The aperture setting on a digital camera controls the amount of light that reaches the photo sensor. This in turn affects the choice of shutter speed available to you. The camera aperture is just like the iris of your eye: when it expands, it lets more light inside; when it contracts, it lets less light in.
The aperture setting also determines the depth of field revealed in your photographs. A large, open aperture creates less depth of field, meaning that portions of your photos will be less focused than others. This is useful when you want to focus attention on the main subject of your photos while de-emphasizing the background or other distracting elements.
Instructions
1. Find the "Mode" selector button on your camera and press it. The "Mode" may be a separate unit of the Menu display.
2. Review your choices, including "Auto," "Manual," "Shutter" and "Aperture." Select "Aperture." Your camera will now be set to "Aperture" priority, meaning that all other settings will be automatically adjusted to correspond with whatever aperture value you select.
3. Understand that the aperture setting can be a little confusing because a smaller aperture number value actually designates a larger aperture setting, and vice versa. So an aperture of 2.8 is larger than an aperture of 16 or 22.
4. Select the aperture value you desire, and start shooting.
Tags: aperture setting, aperture value, depth field, meaning that, your photos