Aperture Pictures

These are the pictures where I was changing the aperture. If you have a camera that you can play with the settings I think this is a great exercise to see what you can do. I adjusted which item I was focusing on at times too....I ran through the entire set of stops (f-stops) for each item I focused on. I love blurring things out, but still having them as an important part of the picture. Starting at the top...I had the f-stop set at 3.5 and was focusing on the ceramic figurine. As you look at the next two pictures, notice how the background becomes much clearer and into focus. Each picture had a larger f-stop, making the depth of field much deeper. The final picture is taken at an f-stop of 22 with the middle picture taken somewhere in the middle (around 11.)

In the next series of pictures I changed the focus from the closest object, to the farthest (the silver vase.) Notice how the ceramic figure comes into focus as I graduate from a 3.5 f-stop all the way to 22.

Aperture and Shutter Priority Modes

Right now I am experimenting with the Av (Aperture Priority) and Tv (Shutter Priority) modes. I will post the pictures I am taking in a bit...granted, they are not award winning photos....of random objects in my house (for the aperture mode) and pictures of my kids jumping around (for shutter mode).

I love using the Av mode because one of my favorite ways to shoot is with a shallow depth of field. Basically it makes everything behind and around my subject blurry and out of focus, while the person (or thing) that I want in focus comes out looking amazing!
If your interested in a great tutorial on Aperture and Shutter Modes and how they work together, click on the links below.
Aperture~
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/moving-toward-manual-settings-understanding-aperture-a-beginners-guide/

Shutter Speed~
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/understanding-shutter-speed/