aperture continued + our week in review photos

wow, wasn't sarah's guest post on aperture yesterday really helpful?  i learned so much!
today, we continue with learning about aperture......

i'm glad you stopped by today, because  i have some really exciting news for any newbie photographer (like myself).
are you ready?......
i found an online,
12 week photography course,
with step by step instructions,
example photos,
a discussion forum,
and great teachers....
and best part is it's FREE!
it's entitled "12 weeks to better photos" and
you can download all the lessons created by two peas in a bucket (thank you, peas!).

the first lesson is "aperture basic training."
go ahead and read the pdf lesson.


are you back?
ok, now for my summary of the lesson--

1.  the vocabulary:
f/stop= size of the aperture of a lens and determines how much of the photo is in focus (f/stop--focus, get it?)
bokeh=the technical photography term for "that awesome blur in the background."

2.  the takeaway:
while i understood that aperture has something to do with blurring the background, i found the "smaller-the-fstop-the larger the aperture" or whatever (i'm still not sure i could clearly explain it all) really confusing.  this phrase from the lesson was super helpful to my understanding of adjusting aperture in my everyday photos:
 ~when you use a low f/stop, less of your photo will be in focus. When you use a higher f/stop, MORE of your photo will be in focus.

i thought Sarah's explanation of the numbers was really helpful, too:

But here's a trick that I learned in my photography class. It's not really accurate but it helps you understand what the numbers will do to your photo:

f 1.8 - 1 thing will be in focus

f 2.8   - 2 things will be in focus

f 4.0 - 4 things will be in focus

f 5.6 - 5 things will be in focus

f 8.0  - 8 things will be in focus

f 11.0 -  11 things will be in focus

f 22.0  - 22 things will be in focus

3.  the challenge:
the challenge is to use your aperture priority mode only (not auto!) this whole week and experiment with the different f/stop numbers (try the lowest your lens will go, f8, and f22) using the same subject/scene.  what a difference, right?  


our week-in-review photos

friday:

saturday:

sunday:

monday: our rough day

tuesday: taking bri's advice and capturing those little moments that i will someday really miss---love the squishy fingers and toes!
 

wednesday: first ice cream cone

thursday:

notice how much more of the photo is in focus with f22 v. f5.6?  f5.6 and f8 are pretty close to the same look, but you get the idea.   

though there is probably a whole world worth's of information that i should know about aperture, this is a 
good start and i now have a basic understanding of how to shoot in aperture priority mode.  how about you? 

don't forget you can link up to my "photo friday" link party any time this week and show off your pretty bokeh!