Aperture Mode is your go-to solution for quickly capturing great photos without fumbling through settings. These three practical examples will demonstrate how Aperture Mode makes photography faster, easier and more creative, whether shooting motion, playing with depth of field, or even shooting silhouettes. Try them, and you’ll understand why Aperture Mode is a favorite among pro photographers!
1. Aperture Mode Lets You Quickly Capture More Light
The aperture controls how much light hits your camera’s sensor. Aperture Mode, also known as Aperture Priority or Av mode, allows you to set the aperture, and then your camera will determine the appropriate shutter speed for proper exposure. This mode is available on DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. Unfortunately, it’s the one pro setting you can’t control on an iPhone. On iPhones, each camera/lens has a fixed aperture.
Capture Action Shots Quickly
Low light can make capturing fast-moving subjects challenging. Aperture Mode lets you act fast by adjusting the aperture to let in more light. Setting your lens to its widest aperture (lowest f-stop number) allows the most light to hit the sensor, resulting in the fastest shutter speed you can set in the available light. If the speed still isn’t fast enough to freeze the action, you can raise the ISO.
For this photo of my daughter and her husband running in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, I chose Aperture Mode, with an aperture of f/4. The camera chose a shutter speed of 1/320 sec, fast enough to capture her in the air.
For this photo at Jamestown Settlement, I set my aperture to f/4 and took a burst to capture the moment the musket fired.
2. Reduce Light for Creative Effects
Aperture Mode isn’t just for low light—it also helps control brightness in sunny or overexposed conditions. By using a high f-stop (like f/22), you can reduce the light entering the camera and even create stunning silhouettes.
For this photo of the sun peeking through a pine tree on New Year’s morning, I set my aperture to f/22. This darkened the photo enough to create a silhouette of the pine tree.
Another advantage of a high f/stop number is the sunburst you can create with bright light, like the sun shining through the tree.
3. Aperture Mode Lets You Play with Depth of Field Creatively
One way to make your subject stand out from the background is to create a shallow depth of field. To do that, lower your aperture number. This will help blur the background, like in my shot of sushi chefs in Seoul, where f/4.0 kept the chefs sharp while softening the restaurant surroundings.
Bonus Tip: Fine-Tune Exposure with Exposure Compensation
Even in Aperture Mode, your camera’s light meter can sometimes misjudge brightness. Exposure Compensation is a simple way to adjust brightness without changing your aperture. In my photography course, Camera Mechanics, I teach that you are the final judge of the proper exposure—that’s why you bought your camera!
For this photo of my friend Henk in Camps Bay on the Western Cape of South Africa, I wanted to capture the wave breaking against his silhouette. I set an aperture of f/2.8. The camera chose a shutter speed of 1/1600 seconds, perfect for freezing the water in the air. Because the sun was setting to his right, the camera underexposed the shot, making it too dark. So, I added one stop of exposure compensation to brighten the image.
Now It’s Your Turn
Ready to give Aperture Mode a try? Grab your camera and experiment with these three techniques. You’ll find that controlling your aperture gives you more creative freedom while speeding up your shooting process.
Remember, if you’re using a DSLR, you may need to review and adjust your Exposure Compensation after each shot. But if you’re shooting with a mirrorless camera, you can preview the effect in real time through the viewfinder.
Don’t forget to check out my Camera Mechanics Workshop for more tips on mastering your camera settings. In it, you’ll learn how to use all four pro modes to shoot photos you’re proud of! I also spend time explaining the jargon in plain English. Remember, you didn’t buy that camera to take average photos!
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