Aperture
Aperture, sometimes called your “f-stop” is what allows you to have those pretty blurry backgrounds people drool over. The lower the f/stop number (f/1.0, f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8) the more of your photo will be in focus and then slowly gets blurrier as you go out from your focal point. For example, if I am photographing a client using my 50mm, the lowest aperture I can go is f/1.8. and I shoot “wide open” (on the lowest number the lens will go) then the likelihood is that I will have less of my subject in focus and since I set my focal point on my clients’ eyes only one will be in focus, but I will have a nice blurry background. It is possible to get both eyes in focus but I will need to be sure I am on the same plane as my subject. You would need your camera to be parallel to your subject’s eyes, you’ll want to get down on their level. (this is a good reason to wear jeans) The higher the number of your aperture the more of your picture will be in focus.
For example, if you were photographing a group of 4 people like this one than you’d set your and only want them in focus then you want to make sure that your aperture is at least f 4.0 or close depending on your lens. If I were taking pictures of both my children I would want to make sure my aperture were anywhere between f/2.0 to f/2.8 when I photograph my kids though, it’s my sweet spot. If there are 5 people then you would want to be at least at f/5.0 and so on.
When shooting landscapes you would want your aperture number to be a lot higher so that the majority of your picture is in focus as in the photo below.
If you’re looking for more ways to improve check out one of our other articles as https://wandathomasphotography.com/5-ways-to-improve-your-photos-in-30-days/ then share your photos on social using hashtag #lattesandlenses
Happy Shooting!!!
If you’re looking for more ways to improve check out one of our other articles as https://wandathomasphotography.com/5-ways-to-improve-your-photos-in-30-days/ then share your photos on social using hashtag #lattesandlenses
