PHOTO TIP of the WEEK!

details, details....

the technical part of photography is obviously very important, but i'll admit that it is probably my weakness. i get it and understand it, but sometimes if i think too hard about it, i feel it gets in the way of my creative process. don't let that happen! understanding aperture, shutter speed and iso are the basic fundamentals of photography. get to know them. learn them. and once you feel comfortable with them, use it to create images that you like, that speak to you and that are pleasing to YOU. try not to get caught up in the "perfect picture" because that is extremely subjective.
with that said, it's important to know how to get it right using aperture (f/stop) iso and shutter speed. Understand how they work together to give you the results you are looking for.

APERTURE
this week i'll {try} to give a quick explanation of aperture to my best ability. {i will try to make sense, but i'm not an expert on this stuff, so i'd recommend some good reading.}

the size of the aperture or {f/stop} of a lens determines how much of your photograph is in focus.

the f/stop number refers to how open or closed the aperture on the lens is. the wider open the lens = more light is allowed in the lens at one time giving you a wide aperture. i.e. less of your picture will be in focus. this is called a shallow depth of field.

a low f/stop like f/1.4 or f/1.8 is considered a wide-open aperture.

{confused yet? i am a little.) :)

a super snazzy lens would go all the way down to an f/1.2 and this would be considered a wide-open aperture, while an f/22 or possibly higher would be a closed or tight aperture.

again- a closed aperture of f/22 would be completely in focus and have a very deep depth of field. an example of this would be a landscape picture where you'd want everything in sharp focus.

an open aperture of f/1.2 or even f/2.8 would keep a small portion of your picture in sharp focus while the rest is blurred. an example of this would be a portrait where you want the background blurred and the person in focus.

if you have a digital slr camera, switch it over to aperture priority {Av or A on most cameras} and play around with aperture a little. if you have a point-and-shoot, you still should be able to have some control over your f/stop.

focus on something at the lowest f/stop number your camera will go {remember that means a high aperture}, take the picture. then bump your f/stop to about f/8, take the picture. now bump it all the way up to the highest number it will go and take the picture. compare all three results. experiment, experiment, experiment!

aperture is my very favorite effect. it can completely change the tone of your picture.

have fun.

next week i'll {try to} explain shutter speed and iso.