How aperture and shutter speed work in unison

APERTURE & SHUTTER SPEED

Shutter speed explained
1/400 SEC 1/20 SEC

s weve explained on the previous page, the aperture and shutter speed work together to determine how bright your exposures will be. Shutter speeds are measured in seconds (more commonly fractions of a second), but the available range increases in stops (although this can be set to jump in 1/2 or 1/3-stop steps). Each stop doubles (or halves) the amount of time the shutter inside your EOS D-SLR remains open for. For example, a shutter speed of 1/60 sec lets in half the amount of light as 1/30 sec, a 1-stop difference, while 1/15 sec is a 2-stop difference.

0.4 SEC

2.5 SECS

This mechanism determines how long the shutter remains open

Fast and slow shutter speeds

ut which shutter speed should you use? It depends on what youre photographing. First, consider if your subject or part of your scene is moving. If you use a slow shutter speed it will show a sense of movement (captured as motion blur), whereas if you use a fast shutter speed it will freeze any movement in the frame. A slow (eg 1/5 sec or 10 secs) shutter speed is often preferable if youre shooting a landscape with water in and you want to capture the movement of the water. But youll need to set a fast shutter speed (eg 1/500 sec or 1/1000 sec) if you want to freeze any subjects in motion, such as sports or children.

Aperture explained W
hereas the shutter mechanism is tucked away inside your camera, the aperture actually sits inside your lens. The aperture (or opening) of your lens varies from wide to mid-range to narrow, measured as f/numbers (or f/stops), such as f/4 (wide aperture) to f/8 (mid-range) to f/22 (narrow aperture). The wider the aperture the more light is let in to reach your EOS sensor therefore brightening your shots. The narrower the aperture the less

WIDE

light is let in to reach your EOS sensor which therefore darkens your shots. As a wide aperture lets in more light, this means youll need to use a faster shutter speed for a standard exposure; this is why wide apertures are good for wildlife and sports eg f/5.6 at 1/500 sec. Conversely, a narrow aperture lets in less light, requiring a slower shutter speed for a standard exposure; which is why narrow apertures are good for landscapes eg f/22 at 1 sec.

MID-RANGE NARROW

Optimum apertures
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TIP OF UR THE HO use for slow

hooting with your widest or narrowest aperture isnt always best. Your lens will have an optimum range of apertures in the middle that will produce sharp results from the centre to the edges, usually between f/8 to f/11. Experiment to see which works best for your own lenses. If youre using a wide-angle lens, you also dont always need

to shoot with your narrowest aperture for sharp landscape photos that are in focus from foreground to horizon. Stick to f/11 or f/16, then focus one third into the scene to ensure shots are sharp from front to back. Only use f/22 or narrower if youre trying to get the slowest possible shutter speed.

Depth of eld

hen you change your lenss aperture setting, you also affect depth of field (DoF). The DoF refers to the part of your scene thats acceptably sharp. Using a wide aperture (such as f/5.6) will result in a shallow depth of field. This is why wide apertures are ideal for shooting portraits and wildlife as you can blur the backgrounds behind your subjects to really make them stand out in the scene. Using a narrower aperture (such as f/22) will result in a deeper depth of field. This is why narrow apertures are perfect when shooting landscapes and cityscapes as you want to ensure your scene is acceptably sharp, right the way from the closest foreground objects through to the background.

f/22

f/8

f/5.6

f/4