Aperture?

Photography can be mastered by grasping the simple mechanics that governs the science of photography.One of the most important word that we hear each photographer uttering every now and then is the word "Aperture".So whats this so much talked about "Aperture"?

Aperture can be simply put as a component of the lens that controls the amount of light that enters it. A wide aperture allows a lot of light , while a narrow aperture allows less light into the camera.Larger aperture openings have smaller numbers, while smaller apertures have larger numbers; for example, f/16 is a small aperture, while f/4 is a larger aperture.

One needs to adjust the aperture just like the eye contracts and expands the Iris.The Iris opens up when we are in dark room to take in more light and closes down when we are out in bright daylight or in an brightly lighted room.Aperture controls the amount of light affecting the light exposure of the picture.

Aperture in turn affects the "Depth of Field" of a picture. If we have a wide aperture the depth of field would be shallow ie the picture would have a small part of it focussed ,and other things in the background become blur.A wide aperture of f1.8 or less is very much recommended for taking Portraits where one likes to focus on the person and blur the background.

One the other hand ,in a landscape, one should use a relatively smaller aperture preferably, so that the entire landscape is in focus and the depth of field is large.

Here's a video that explains the concept more precisely.