Beginning to Blog Week 4: Camera Aperture

The picture above was taken with ISO 100 - Macro - f\3.3

The picture above was taken with ISO 100 - Macro - f\6.3

Guess what I got for Valentine's day? A mini tripod! Woot. I am so psyched to see if I can get some better
focus. That being said, we are going to look at aperture today.

Aperture and Depth of Field

Aperture can be compared to the pupil of the eye. The higher the aperture number (f/6.3), the smaller the pupil - letting in less light. The lower the aperture number (f/3.3), the bigger the pupil, letting in more light. Aperture also controls depth of field. Depth of field allows us to bring specific parts of the image into sharp focus. For example, the lower the f number (my point and shoot camera has the minimum at f/3.3) the lower the depth of field. This setting brings the closest object into focus and blur the background. The larger the f number (f/6.3) the higher the depth of field. This setting brings closest objects and background objects both into focus.

In the image above, notice how the background is blurred and the foreground is focused. This image was taken with aperture f/3.3.

In the image above, the background and foreground are both in focus. This image was taken with an aperture of f/6.3.

Here are some other pictures I have taken with high aperture and low aperture. I definitely see an improvement in the quality of my photos. I think my little point and shoot is pretty fun, but secretly I am feeling the need for a new camera!! And a couple thousand bucks! I have made a monster of myself. :) The incandescent light setting is on for some of these, hence the blue color.

Next week, we will talk about the scary, elusive shutter speed. :)