Control the depth of field for smooth or sharp background detail
Aperture priority mode is used in situations when controlling the depth of field is crucial. It’s popular with professionals who value the aesthetic quality of their images but want to make quick adjustments in changing lighting conditions. Think wildlife or portrait photographers who want to isolate a subject with a shallow depth of field, or landscape pros setting a smaller aperture to ensure maximum sharpness throughout the frame.
To set up your camera for aperture priority mode, turn the mode dial to ‘A’ or ‘Av’ and use the control dials to select your desired aperture value. The camera will meter the scene and automatically adjust the shutter speed accordingly.
While aperture priority mode is versatile and widely used, it isn’t suited to fast-moving subjects or use in low light, as there’s a danger that the shutter speed might dip too low for a sharp result. It can lead to exposure variations, so avoid it for panoramas, stitched shots, or any application where you need a series of consistent exposures.
SHOOT IN BURST MODE
On days when the lighting is changing quickly, such as sunlight passing behind fast-moving clouds, capturing multiple frames rapidly with burst mode increases your chances of a sharp image.
This is especially helpful in aperture priority mode, where the shutter speed isn’t the most important part of the equation. For wildlife, burst mode combined with aperture priority can freeze the action and keep motion blur to a minimum, but it relies on having a fast camera buffer and plenty of storage. Simply fire off a burst at the peak of the action.
SET MINIMUM SHUTTER
