This challenge explores Aperture and how it can improve your photography. Aperture can make a subject stand out.  In this case we want only one subject in focus which will help it stand out from its surroundings.

red_crayon

In the photo on the right,  the crayon is in focus (and red) to help it stand out from the background. My daughter also grabs some attention since she is in color with the crayon but if a person wanted the crayon to stand out even more then the whole photo could have been converted to black and white.

If you don’t know what aperture is and how it works then you may want to read more on What Is Aperture.

Photos entered into this challenge must show a subject in focus and something out of focus. It will be easier for people with cameras that have manual settings or aperture priority settings but people with only automatic settings can join in. I have provided some tips below.

Manual/Aperture priority:

If you have a camera with manual or Aperture priority setting then this challenge should be straight forward. Just change your aperture so that you can shoot a photo of a subject in focus and something in the background that is out of focus.

Automatic cameras:

If however you don’t have manual settings or Aperture Priority then you will need to cheat a little. There are three tips you. First the best way to accomplish this is in low light. If your camera has the ability to adjust its aperture, low light will force it to use a larger aperture. Then zoom in on an object that is close and have another object quite a bit further in the background. If you can choose a focus mode, then choose a mode that will let you focus in the center or on only one object. The best solution would be to go buy a real camera like the Canon Rebel XSi that has all the manual settings you need.

Processing rules for this challenge is any thing but blur. the only blur should be from the aperture of the lens.

The Rules Are:

Topic: Show your aperture (or some depth of field).
Opens: Feb. 02, 2009
Closes: Feb. 16, 2009 (by midnight)
Post-Processing: Any Processing (other than any form of blur)
Include: What processing you did.