Application and Skills of Typical Aperture in Photography Practice

Lead: Setting the aperture size can be said to be a very important part of basic photography skills. Before you press the shutter, you must first observe the light conditions and shooting environment, and set the aperture size reasonably according to the situation, so as to shoot a clear picture, effectively control the depth of field and express the photographer's shooting intention. This paper will introduce some typical aperture applications and techniques in practical photography.

Application and skills of aperture: large aperture blurs the background and highlights the subject.

We know that the larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field. By taking advantage of this, we can avoid the messy background around us from affecting the picture effect, let the focus of the photo focus on the subject, and emphasize the subject more.

▲ Aperture priority, f 7. 1. 1/500 seconds, ISO 400, focal length 400 mm ..

Although only the middle aperture of F7. 1 is used, the camera shoots at a distance of about 8 meters with a focal length of 400mm, so the bird is far away from the background, so the ideal background blur effect is obtained.

▲ Aperture priority, F2.8, 1/320s, ISO 100, focal length 200mm.

Outdoor portrait photography and wedding photography often use large apertures such as F2.8 and F4, which makes the depth of field very shallow. 135mm medium-long focal length, blurred background highlights the main body, creating a soft picture atmosphere.

Expert tip: Other factors affecting the depth of field

In addition to the aperture size, the focal length of the lens used, the shooting distance and the distance between the background and the subject will affect the depth of field.

On the premise that the aperture size and shooting distance are unchanged, the longer the focal length of the lens used, the shallower the depth of field; On the premise that the focal length and aperture of the lens remain unchanged, the closer the shooting distance, the shallower the depth of field; On the premise that the aperture size, shooting distance and lens focal length are unchanged, the farther the background is from the subject, the shallower the depth of field is.

Therefore, setting a large aperture, shooting with a telephoto lens, getting close to the subject and keeping the subject away from the background can all take photos with a blurred background.

Low-light hand-held shooting uses a large aperture to avoid blurring the picture.

When shooting indoors, on cloudy days and at night, a common problem is that the photos are "burnt". This is because it takes a long exposure time (slow shutter speed) to get the ideal effect when shooting in low light environment. Once the shutter speed is lower than the hand-held safe speed, hand shaking may lead to blurred photos. Using a large aperture can increase the light input of the photosensitive element per unit time to a certain extent, thus improving the shutter speed and avoiding the blurring of the photo.

Large aperture can be used not only in low light environment, but also in sunny weather to obtain faster shutter speed. When shooting animals and birds, we should try our best to capture the wonderful gesture of the moment and show their natural nature. Even if the light is sufficient, the shutter speed is higher than 1/500 seconds by using a large aperture and properly increasing the ISO sensitivity, which solidifies the wonderful moment in continuous shooting way.

▲ Aperture priority, F2F2.88, 1/40s, ISO 800, focal length 28mm.

When traveling, the tripod is often not at hand, and the gorgeous night scene is not to be missed. The first thing to consider in hand-held shooting is to ensure a clear picture. In this case, we should make full use of the scene environment, stabilize the body and camera with the help of fixed objects such as stones, railings, trunks and walls, adopt a larger aperture, and gradually improve the ISO sensitivity to make the shutter speed reach the safe shutter speed. This photo uses the aperture of F3.5, and the sensitivity is increased to ISO 800, so that the shutter speed reaches 1/40 seconds, and the hand-held camera clearly captures the night scene after the rain.

Expert tip: What is the safe shutter speed?

The safety shutter speed is the lowest speed that ordinary people can shoot clearly with a camera. This speed is not static. I believe many monocular lovers have had this feeling. When shooting with a wide-angle lens, the vibration is usually not obvious, but if shooting with a telephoto lens, the slight vibration will be quite obvious. In fact, the speed of the safety shutter is related to the focal length. This relationship is actually very simple. The safe shutter speed is the reciprocal of the focal length, that is, the safe shutter speed = 1/ focal length. That is to say, if shooting with a standard 50mm lens, the safe shutter speed is the reciprocal of the focal length of 1/50 seconds. If shooting with a 200mm telephoto lens, the safe shutter speed is 1/200 seconds of the reciprocal of the focal length.

Macro uses small aperture to avoid shallow depth of field.

Macro lens can be used to shoot close-ups of insects at very close distance, and another important factor affecting the depth of field is shooting distance. The closer to the subject, the shallower the depth of field and the more blurred the background. Therefore, if macro photography uses a large aperture, the depth of field will be too shallow. Small and medium apertures such as F8, F 1 1 and F 13 are often used to ensure a clear range of the picture.

▲ Manual mode, F 13,1160seconds ISO 200, focal length 100 mm. Use100 mm macro lens and close-up lens to shoot insects. Even if the aperture of F 13 is used, the depth of field is very shallow, so it is often necessary to carefully adjust the focusing position by using the manual focusing function to focus on the insect's eyes and make the picture more vivid.

Small and medium aperture shooting landscape architecture

Small and medium apertures such as F8, F 1 1 and F 16 are often used when shooting scenes of urban buildings and large scenes. Wide-angle lenses with short focal length show rich details and delicate levels.

▲ Aperture priority, F 16, 2 seconds ISO 100 focal length 27mm, exposure compensation+1EV.

Shooting in the corner building of the Forbidden City in the early morning after the snow, a picture frame was skillfully built by using the rime covered with branches, which enriched the picture level and showed the beautiful scenery wrapped in silver. Under the small aperture setting of F 16, the nearby branches and distant turrets are clearly presented in the picture. If you shoot with a large aperture, the nearby branches will become blurred.

A small aperture produces a unique starry sky effect.

If there are some point light sources, such as the sun, street lamps, water reflection, etc. In the shot picture, if you choose to shoot with small apertures such as F 1 1, F 16 or even F22, the picture will change magically, and these point light sources will present beautiful starry sky effects, which makes people feel like they are in a dream world.

▲ Aperture priority, F 16, 2 seconds ISO 100 focal length 27mm, exposure compensation+1EV.

Shooting in the corner building of the Forbidden City in the early morning after the snow, a picture frame was skillfully built by using the rime covered with branches, which enriched the picture level and showed the beautiful scenery wrapped in silver. Under the small aperture setting of F 16, the nearby branches and distant turrets are clearly presented in the picture. If you shoot with a large aperture, the nearby branches will become blurred.

Expert tip: the relationship between the number of stars and the aperture blade.

When shooting stars with a small aperture, the stars shot by different lenses are different, and the number of stars depends on the number of aperture blades of the lens used. If the aperture blades are odd, the number of stars photographed is twice that of the aperture blades. If it is an even number, the number of stars photographed is consistent with the number of blades in the aperture. For example, EF 16-35mm F/2.8L II USM has seven aperture blades, and there will be 14 stars on the screen.