Hone your camera skills
Aperture
Pro sports and portrait photographer Terry Donnelly opens up about aperture, exposure and depth of field
Terry Donnelly
With a wealth of experience, Terry Donnelly shoots professionally in top-flight sports, editorial, PR and portraiture, and regularly features in national and international news media. Find out more at www.terrydonnelly.co.uk
FUNDAMENTALLY, the aperture is a tool to let more light or less light into the camera. But of course, it’s more than that. Like many pros, I tend to work at wider apertures for a variety of reasons. Yes, it keeps my shutter speed up and means I can shoot more easily when available light is low, but it also adds separation and emphasis on the subject. Ultimately apertures such as f/1.4 or f/2 can bring a more cinematic look, which I love, but doing it successfully is about more than dialling in a number. Here are a few pointers.
When to go deeper
Though I like to work at wider apertures, there are plenty of times I’ll stop down to more middling f/stops like f/5.6 or f/8. Longer focal lengths, like a 135mm or 200mm lens, can create a shallower depth of field, so smaller apertures can help keep both the whole of the subject in focus and improve background context. Stopping down
