Easy Peasy Aperture Priority and Let's Focus :)

Following on from last week and a few questions I've received I'll simply  cover Aperture Priority this week and then maybe we'll move on?

The thing is all the previous Photography Monday blogs are still online so you can always pop back to them if you need to.

Learning photography takes time

A reminder as to when we began - 10th September 2018
Actually no time at all .... so don't beat yourself up if you haven't got the hang of it yet......and even us experienced pros never know it all.

Aperture and F Stop Explained

Let's clarify.  Aperture is the opening in your lens through which light passes and controlled by the F stop.  When the F stop is adjusted it changes the size of the hole through which the light comes in.

The confusing bit for me was always that the lower the F stop number the larger the hole!  Confusing as hell isn't it!

  • Large aperture = Small f-number = Shallow (small) depth of field = more blur
  • Small aperture = Larger f-number = Deeper (larger) depth of field = less blur
Also known as Depth of Field which is explained in an earlier post here and a little more explanation about the images you get with changing your aperture here

Remember to change the ISO

If you are on Aperture priority you will also need to remember to change your ISO.  Once you've done that your camera will set the shutter speed.

The larger the aperture (smallest F stop) you have the more light will come in to your camera, consequently you'll need to adjust your ISO accordingly.  

The beauty of digital means you'll soon see on the back of your camera whether it's the result you need and you can adjust as required.

With the image below, it took me several images to get the one I wanted.  I didn't get it right first time.

Cold crisp morning photography

This time of year is beautiful.  I think nature is at its best early morning or as the sun goes down.  So, if you can brave the cold, get out and do some photography.

Which brings me to the most amazing find!  Fingerless gloves.  I know I know you say what d'you mean amazing find, they've been around for years.  Yes they have, but cashmere?  And recycled cashmere?  And gloves that come so far up your wrists they make you feel extra cosy.
Turtle Doves Recycled Cashmere Gloves

Recycled Cashmere Fingerless Gloves for photographers in the cold
They come in all kinds of colours.  If you go to their website and become a friend you'll get a discount - and it's a discount worth having too!  Oops ....shhh I bought 2 pairs.  Well when one pair is in the wash you'll need another pair!  Yes, you can wash them on a cold machine wash ..... can't get much better can it :)

Oops I digressed a little there .... let's focus.

How to use the focus point on your camera

I've been asked to explain what I mean by focus point.  
Slightly different on all cameras.  
This is my Olympus PenF.  My Nikons are similar - you just move the point to where you want it to be with a wheel on back of camera.

Olympus focus point ..... squares which can be selected with the wheel on back of camera as to where I want the focus to be.

How to use focus point and exposure on iPhone

Mobile phone you just place your finger on where you want the focus point to be and then move finger up and down to change the exposure.
Using focus point and exposure on mobile phone

Ah you noticed.  Another purchase this week, thank you Amazon :)  
It had become increasingly difficult to hold the camera whilst holding and taking pictures of the mobile phone settings and vice versa!  So I bought a minipod and a small grip for the iPhone.

The Manfrotto mini tripod was a little expensive but I wanted something that would be stable for all cameras hence Manfrotto.

This mini tripod will, of course, be helpful in keeping the camera stead in lowlight photography.

The little grip for the iPhone was cheap as chips and there are two in the pack.  It just screws on to the minipod and is perfect.  This is great for hands free too especially if you use those handy little headphones we talked about here!
iPhone headphones worth keeping for hands free photography

Easy peasy Aperture and focus

I hope you are finding aperture priority a little easier now.  It really is easy peasy once you've practiced and got to know it.  Hopefully too you understand how to use the focus points on your camera.

Please, please don't get buried under the techy stuff ..... fire some questions at me.  I'm here to help you create the images you love easily and hopefully to have fun with it.

I really want you to have fun and enjoy taking photos.  There is so much beauty out there and once you get comfortable with your camera, on whatever setting that maybe, you'll see photographs in everything.

“Photography is the story I fail to put into words.”
Destin Sparks


Have a great week, stay warm and enjoy.
Jan x