How To Change Aperture on a Canon

Piper O'Shanassy28 Mar 2022

If you're into photography, you've surely heard this word. You're aware that it's significant for whatever reason. You might also understand what it implies. However, when it comes to your own camera, you may be at a loss. Aperture is one of those photography terminologies that might be perplexing at first since it has been inadequately or not at all defined.

Let's get this straight. The first thing you should know is that the aperture isn't located within your camera. Rather, the aperture can be found online side your lens. That is except for old lenses that are manually operated. Most lenses these days are camera-controlled, which means that your camera directs your lens on managing the aperture.

The aperture is the actual size of the hole within your lens. It can be adjusted and the bigger the hole, the more light will enter your lens and expose your camera's sensor.

What Is an Aperture?

Aperture is comparable to the pupil of your eye. Based on how much light you would like to enter the camera, it could be opened or closed. When shooting in low light, you'll want to keep your aperture as wide open as possible. On the other hand, if you meet bright lighting, you may close the aperture to allow in less light.

An F-stop is a number on your camera that indicates whether the aperture is open or closed.  The most perplexing aspect of aperture and F-stops, and one that you should keep in mind since it's somewhat counter-intuitive, is that the lower the F-stop number, the greater the aperture opening, and the more light you can let in. The bigger the F-stop value, the narrower the aperture opening, and the less light your camera can let in.

Aperture, F-Stop, and Depth of Field

Aperture doesn't just let the light in, but it is also a strong tool for controlling the depth of field.  Depth of field is just the percentage of your picture that is in sharp focus between your camera and the farthest point your eye can see.

In the actual world, when your eyes scan a scene, everything you see is in focus, unless you have vision problems. The narrower the F-stop/aperture, the shallower the depth of field. That implies that if you set the aperture to f/2.8 and focus on the subject, you won't be able to see anything behind or in front of them. If you set the aperture to f/16 and focus on the subject, much of the background and foreground will be in focus.

How To Open Aperture on Canon

In photography, there are some little tweaks you could make that could hugely influence the appearance and mood of your photos. As terrifying as it may sound, deviating from your camera's automatic setting and pushing yourself to make little but significant adjustments is a terrific way to throw your skills into full gear. What is one of the simplest and, perhaps, most significant initial steps? Learning how aperture could help you improve your photography.

To find and open the aperture setting on a Canon, inspect your camera to discover what mode it is in. Change the dial to "M" or manual mode. Next, locate and push the aperture button to begin adjusting the aperture setting. The button should have the notation "Av +/-" close to it. Then, rotate your command dial and keep an eye on your status screen for a change in the aperture number.

Understanding how to adjust aperture is a good method to have better creative control over your photographs, whether you're playing with the aperture for the first time or just polishing your skills.

Begin by changing from your camera's automatic setting to Aperture Priority mode. Aperture Priority (Av) makes exposure easier by letting you experiment with different f-stops. In Av mode, you decide the aperture and the camera chooses a suitable shutter speed to properly expose your photo, giving you far more creative flexibility and, eventually, more pleasure.

How To Adjust & Set Aperture on Canon

The aperture is a hole-like mechanism that functions similarly the same way as our pupil does for our eyes.  It serves as an entry mechanism for light to enter the camera sensor. A large hole enables more light to reach the camera sensor, whereas a tiny hole permits less light to reach the sensor.

The aperture also affects the depth of field, which would be the sharp-looking distance between both the farthest and closest object in a picture. The smaller the depth of field, the larger the aperture. Canon series for photography is divided into two types: the Canon Rebel series and the Canon EOS series. Below are steps on how to set and adjust the aperture setting for each series type.

Setting and Adjusting Aperture on a Canon Rebel Series:

  • Hold your camera.
  • Select Manual Mode.
  • Push the Shutter Release Button.
  • When the Meter activates, release the button.
  • Hold the AV button with your thumb, which you'll find at the back of your camera.
  • Rotate the Quick Control Dial with your index finger once more.
  • A big aperture may be obtained by rotating the dial to the left which gives a small f-stop value. Similarly, rotating the dial to the right will give you a smaller aperture with a large f-stop value.

Setting and Adjusting Aperture on a Canon EOS Series:

  • Press and hold the Shutter Release Button.
  • Wait for the Meter to turn on.
  • Scroll to the larger Quick Control Dial on the rear of your camera using your thumbnail.
  • Scrolling clockwise will result in a smaller aperture while scrolling counterclockwise will result in a wider aperture.

Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned photographer, the aperture is an essential skill to master since it can make or break your photos. The aperture tells the camera how much light to allow into the camera.  The greater the aperture setting number, the narrower the hole that lets light in. The bottom line is, small changes in photography could result in dramatic, strong effects. By understanding more about aperture and how it influences aspects like light and depth of field, you'll quickly realize that making small adjustments could drastically improve the aesthetic of your photographs while also boosting your photography skills.

Piper O'Shanassy

Piper O'Shanassy

Piper grew up with a love of animals, which quickly turned into a love of photographing them. She shares her tips and tricks on photography, and hopes she can help you shortcut your expansion of a passion.

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