Manual Mode: Aperture Control

So now you've put your camera in Manual mode. What next? Well, the first order of business to to set your aperture. Your aperture is the opening in your camera lens that lets in light. In manual mode, you can control how large or small this opening is. The larger the opening, the more light you get. The smaller the opening, the less light. Where it gets confusing is the numbers. Aperture values are measured in what are called F-stops. These are weird numbers with decimals and often you will see common ones, such as : f/2.8, f/5.6, f/8. The larger the F-stop number, the SMALLER the opening. So, in effect, f/2.8 is LARGER than F/5.6.

Your assignment is to simply put your camera in manual mode and find out how to change your aperture value. (See your camera manual for details on this, as every camera is different).

Just changing your aperture will change your exposure results, but we are taking baby steps here..next time we will look at shutter speed and how that works with aperture to control your exposure. You've gotten your assignment, now get learning! :-)


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