Using Aperture Priority Mode in Photography

Are you a budding photographer? Are you trying to gain some new skills and improve yourself? Or are you a professional photographer but eager to learn and push your boundaries? It doesn’t matter what level you are at, the idea is to always keep learning and working on yourself. There are many secret tricks and tips in the world of photography. One of them is knowing how and when to use the Aperture Priority Mode. Today we shall learn what it is, how to use it, and when to use it so you get the optimum use out of it.

First, let us learn what Aperture Priority Mode is. It is a camera mode in which you manually set your aperture, while the camera automatically selects a shutter speed. Why was it so special and important exactly? It gives you full control over your photography setting. Once you gain control over aperture, everything else becomes easy and fluid. Aperture Priority Mode is really fast to use. Aperture is sometimes referred to as f-stop by photographers and technicians. It is a semiautomatic shooting mode. It speeds up the process of taking pictures. Photographers take a lot of time using the manual mode which can affect the lighting or look. With Aperture Priority Mode, it is fast, easy, and practical to take pictures without affecting the light or the look.

The numbers you see on your camera lenses such as f1.4, f2.8, f11, f22 are the numbers that tell the lenses how much to open or close. The smaller the f-stop number, the larger the hole. So with say f2.8, your opening will be bigger and thus you would get more light. This sounds confusing but as you keep shooting and practising, you’ll get used to it in no time.

You have to understand aperture, ISO, and shutter speed before using Aperture Priority Mode. Turn your PASM dial to ‘A.’ It varies on different brands, for example in Fuji, you have to turn the shutter speed dial to Auto.

The next step is to select your aperture manually. The camera will never change the aperture once you select it. To understand the depth of field, the picture you want to shoot and pick an f-stop. Pick the proper exposure compensation. You have to be very careful when you do this. Ensure you don’t overexpose any important features in the picture. ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed are known as the ‘Exposure Triangle.’ These three elements work in harmony to decide the exposure of your image. Next, pick the right ISO. If you are shooting a still subject from a tripod, stick to base ISO. It can differ across brands but it will be 100 usually.

Landscape Photography is a breeze with Aperture Priority Mode. You can just select your f-stop, base your ISO, and select exposure. It makes for optimal settings and gives you amazing results. If you are going to go handheld, it can get trickier. The idea is to increase ISO and jump to 400,600, 800 etc. Your camera will then use a fast shutter speed to compensate.

Aperture Priority Mode allows you to control the depth of field. The smaller the f-stop number, the shallower the depth of field. Professional wedding photographers often use this to get the Bokeh or blurry backgrounds we see in portraits. If you wish your background or foreground to be in focus, you can select a higher f-stop such as f11 to achieve a deeper depth of field. This basically allows photographers the freedom to be creative. They can focus on the subject or separate it from the background. It also reduces the stress of setting an image up every single time.

In a normal light environment, photographers prefer not to fuss over the shutter speed. On a sunny day or on an outdoor shoot with good light, they just select the ISO setting and let the DSLR do the rest. It is simple, practical and guarantees you great pictures. You can’t try it during night time or in locations with poor light conditions.

Most DSLRs have a shooting mode dial using which you can select Aperture Priority Mode. The best time to use it is when you are taking portraits, landscapes, street photos, or travel photos. These often have great light and allow you the freedom to keep your attention on the subject. If the subject is moving around a lot, then you may have to change the settings. Avoid using Aperture Priority Mode in low light, long exposure, panning, or motion shots.

Professional Photographers use semi-automatic modes most of the times as it leaves them free to focus on the actual photo. You need to have knowledge about light, exposure, settings, and shutter speed before you move to semi-automatic shooting modes.