Aperture

Aperture is a setting on the camera that allows for creative control over your images. Used in conjunction with the shutter speed and ISO it makes up the exposure on the camera. It directly affects the amount of light that enters the camera to create the image.

How does aperture work?

The aperture of the camera refers to a diaphragm inside the lens that changes in size to alter the amount of light that enters the camera. Similar to the human eye, a front element focuses the light and the diaphragm (aperture) changes to allow the correct amount of light to enter.

Aperture is measured in f numbers or f stops and in the case of manually controllable cameras these are displayed on the camera and at times on the lens. The higher the f stop number the less light that it allows in and the lower the number that more light is allowed in. Generally each traditional f stop is incrementally letting