Time-Lapse Photography Art and Techniques by Mark Higgins

A very wide aperture of ƒ/1.4 has put almost all of the frame out of focus except for the area where
the camera is focused. This image shows a very shallow depth of field.
Aperture value versus aperture size
Changing the aperture value will control how open or closed the aperture is inside the lens when a
picture is being taken. The relationship between the ‘ƒ’ number and the opening in the lens looks
confusing initially (a small value gives us a big opening and a large value gives us a small opening),
but an understanding of depth of field will help.
Depth of field
When you change the aperture you also change the depth of field. This dictates how much of the image
is in focus. Whatever you focus on will always be the sharpest point in the image. You will notice that
the image loses sharpness as you get further in front or behind where the camera is focused.
Another way to refer to depth of field is depth of focus; it is how deep the sharp area will be in
your image. For time-lapse we will generally be using around ƒ/11 to get a wide depth of field, which
is a similar approach to landscape photography, but there are always exceptions. Experiment with
depth of field and see what you come up with.
Remembering aperture and depth of field
Aperture and depth of field can be very confusing and this is the area where most people come