Digital SLR Photography - UK (2019-12)

PhotoMasterclass

Apertures

STOP UP, STOP DOWN; OPEN, CLOSE; WIDE AND NARROW – THESE ARE ALL TERMS YOU HEAR ABOUT

APERTURES. PHOTOGRAPHY HAS A SHORTHAND THAT CAN MAKE THE BASICS SOUND MIND-BENDING,

BUT IN THIS PHOTO MASTERCLASS, WE BREAKDOWN THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL FEATURE OF DSLR

PHOTOGRAPHY – APERTURES – SO YOU CAN HARNESS ITS POWER FOR CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY

Wo rd s : CAROLINE SCHMIDT

A

RE YOU SOMEONE who relies on
Auto mode to capture your images
because you trust the tech more
than your own creative choices?
Are you flummoxed when fellow
photographers speak of f/stops, of opening up
or stopping down and frankly terrified by the
variables that decide a decent photograph? It’s
easy to take the thinking out of photography
with Auto mode, but if you want to elevate
your images from lacklustre snapshots to
wall-worthy photographs, you need to take
that step away from the Full Auto mode and
towards aperture-priority mode.

Aperture-priority, for many people, is

how they first learn to control and craft their

images, to understand the mechanics of how a

picture is captured and how to compensate for

a camera’s flaws in tricky exposure situations.

Aperture-priority mode is their bridge from

Full Auto or program mode to manual mode

and creative freedom, but to use it properly

you have to understand how apertures work,

which is what the next 12 pages are all about.

Aperture is one of three vital functions that

determine exposure – shutter speed and ISO

being the other two – and this helpful trio

work in tandem to give you control over your

camera. The aperture you choose, however,

impacts so much more than exposure that

for many people it’s the one feature they

absolutely must have control over.

To understand how to do this, we’re taking

you back to basics on how apertures work,

their importance for exposure, depth-of-field

and sharpness, as well as more advanced

techniques for how to upgrade your

photography. Whatever level you’re at when

absorbing this Photo Masterclass, there will be

something for everyone. Let’s get started...