How do you cut down the amount of light that gets into your camera?

The small aperture setting helps you to cut down the amount of light that gets into your camera. The aperture is a set of blades that control the opening of the camera lens. If the opening is small, it is called small or narrow aperture and if the opening is large, it is called wide aperture. The more the opening , the more amount of light will enter the camera. Similarly, the smaller the opening, the less amount of light will enter the camera.

Smaller aperture also helps you compensate for a longer shutter speed. When you adjust the size of the hole that the light comes in through, it is called adjusting your camera's aperture. What happens when you shoot in Shutter-priority mode? In this mode, the camera automatically adjusts the aperture and ISO setting according to the shutter speed you choose. Then what happens in 'Manual-Mode'? When you shoot in manual mode you have to manually adjust your shutter, aperture ans ISO setting. If you are shooting in manual mode and want to cut down the amount of light that gets into your camera, then you’ll need to decrease your Aperture in a proportion to your shutter speed.

Here's a simple formula to follow:

• As you decrease shutter speed by a ‘stop’ you double the amount of time the shutter is open (eg – from 1/250 to 1/125).

• The same is true with Aperture settings – as you decrease the Aperture by one stop you decrease the size of the shutter opening by 50%.