Why does a wide aperture make it easier to shoot through narrow gaps or slats?
Asked 5/1/2019
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When photographing a subject behind narrow foreground obstructions like cracks, fence slats, or leaves, why does using a wider aperture (for example f/1.4) make the obstruction seem to disappear more than using a smaller aperture? Is this really because you can "see through" the gap better, or is something else happening optically?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
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Sometimes a picture, even a crudely drawn one, is worth a thousand words.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
7y ago
0
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It’s mostly not that the lens is literally “seeing through” the gap more. The main effect is shallower depth of field and stronger blur of anything in the foreground.
If you focus on the subject behind the obstruction, a wide aperture makes nearby foreground objects much more out of focus. Their detail is spread into a larger blur, so slats, leaves, or edges become less defined and may seem to fade away.
A larger aperture also means a larger entrance pupil, so light for each image point arrives from a wider range of angles. That contributes to stronger blur for out-of-focus foreground objects, which helps them interfere less with the focused subject.
So the practical result is:
- wide aperture: foreground obstruction blurs more and is less noticeable
- narrow aperture: foreground stays more defined and blocks more of the scene
This works best when:
- the obstruction is close to the lens
- the subject is much farther away
- you focus on the subject, not the obstruction
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