Hello everyone,

this would have been a rant about a miscat my dear *babyducks had reported a few days ago, but I will refrain from going that route since it is far from appropriate. But I have to say that some people don't give a shit about gallery descriptions let alone understand that macro photography is a technique and not just a category.

Below this rant I will always keep a section about macro news with links to recent journals or news so you can re-read what macro photography is ! Instead of making you wait for another AR - Macro News I will give you a brief info about APERTURE in macro photography :

Good macro photos make good use of the shallow depth of field (DOF ).Aperture plays the main role in this field, and learning how much you will need for a given shot is done through experience. Using the correct aperture is important to get a good background bokeh ( = blurred backgrounds) . This is subjective but most people prefer nice smooth and blurred backgrounds.

One thing to keep in mind is that the further your background is from your subject, the less you have to worry about 'noisy' backgrounds. If there is enough distance (which varies depending on focus distance), then you should get a sufficiently blurred background regardless of your aperture settings. You tend to need a lot of depth of field, but if you start using any aperture smaller than f/16, diffraction starts to occur and your images will get less sharp. Personally I use wider apertures , depending on the subject but it really depends on the light and the subject.


Aperture definition _{( taken from wiki )}

The aperture stop of a photographic lens can be adjusted to control the amount of light reaching the film or image sensor. In combination with variation of shutter speed, the aperture size will regulate the film's degree of exposure to light. Typically, a fast shutter speed will require a larger aperture to ensure sufficient light exposure, and a slow shutter speed will require a smaller aperture to avoid excessive exposure.
Diagram of decreasing aperture sizes (increasing f-numbers) for "full stop" increments (factor of two aperture area per stop)
Diagram of decreasing aperture sizes (increasing f-numbers) for "full stop" increments (factor of two aperture area per stop)

A device called a diaphragm usually serves as the aperture stop, and controls the aperture. The diaphragm functions much like the iris of the eye—it controls the effective diameter of the lens opening. Reducing the aperture size increases the depth of field, which describes the extent to which subject matter lying closer than or farther from the actual plane of focus appears to be in focus. In general, the smaller the aperture (the larger the number), the greater the distance from the plane of focus the subject matter may be while still appearing in focus.

The lens aperture is usually specified as an f-number, the ratio of focal length to effective aperture diameter. A lens typically has a set of marked "f-stops" that the f-number can be set to. A lower f-number denotes a greater aperture opening which allows more light to reach the film or image sensor.

Aperture priority refers to a shooting mode used in semi-automatic cameras. It allows the photographer to choose an aperture setting and allow the camera to decide the shutter speed and sometimes ISO sensitivity for the correct exposure. This is sometimes referred to as Aperture Priority Auto Exposure, A mode, Av mode, or semi-auto mode.
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_{To understand aperture you surely need to know the basics of photography. Sorry but if you are not familiar with the photography basics then you can't take macro pictures. Don't even try to argue with me over that !}

So much for now..... and again I hope it helps. Please make sure to always read previous articles or journals before asking me any questions Thank you !

Do you know what macro photography is ? Can you tell what is macro and what is not ?

AR - News : Welcome to the World of Macro !

AR-News: Macro November I

AR News: Macro Photography November II



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