Guide
Better photos in poor light
by David Lee
"When the sun is shining, take aperture eight!" - a mnemonic for donkeys
6.5.2019
Translation: machine translated
Where this saying comes from, what it means, and above all: why it is useless.
This mnemonic is one of the most commonly parroted pieces of photography wisdom. But in the meantime, word should have got around that just because something rhymes doesn't mean it's true. I think the mnemonic is rubbish in this day and age.
Which aperture is ideal for your photo depends on numerous factors:
- How much depth of field you want. An open aperture results in a shallow depth of field and blurs the background. A closed aperture sharpens most of the image.
- Related to this: How close you are to the subject and how far away it is from the background. Macro shots with an open aperture rarely turn out well. The depth of field is so shallow that hardly anything can be recognised.
- What exposure time you need. Example: A bird in flight needs shutter speeds of 1/2000 of a second or even less to get a sharp image. This requires a lot of light, so an open aperture even in sunlight. In such cases, it makes little sense to select the aperture manually - it has to adapt to your shutter speed.
- Whether you want to create bokeh effects or aperture stars.
- How much light is available to you
The saying "When the sun is shining, use aperture eight" only takes the last factor into account. And this is becoming less and less important as technology advances.
Where does the saying come from?
Before the digital age, when the world was still shooting with film, the ISO sensitivity was determined by the film and was usually very low. The photographer could not increase the sensitivity if there was too little light.
On the other hand, if there was a lot of light, he could not use an excessively large aperture because many early cameras could not expose as quickly as today's devices. An open aperture would have led to overexposure in sunlight, even at a low ISO.
This is why the relationship between the amount of light and aperture was much more important in the past than it is today. The medium range around f/8 as a rough rule of thumb was useful, even though even then a different aperture might be required depending on the situation.
The middle range around f/8 also has an advantage that still applies today: most lenses are sharpest at this setting. With a fully open or fully closed aperture, they exhibit slight weaknesses in imaging performance.
Conclusion: Break the mnemonic bridge
Strict rules in photography force you into a corset. In the case of "When the sun is shining, use aperture eight", the corset is not only particularly tight, but also pointless. It doesn't even provide a rough guide, but merely prevents you from using the aperture correctly. <p
David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
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