Aperture Settings Tutorial

The hardest concept to grasp for new photographers is the effect aperture settings have on your images.  It took a lot of trial and error and the use of a good lens before I was finally able to grasp the concept.  So I hope to help others understand aperture setting with this little guide.

I took my Canon 7D outside this morning with my Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens to snap a series of 8 images.  I set the camera in AV mode and changed the aperture with each image.  Each picture has the aperture setting listed below it.

At f/1.8 notice the nice creamy out of focus background.  Wide such a large aperture the word Riddell is slightly out of focus while the face mask is tac sharp.

At f/2.8 the Riddell logo is now in focus but the end of the chin strap towards the back of the helmet is soft.  The background is begging to show some shapes but it is still completely out of focus.

At f/4 the entire helmet is in focus.  The background is still out of focus but you can begin to make out the outline of a car.

At f/5.6 the background is begging to show a little bit more detail.

At f/8 you can now tell that a car is in the background but it is still out of focus.

At f/11 the car is noticeable but still out of focus.  You can begin to see a starburst on the trunk of the car where the sunlight is reflecting off it.

At f/16 the car is still slightly out of focus but much more noticeable.  The starburst on the car is larger and more visible.

At f/22 the entire background of the image is in focus.

With this series of images since I filled the frame with the helmet the background is not to distracting.  But in other situations you may need to blur your background to make your subject stand out.  On the contrary their are times you want your background in focus to give a sense of location.  Landscape photographers typically want the entire image in focus.

Also by using a wide open aperture you need to be aware that you have a very shallow depth of field.  This can mean in situations where you are shooting wide open at something like f/1.8 the nose of your subject may be in focus and the eyes may be soft.  Sometimes you may want this effect.  It is just something you should be aware of.

Try experimenting with different aperture settings in different situations and see what you like and what makes your image stand out more.  While most of us love shooting wide open it is not always the best choice.

f/1.8

f/2.8

f/4

f/5.6

f/8

f/11

f/16

f/22