CharleneT Loc: South Carolina

I'm still trying to understand how aperture works and when to use a large aperture. This evening, I pulled over to get a pic of the sunset. It was at dusk, so there was some light. The clouds made the sky darker except for an area that was lit by the setting sun where there was no clouds. If I wanted to bring the clouds out more, would I use a larger aperture? Just trying to check if I'm getting the concept.

Jahawk Loc: Rhode Island

Try this link for Aperture: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/bh-guide-exposure-understanding-aperture?cm_mmc=EML-_-Holiday2014-23-_-150104-_-Body_Explora_A-Guide-To-Understanding-Aperture

BigBear Loc: Northern CT

When the aperture is open to the widest setting, the smallest number your lens can go, it allows the most light in.
It is also the shallowest depth of field, the distance in front of and behind your subject that will be in focus. As you close the aperture, the depth of field will increase, but it cuts the amount of light getting through the lens.
When aperture priority mode is used, you choose what F-stop you want and the camera will decide the other settings for what it thinks is the best exposure.

BobR Loc: Norwalk CT USA

I shoot aperture priority most of the time. It gives me control of the depth of field and also to shoot in a lens sweet spot(sharpest image).Now ,of course this is very dependent of the subject matter. For instance with my Sigma 150-500mm its almost two stops down at f11 at 500mm produces the sharpest image -important if Im shooting birds and such. If there is enough light there is no reason to have the aperture wide open though sacrificing both depth of field and possibly sharpness in your sunset scenario where greater dof is good.
I imagine what your after is brighter overall image. As Im sure you know 3 things control this- aperture , shutter speed and ISO. How you want to get the correct exposure depends on the subject and what your after. Sunset? I'd most likely go to my cameras sweet spot unless its a pretty dark one. ISO I like to keep low as possible to avoid noise. SS -fast enough to keep hand shake out of the picture if hand held. All that in mind...
Sunsets and sunrises can be tricky exposure-wise. Usually the camera will try to compensate for the brighter area (where the sun is)and leave the rest of the image darker - like the surrounding clouds especially if they are on the darker side to begin with. Or perhaps expose the darker areas correctly leaving the brighter area "blown out"
There is your metering mode and that's another aspect that if your not familiar with you might read up on. One thing Ive learned to do is meter slightly off the brighter area if Im encountering this problem -trying a few areas while I have the chance as things often happen fast during sunrise or set. Or perhaps you simply need to use exposure compensation. Lots of stuff to remember and try while shooting a simple sunset. Hope Ive been helpful but theres a lot of ground to cover and possibly I haven't explained what I know about this very well. Or maybe I misinterpreted your question. Anyways-happy shooting! Bob

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

It sounds like your issue is contrast. You want to lighten the clouds without lightening the sunlit part of the scene. You can't do that by adjusting the aperture. You can lighten the clouds by using a larger aperture (smaller number) or increasing the length of the exposure by decreasing the shutter speed (shutter stays open longer). Unfortunately you will lighten the rest of the picture at the same time. Some cameras have a dynamic lighting setting that will decrease the contrast and you can do it in post. Opening the aperture increases the exposure as does lengthening the time of exposure but they alter the exposure of the whole image.

anotherview Loc: California

Wikipedia has a good discussion of Aperture:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture

Scroll down the page to Photography. There you will find the part you need.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

If you have a good exposure - which means that aperture, shutter speed and ISO provides a good, balanced image, adjusting one of the above will change that balance.

What happened is that the camera, in auto mode (doesn't matter which - aperture, shutter or ISO auto), interpreted the scene, and with the bright sun it tried as best it could to not overexpose the scene. So the clouds and everything else was rendered darker.

If you just change the aperture, and you are still in auto mode, the only thing that will change is the depth of field - opening the lens more to a larger aperture in aperture priority setting will make the shutter speed faster, but the image will look the same, with the exception that with a larger opening the amount of foreground and background that is in focus will be diminished.

If you want to keep your aperture, but want to brighten the image, then you can use the exposure compensation control to "add" more light to the scene - but in doing so the sun will be even brighter.

The other way to fix this is to learn how to adjust the image in post processing, to de-emphasize the bright or highlight areas, and to brighten the shadow areas.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

Charlene, get a copy of Bryan Peterson's, "Understanding Exposure, 3rd. Edition." I'm sure it will help you a lot. Many, many people here have read the book and recommend it. Easy to understand and will provide you with a few "ah-ha" moments. Good luck.

CharleneT Loc: South Carolina

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll keep trying!

windshoppe Loc: Arizona

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Ya know, Gene...
I learn something every time I look at one of your replies.
Thank You!

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

:thumbup: Agreed.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

I've told him the same thing. He's a great resource.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

If you shoot in aperture priority mode, you will have the same basic exposure no matter if you open or close the aperture because the camera will adjust the shutter speed. It would probably be best to use your settings in aperture priority mode as a starting point for shooting in manual mode. you can then adjust the aperture (letting in more or less light) to get the exposure/photo you want.

BebuLamar

Nowaday people use the exposure compensator to control the exposure even in manual mode.