In Los Angeles, photography stands out for more than just its glamourous settings and celebrity cameos. Natural light is a star in most of the photos, thanks to an average of 292 days of sunlight a year. But how does it affect the way Los Angeles photographers work, including Los Angeles wedding photographers? Read on to find out what role light plays in the picture-taking business and how your camera’s settings—specifically the aperture setting—play the biggest role of all.

What is aperture?

Photographers can adjust the five to nine blades that create the peephole at the lens’s opening to let in more or less light during wedding shoots, one of their many specialties. The aperture range—or degree of adjustability—is typically etched into the lens itself in a variable called f-stops. Larger f-stop values represent smaller apertures, and smaller f-stop values represent larger apertures.

Photographers like to explain aperture in a metaphorical way: picture water dripping from a leaking bucket. The size of the hole in the bucket determines how much water escapes. As the hole gets larger, more and more water comes pouring out at once. Aperture is like the hole in the bucket—its size determines how much light will pass onto the film.

How does aperture affect or alter images?

Aperture is the main component in creating the desired depth of field for any given image. When a camera is set with a large aperture, more light will filter through the lens to create a smaller depth of field, pulling only a portion of the image into focus and leaving the remainder of the shot artfully blurred. The exact same shot taken with a smaller aperture will result in a larger depth of field with all planes captured in focus.

How do Los Angeles photographers use aperture to their advantage?

At Just Shoot Me Photography, a photographer used a larger f-stop to focus on a bouquet of red roses and amaryllises while the bouquet-holding bride and groom are softened in the background. The experts at Photography & Video by Zarek employed the same larger f-stop approach when they zoom in on two fun-loving bridal party members piggybacking into the ceremony—while the spotlight is on the two of them, their immediate surroundings blur artfully. Conversely, Los Angeles wedding photographer Rabin Yomtubi of Golden Eye Studio LA used a smaller f-stop to bathe a couple in light on a California beach, the rocks and sand around them in clear focus.