Konica Minolta MAXXUM 50 - Manual (Page 30)

30 A
SHORT GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography can be a rewarding pursuit. It is a broad and
disciplined field that can take years to master. But the pleasure in
making photographs and the joy of capturing a magical moment
cannot be compared. The guide is an introduction to some basic
photographic principles.
A SHORT GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY
The lens aperture controls not only
exposure, but also depth of field;
the area between the closest object
in focus and the furthest object in
focus. The larger the aperture
value, the greater the depth of field
and the longer the shutter speed
needed to make the exposure. The
smaller the aperture value, the
shallower the depth of field and the
faster the shutter speed needed to
make the exposure. Usually
landscape photographs use a large
depth of field (large aperture value)
to keep the foreground and
background in focus, and portraits
use a shallow depth of field (small
aperture value) to separate the
subject from the background.
Depth of field also changes with
focal length. The shorter the focal
length, the greater the depth of
field; the longer the focal length,
the shallower the depth of field.