There are 3 key variables to think about in photography. ISO which controls how sensitive you film/camera is to light. Shutter speed, which controls how long light is let into the camera. Aperture or F stop. This controls how much light is allowed in through your lens.

If you notice anything about these 3 variables it is that they are all related to how light interacts with your camera. Each of these variable affect the results of a photo in other ways as well. What I want to examine is how aperture not only affects the light but also the depth of field in an image.

Depth of field refers to how much of the photograph is in focus in front of and behind the point in the frame where the lens is focused. This can range from a large enough amount to render an entire scenic landscape in focus to a small slice where only a fraction is in focus.

As is the case with all art, there is no right or wrong way to use depth of field. It is all subjective and related more to personal style and taste than anything else.

I like to shoot at the largest aperture, meaning the biggest opening for the light to flow in through. This also is the smallest F stop number whish makes things a little confusing.

There are a few reasons I like to shoot this way. The first is more of a practical reason. Shooting with a large aperture allows more light in and means I can have a faster shutter speed. Having a faster shutter speed means I can hand hold my camera in more situations. I really prefer to shoot handheld so I can have as much mobility and flexibility as possible.

The more artistic reason I like shooting with a wide aperture is for the shallow depth of field. The shallow depth of field allows me to isolate or single out a specific subject more, or even a small part of a subject. The shallow depth of field softens and blurs the background so the subject stands out more. But it requires more practice and patience because if you are off just a little with your focus point then your subject will be completely out of focus.

When photographing a grouping of flowers you can shoot with a wide aperture and get the nice soft background that I like, but the trade off is that most likely all of the flowers in your grouping will noit be in sharp focus. If you close down your aperture more more of the flowers in the grouping will look sharp, but then the background may look more busy and your subject might not pop as well. You as the artist need to decide what your goal is and what you prefer.

The distance your camera is away from the subject you are focused on affects how much will be in/or out of focus. And the distance from your subject to the background will affect how soft the background is.

Try different things. Experiment. See what you like and how you enjoy creating photography. Then go make more art.

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