A P E R T U R E
The aperture of a camera is the hole that lets light into it.
The size of aperture is measured in F numbers and the typical F numbers are:
- F22
- F16
- F11
- F8
- F5.6
- F4
- F2.8
The bigger the aperture, the smaller the F number.
If you are using a small aperture, you will need to use a slower shutter speed so you have a correct exposure (a nice balance of highlights and shadows.)
D E P T H O F F I E L D
The depth of field shows how the background is blurred or focused in an image.
If you were shooting a landscpe picture, you would want to use a smaller aperture (for example F22) because that focuses both the foreground and background.
If you wanted to take a picture of a garden gnome with the background blurred, you would want to use a larger aperture (for example F2.8) becuse that focuses on the front but it blurs the background.