Street Photography Tip: The Ease of Aperture Priority
Saturday 17 June 2023, 13:31 by Michiel Heijmans | 3,819 views | 2 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
A street photographer wants to respond quickly to a situation. Keep the camera ready at all times, without being bothered by changing light. My favourite setting for street photography is aperture priority (A or Av).
Aperture priority means that you let your camera determine the ISO and shutter speed. If necessary, within certain limits. You only set the aperture.
Do you want a creamy, blurred background? Then you use a low number, a wide or open aperture. Do you want everything sharp from front to back? Then you use a high number, a narrow or closed aperture.
Because you can easily switch between everything being sharp and only your subject being sharp, aperture priority is the favourite mode of many street photographers.
You can also choose to keep your aperture fixed, for example at around f/4.5, and mainly play with exposure compensation for darker or lighter photos.
About the author
Michiel is professioneel straatfotograaf en geeft workshops en lezingen over straatfotografie. Hij schrijft columns voor Focus Magazine en is erg actief op Instagram. Daar vind je dagelijks inspiratie en tips voor je eigen straatfotografie!
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2 comments
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Ellie Kuper wrote on Tuesday 20 June 2023 at 14:57 | replyI love street photography. But how do you 'lock' your DF?
Translated from Dutch. -
Michiel Heijmans
wrote on Tuesday 20 June 2023 at 19:56
| reply
Hi Elly,
Translated from Dutch.
You can set your camera to Av or A mode and choose your aperture. Then it stays fixed, and ISO and shutter speed will be adjusted depending on the light.
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