How To Choose The Best Aperture for Your Photography

How To Choose The Best Aperture for Your Photography

Aperture is one of the three elements of the Exposure Triangle and a key setting in producing sharpness in your photo. Aperture refers to how much light enters into your camera sensor through the lens and is indicated by f-stops. Additionally, aperture also controls the depth of field within a photo. A wide aperture such as f/1.4 will result in a lot of light entering the sensor and create a more shallow depth of field compared to a narrow aperture such as f/16. In general, you’ll notice that a lot of prime lenses will have apertures that start wider than zoom lenses (for example: my Sigma 85mm ART lens goes down to f/1.4 whereas my Sony 24-70mm G-Master lens goes down to f/2.8).

I have written about aperture as a subtopic in a few different blog posts, but I’d like to give a more in-depth analysis into how aperture can truly contribute to producing a certain image style that you are looking to achieve.

As you read this blog post, know that there isn’t one specific aperture that will be best for all photography niches, or even one photography niche. The main goal of this blog is to help you understand your camera settings and shoot intentionally so that you are in control of the image that you want to produce.

The Venice beach pier at blue hour with waves starting to crash onto the shore — Sony a7R III | Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/6.3

How Does Aperture Affect Lighting in Your Photo?

As I mentioned, wide apertures allow a lot more natural light to enter the sensor compared to narrow apertures. While you can introduce more light into a photo by increasing the ISO on your camera body, this can result in an increase of grain and noise that you might not want to have in your image.

That’s not to say you should keep your aperture as wide as possible just to get as much light as possible in your photo. I’ll discuss some of the apertures I generally go to when it comes to certain photography niches later on, but for me personally, there are times where I do need to bump up the ISO specifically in order to get the specific image that I’m looking for. One of the biggest reasons why you might want to change other settings like your shutter speed or ISO to achieve correct exposure is because you’re trying to keep a certain depth of field in your photos.

Depth of Field in Aperture

Depth of field refers to the part of an image that is in focus compared to the background. If you are looking to establish a shallow depth of field (in which case the background is more blurred out compared to the subject you’re trying to get in focus), then you’ll want to use a wider aperture.

Oppositely, if you’re trying to get as much of the image evenly in focus and you don’t want there to be much foreground-background separation, then you might opt for a more narrow aperture like f/16. Regardless of your photography niche, understanding depth of field provides an opportunity to practice different apertures and see which style you prefer.

Aperture In Travel Photography

As a travel photographer, I photograph a mix of landscapes and street photography and I’m usually taking photos at all times of the day (although I prefer golden hour and night photography). Additionally, I have used focal lengths ranging from 24mm to up to 200mm. All of these factors play a part in the camera settings that I use in travel photography. While I still like to experiment with different apertures depending on the photo I’m trying to achieve, here are some examples of travel photos I have taken at specific apertures.

Japanese bubble tea neon sign lit up in a Tokyo alleyway at night — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/1.4

View of the London bridge at sunset with a boat passing by in London, UK — Sony a7R III | Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G-Master II | Aperture f/5.6

Beautiful vibrant orange flowers in a dark background with green leaves surrounding the plant — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/2.2

Person riding through an alleyway on a scooter in Tokyo, Japan at sunset — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/10

People eating at a restaurant outside at night with a red paper lantern in front of them in Tokyo, Japan — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/1.6

Senso-ji temple glowing at night in Tokyo, Japan — Sony a7R III | Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G-Master | Aperture f/6.3

Beautiful sunset in Venice Beach with waves crashing in and small birds walking on the sand — Sony a7R III | Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G-Master | Aperture f/5

Wide view of Shibuya overpass with congested streets of cars and billboards on a cloudy afternoon — Sony a7R III | Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/7.1

As you can see, aside from generally keeping my aperture pretty wide for street photography at night, I try to experiment with different apertures based on what I’m shooting. If I’m using a closer focal length like 85mm and wanting to capture a certain detail, then I’m going to opt for a wider aperture because I want there to be separation between the subject and the background. If I’m using a wider focal length and want to get a more landscape shot where a lot of the photo is in focus, then I’ll aim for an aperture around f/5.6 or higher.

You’ll notice that the photo of the Senso-ji Temple taken at night was with a narrower aperture than most other night shots. For that photo I used a tripod with a long shutter speed and the temple already produced enough light because it was illuminating during that part of the night.

Aperture In Portrait Photography

When it comes to portrait photography, there might be a misconception that you have to choose as wide of an aperture as possible in order to make the image look aesthetic. Personally, I think there are advantages and disadvantages when it comes to shooting with a wide aperture like f/1.4. But similar to my point in landscape and street photography, I like to work with a few different apertures when photographing a lifestyle session and working with models. It all depends on the look you’re trying to achieve in your photography. Here are some examples of lifestyle portraits I have photographed taken at a few different apertures.

Man wearing sunglasses on the beach at blue hour in Santa Monica, Los Angeles — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/1.4

Man wearing blue watch on the beach at sunset in Santa Monica, Los Angeles — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/3.5

Male model walking on the beach under Venice Beach Pier in Los Angles — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/1.4

Male model fixing his hear while wearing a suit and luxury fashion watch in Downtown Los Angeles — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/4.5

Woman wearing white Bose headphones in the city in Downtown Los Angeles — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/2.2

Model posing at the beach during overcast morning in Santa Monica, Los Angeles — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/3.2

Man putting on sunglasses at sunest in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles — Sony a7R III | Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/3.5

Man wearing a backpack and water bottle walking up the path of the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles — Sony a7R III | Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART | Aperture f/3.5

Compared to travel photography, I generally keep my aperture a bit wider and usually try to go between f/2 to f/4. One of the biggest reasons why the aperture is wider is because I like to incorporate movement into my photos, so I’m much more likely to use a higher shutter speed to make sure the model is in focus.

Another element of working with models that I don’t have to consider in travel photography is Eye Autofocus (Eye-AF). If you’re shooting with an aperture as wide as f/1.4 and the model you’re directing is moving around a lot, you might get scenarios where the Eye-AF tracker will get the eyelash or side of the model’s cheek, as having such a shallow depth of field can be a bit unforgiving. But of course there are a lot of other factors involved when it comes to getting sharp Eye Autofocus beyond just the aperture.

FINAL WORDS

A basic understanding of aperture can go a long way if you’re just getting started in photography because it’s a foundational setting that will impact the look of all of your photos. I hope through this blog post, I’ve shown that there is no one right answer when it comes to choosing the best aperture. The style of the photo you want to capture should inform you of what aperture you should try, rather than the other way around.

Although I only showed a few photography niches in this blog, I hope the main points I made in regards to aperture will help you within the photography niche you want to try.

Thank you for reading and until next time.

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photography tips, camera gearBrian BrownJune 6, 2025los angeles photograhper, sony alpha, sigma lens, lighting, street photography, night photography, aperture, camera settings, depth of field, portrait photography, photography basicsComment