Understanding Exposure

Aperture

Wide Aperture

This photo used a wide aperture to put extra focus on the subject by blurring the background. A wide aperture lets more light into the camera’s lens which allows better photos in lower light. Contrary to what you might think at first, a wider aperture means a lower f/ratio. Examples of a wide aperture are f/1.4 or f/2.8.

Narrow Aperture

The photo of this city street uses a narrow aperture which means less light is let into the lens. It also means that most everything in frame will be sharp and in-focus. Photos with apertures above f/11 are considered to be narrow and are great for photos like this where the viewer can see everything in detail.

Shutter Speed

 

Fast Shutter Speed

Shutter speed refers to the amount of time it takes for your camera shutter to open and close, allowing the light to be captured by your lens. With this photo, a fast shutter speed was used to capture a moving object. Since the time between the opening and closing of the shutter was so quick, the motorcycle appears to be frozen in time. Adequate lighting is needed to take a good photo with a fast shutter speed.

Slow Shutter Speed

This example of slow shutter speed shows the blurred lines of motion in contrast to the still, painted road. A slow shutter speed will let in a lot of light since the shutter is open for a longer period of time. This causes any motion to appear blurred and stretched out. A slow shutter speed can be great for night, or low light photography as long as you have a tripod to make sure your subject stays in focus, With this photo, the slow shutter speed creates an interesting effect of the elongated car lights.

ISO

ISO stands for International Standards Organization. On a camera, the ISO level refers to how sensitive your camera sensor is to light. The higher the level, the more sensitive your camera is to light. This photo was taken with a low ISO which means it was taken with adequate lighting and is free of any noise.