How does an unusual aperture shape affect a photo?
Asked 3/16/2021
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2 answers
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If an aperture opening has an irregular shape—such as a star, heart, or a pentagon with an extra protruding section—how can you predict what effect that shape will have on the final image? Is there a way to analyze the impact of the extra section, or is it mainly something you have to test by shooting?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
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The only way to know the effect of aperture shape is make a picture, then look at it.
With practice, you may have enough experience to make accurate predictions before making the picture, but “try it and see” experiments will always be necessary.
Experiment is part of photography and most experiments fail. The aperture shape will always have some effect on the picture. Usually it will not be the effect you want.
Fortunately, unsuccessful pictures are not crimes and for better or worse few people will care one way or the other.
Making pictures to find out is almost always better than guessing while sitting in a chair. Even with film, making pictures doesn’t cost much and ends whatever worry kept you from it.
Originally by user95237. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user95237
5y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
An unusual aperture shape can affect the image, especially out-of-focus highlights and blur rendering, but there isn’t a simple universal way to predict the exact visual result from the shape alone. In practice, the reliable answer is: shoot a test image and inspect the result.
With experience, you may get better at anticipating how aperture shape influences bokeh and other rendering characteristics, but experimentation is still the best method. Small changes in lens design, focus distance, subject distance, and lighting can all change how visible the effect is.
So if you’re wondering what an extra protruding section in the aperture will do, the practical approach is to photograph a scene with bright out-of-focus highlights and compare the results. Testing is a normal part of photography, and it’s usually more useful than trying to predict everything theoretically.
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