Aperture Demonstration

Aperture is another element of photography and moving image that determines the outcome of your image. Aperture affects how wide the aperture ring in your lens opens and how much light is let on to the sensor. Aperture is measured in 'F Stops' and they can range from numbers like f1.4 and f3.5 all the way to f20 and f30. When you use a low aperture like the former, it is called a wide aperture because the ring opens up almost all the way, and when you use a high aperture the ring only opens up a small amount. This not only affects the exposure level but the depth of field you get in your photos. The lower the aperture number, the smaller the depth of field is which results in your subject being in focus but the background being blurred. However, if you use a higher aperture number, you get a larger depth of field and more things (if not all) areas of the photo will be in focus. This applies also to moving image, and the aperture affects the opening in the ring for every single frame in the video. This allows filmmakers to make creative choices for their film, such as isolating a person by blurring the background, or having the whole image clear and sharp for establishing shots that require everything to be seen. Below is a diagram of aperture rings and their F numbers along with how this affects the depth of field.