Lens Aperture Tips by Canon Australia

Introduction The aperture-priority auto exposure mode on your digital SLR camera gives you amazing control over the look and feel of your photos. Learning how to set the aperture to achieve certain effects is well worth your time.When you read about lens aperture, you'll see numbers such as "f/2.8" and "f/11." These numbers refer to the size of the aperture. Typically the numbers will range from f/2.8 to f/22, with f/2.8 being the largest and f/22 the smallest. When you move up or down from one aperture to the next, you either double or halve the amount of light entering your camera. For instance, going from f/5.6 to f/8 would "stop down" the lens, halving the amount of light. Going from f/16 to f/11, on the other hand, would double the amount of light. Isolating your subject from the background

Sometimes a busy or colourful background can take the eye's focus away from the subject of the photograph. To isolate your subject from a distracting background, follow these three simple steps:

1.Select aperture-priority mode (A). Then, manually adjust the lens aperture to f/4 or f/5.6. If your subject is in the distance and you're shooting with a telephoto lens, set the aperture to f/8.

2.Shoot the picture.

3.Review the picture on your Digital SLR cameras LCD screen. Zoom in on an area of the picture where the subject overlaps the background. Does the subject appear sharp against a blurred background? If so, you've achieved your desired results. If only part of your subject is sharp, re-shoot the picture with a smaller aperture. If the background is not blurred enough, try opening the lens aperture by one stop.

Achieving an all-around sharp photo

Much of the time we want each element of the photo in sharp focus, both the subject and the background. To take a picture where every detail is crisp and defined, set the aperture to f/11 or smaller. A wide angle lens is particularly helpful for achieving this effect. For portraits of people in which you want the background sharp as well, stop the lens down to f/8 or smaller.

When you're photographing people, there's always a chance of blurring because of subject movement. A higher ISO setting helps prevent blurring caused by subject movement and camera shake. You should also compensate for the small lens aperture by using a slower shutter speed.

Another thing to watch out for when using a small lens aperture is distracting or unappealing elements in the photo. For example, you may not notice the electrical wire in the background, but it will come into sharp focus with the small lens aperture. Keep this factor in mind when composing your shots.

Taking close-ups

Close-ups are one of the most challenging shots for photographers. To take professional-looking close-up shots, it is important that you choose the correct lens aperture. When taking close-ups, it can be difficult to cover the entire subject while still managing to blur the background. Try these tips for capturing the ideal close-up:

1.The less background in the shot, the less potential distraction from the subject. Aim to fill the frame with as much of the subject as possible.

2.Take your time composing the shot. Using a tripod will help you with fine-tuning.

3.Don't be afraid to experiment. Review each shot with the playback zoom control. If you're unhappy with the picture, just keep trying until you get it right.

This article is brought to you by Canon Australia - Providing helpful photography tips for your Digital SLR Camera.

takes on goarticles.com