Photography tips

Using aperture creatively

Mount Pilatus massif in Central Switzerland surrounded by fog in the evening light

Key tips

  1. Choose a medium aperture like f/8 for landscape subjects to achieve a balance between detail sharpness and light intake.
  2. Select a medium aperture at high focal lengths to capture the subject clearly.
  3. Select a medium aperture to ensure the entire summit subject remains sharp.

Photographs on this topic

31 photographs with tips

The exact camera settings for each shot are shown below it - a starting point for recreating the look yourself. Click through to a photograph for detailed photography tips on that specific shot, under "Photography tips for this image".

All subjects Mountains City Architecture Landscape Pilatus Lucerne Central Switzerland Lake Lucerne
Low sun over Lake Baldegg in orange-yellow light due to Saharan dust 135 mm · f/11 · 1/160 s · ISO 250 The sun shines from behind the sharp edge of a modern architectural roof. 45 mm · f/22 · 1/500 s · ISO 200 Bürgenstock Hotels on the cliff above Lake Lucerne in a winter landscape 400 mm · f/25 · 1/125 s · ISO 800 Close-up of a blooming magnolia tree with pink flowers against a blue sky 30 mm · f/22 · 1/80 s · ISO 200 A straight wooden jetty leads into the foggy Lake Sempach, framed by reeds. 15 mm · f/5.6 · 1/60 s · ISO 500 Frost on trees and grass at Lake Sempach in dense fog 28 mm · f/6.3 · 1/80 s · ISO 320 The snow-covered summit of Mount Rigi with a transmission tower rising above a dense layer of fog. 270 mm · f/18 · 1/320 s · ISO 320 View of the snowy Rigi mountain peak with transmitter tower above a dense sea of fog. 270 mm · f/8 · 1/400 s · ISO 100 Snow-covered wooded hilltop rising above a dense layer of fog in Central Switzerland. 400 mm · f/8 · 1/800 s · ISO 100 View of a wooden pier at Lake Sempach during twilight 15 mm · f/5.6 · 1/60 s · ISO 320 View of Lake Sempach at sunset with light reflecting on the water 50 mm · f/8 · 1/1250 s · ISO 400 Sun low over the calm Lake Sempach at twilight 20 mm · f/25 · 1/25 s · ISO 100 Sunset at Lake Sempach with a reflective water surface and a post in the foreground 30 mm · f/32 · 1/25 s · ISO 100 Wooden pier leading into the calm Lake Sempach at sunset 19 mm · f/16 · 1/80 s · ISO 320 A long jetty in the calm Lake Sempach at sunset 26 mm · f/10 · 1/100 s · ISO 100 A blue and white Rigi rack railway train stands on the tracks in front of a station. 22 mm · f/8 · 1/2000 s · ISO 400 Nocturnal view of the old town of Bern with illuminated Bern Minster 50 mm · f/14 · 25 s · ISO 400 Detailed view of the stone main portal featuring the Last Judgment at Bern Minster by night 22 mm · f/18 · 5 s · ISO 400 Portrait of a brown bear at the Bern Bear Pit 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/250 s · ISO 6400 Portrait of a brown bear at the Bern Bear Park 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/500 s · ISO 6400 Brown bear in front of a wall at the Bern Bear Park 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/500 s · ISO 6400 A resting brown bear in the Bear Pit in Bern 400 mm · f/6.3 · 1/400 s · ISO 6400 The tower of the Bern Minster behind bare branches 128 mm · f/16 · 1/40 s · ISO 400

Related topics

  • Mountains
  • City
  • Architecture
  • Landscape
  • Light
  • Camera settings
  • Composition
  • Perspective
  • Pilatus
  • Lucerne
  • Central Switzerland
  • Lake Lucerne
  • Evening light
  • Fog
  • Sunset
  • Night
  • Blue hour
  • Snow
  • Rain
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