Along with shutter speed and ISO, aperture is one of the three fundamental exposure parameters that give you technical and creative control of your images, and mastering it is crucial to growing as a photographer. If you are new to photography and a bit perplexed about how aperture works, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know.
Coming to you from Photo Genius, this helpful video tutorial will show you what you need to know about aperture. While aperture is just a third of the exposure triangle, it generally gives you the most creative control over a photo, as it controls the depth of field. This is why many photographers often choose to shoot in aperture priority mode, choosing the aperture themselves and allowing the camera to choose the appropriate shutter speed and ISO to match. Like all fundamental settings, though, there is always a tradeoff: a wider aperture lets more light in but decreases the depth of field (the amount of the image that is in focus) and sometimes results in lower levels of sharpness as you near the maximum aperture, while a narrower aperture results in deeper depth of field but requires either a higher ISO or longer shutter speed to compensate. Once you master it, you will have a lot more creative control over your images. Check out the video above for the full rundown.
