
She shoots with antique view cameras from the early 1900s, the kind where you duck under a cloth to take the picture. They have hulking wooden frames, accordion-like bellows and long brass lenses held together with tape, with mold growing inside. She says she loves that. "It softens the light, makes the pictures timeless."
Source: Wikipedia.org. Quote: npr.org
An example of Mann's work having a quite shallow depth of field, therefore a rather large aperture setting must have been used to give off this affect. You can see the photograph has this depth of field because the table and chairs in the mid ground are very out of focus compared to the little girl (main subject).
This is another example of Mann's work, but this time, having a greater depth of field than the first comparison. This is shown as the man and little girl in the mid ground are more in focus than the table and chairs in the above photograph; therefore a smaller aperture setting must have been used.
No comments:
Post a Comment