The exposure triangle in photography includes aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Each of these work interchangeably depending on the look you’re trying to achieve in your images. Aperture plays an important role in the lighting and the depth of field of your image. This post dives deeper on what aperture is and how it works so you can master adjusting this setting like a pro.
This post contains affiliate links. Read the affiliate disclosure.
What Is Aperture In Photography
Getting a better understanding of how aperture works in photography is a great starting point when learning how to use your camera. When I was first getting started in food photography and learning how to use my camera, I bought a book called Plate To Pixel, which really helped me understand how powerful aperture can be for food images.
If you focus on adjusting your aperture first, the other two settings (shutter speed and iso) can be adjusted accordingly. In a way, once you decide your aperture, it can act like a guide for the rest of your camera settings.
Let’s talk about what aperture is.
Aperture is the size of the hole in your lens and affects the amount of light getting into your camera. A wide aperture lets in more light. A small aperture lets in less light. Aperture can be a little tricky to understand at first, though, because the wider the hole, the smaller the number. The smaller the hole, the larger the number. It’s a reversed way of thinking, but you’ll get used to it. 😉
Another thing to note is your aperture affects depth of field. A small aperture (or a wide aperture) creates a shallow depth of field. This means it creates a more blurry background and foreground surrounding your focal point. A larger aperture creates a deeper depth of field keeping the background and foreground more in focus.
READ MORE ABOUT: THE BEST LENSES FOR FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
What Is Another Name For Aperture In Photography
Another name for the size of the aperture in photography is f-stop. The numbers referring to the aperture are listed like f2.8 all the way up to a maximum aperture of f22. A large aperture would be f2.8 whereas a smaller aperture would be f22.
Another way to look at it is, going from f2 to f2.8 halves the amount of light, while going from f4 to f2 doubles the amount of light.
How Does Aperture Work In Photography
Aperture affects the amount of light coming into your camera and also affects the depth of field in your image. Let’s talk about a couple of different scenarios.
Capturing A Portrait/Headshot
If you are trying to capture a portrait of someone and want the background behind your subject to be more blurry, you would use a smaller aperture to create a shallow depth of field. However, this could also potentially overexpose your image by letting in too much light. This is when the other settings can come into play to help you find the right balance of light. If you speed up your shutter speed, it will let less light in to help you find the right exposure. If you keep your ISO low, there will be less light sensitivity and could help you find the correct exposure as well.
Capturing A Landscape
If you are shooting a landscape and want everything to look sharp and in focus, you would use a larger aperture. However, this could potentially make your image appear too dark since it lets in much less light. This is also when the other settings could help you out. You could slow down your shutter speed to let in more light or you could bump up your ISO to create more light sensitivity.
As long as you know what you want your depth of field to be (more blurry or less blurry), you can set your aperture and then experiment with adjusting the other settings to make sure you’re exposing your images correctly. Remember, aperture, shutter speed and ISO all work interchangeably to help you get the correct exposure.
Why Is Aperture Important In Photography
Aperture is important because it helps you control both the exposure and the depth of field of your images. Having this type of control helps you create images with dreamy depth or a sharpness that is nice and crisp. Check out the two images below.
Image A uses a smaller (wider) aperture and you’ll notice that the cherries in the bowl are in focus, but the surrounding areas (the foreground and the background) are more blurred out. But, notice the shutter speed settings to prevent the image from looking too bright.
Image A camera settings:
- Aperture = f3.2
- ISO = 100
- Shutter Speed = 1/100
Image B uses a much larger aperture which helped keep the foreground and background more in focus. But, also notice the adjustments of the shutter speed to help ensure that the image didn’t get too dark?
Image B camera settings:
- Aperture = f13
- ISO = 100
- Shutter Speed = 1/8
How To Use Aperture In Photography
How to use aperture in photography takes some practice and experimenting to get the right look and feel. The first step is to think about what you want your images to look like.
Do you you want the surrounding areas around your subject/focal point to be more in focus or more blurred out? Once you make this decision, the rest of the exposure setting decisions will come naturally. This is because once you set your aperture and take a picture, you’ll be able to tell if your images are too bright or too dark.
If you adjust your aperture and your image looks too bright, you can adjust your shutter speed and ISO to help make your image appear darker.
If you adjust your aperture and your image looks too dark, you can adjust your shutter speed and ISO to help make your image appear brighter.
Notice the food image example below. I knew I wanted the breakfast sandwich to be in focus with the mimosa more blurred out in the background, so I used a lower f-stop/aperture setting and adjusted the other two settings to create a nicely exposed image.
Camera Settings:
- Aperture = f5.6
- Shutter Speed = 1/200
- ISO = 100
- I used an artificial light for this shot to help with lighting since I was shooting in a dark restaurant.
In the next image example, I wanted to capture the pretty salad details from above and decided to use a higher aperture to keep everything more in focus. Then, I adjusted the other two settings to help me create a nicely exposed image.
Camera Settings:
- Aperture = f14
- Shutter Speed = 1/200
- ISO = 400
- I used an artificial light for this shot to help with lighting since I was shooting in a dark restaurant.
READ MORE ABOUT: THE BEST CAMERA FOR FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
In conclusion, the best way to learn more about aperture is to start experimenting with it. Be intentional with your thinking. Start by deciding if you want a more blurred out background or a more in focus background? Set your aperture and then take a picture. If your image is too dark or too bright, adjust your shutter speed and ISO to help you get to the correct exposure. It takes a little practice, but you’ll get the hang of it and will start to see a fun improvement in your images.
Reach out with questions any time and be sure to follow me on Instagram!
Happy Creating!
This post may contain affiliate links which means if you click or make a purchase, I might make a small commission (at no extra cost to you). I only promote products and equipment that I actually use for my photography business. Your support helps me continue to produce educational content about photography. Thank you!
All images ©Regan Baroni 2025.
Comments +