APERTURE keeps changing AUTOMATICALLY on my Nikon D3300?
My camera is set on "close up" mode and my f numbers keep changin inevitably. I try to keep them in control but they keep getting high and low all by their own. What am I doing wrong?
P.S. I'm a beginner in photography (as you might've guessed by my camera model. Any other tips that can help me will be welcomed.
What mode are you shooting in? If you are in Aperture priority (A) or Manual (M) then the aperture (f number) should stay as you have set it.*
If you are in Auto or Shutter priority (S), then the aperture WILL change according to the amount of light present.
* the other possibility is that you are 'zooming' the kit lens and changing the focal length. The kit lens (assuming the 18-55mm here) has a variable aperture from f3.5 at 18mm to f5.6 at 55mm. This means that if you are at the wide angle end (18mm) with the aperture at f3.5, and then you 'zoom' to 55mm, the aperture (f number) will automatically change to f5.6, as that's the widest it can go at that focal length.
And so it should. Close-up is a shutter-priority setting.
The aperture is changing depending on the amount of light entering the lens. If it gets dimmer, the aperture opens.
Your aperture is changing automatically because you are in Auto mode or Program mode. If you change to Aperture Priority mode (A on your mode dial) or Manual mode (M on your mode dial), you'll have full control of your aperture setting. Details are in your manual.
When in any of the scene modes, such as "macro," the camera is automatically choosing an aperture and shutter speed combination that it thinks is best for that specific type of photography. It uses a variety of information such as the lens in use, focusing distance and light level to determine the "best" exposure for the scene. Therefore as you change your focal length or focusing distance, the exposure will be adjusted. What the camera is doing in macro mode is just using small apertures. You can almost always get a much better exposure (therefore a better looking image) by setting the camera in Aperture Priority and choosing a small f/stops like f/16 to f/32. These f/stops will produce a much larger area in focus than larger f/stops like f/4 or f/2.8. You want to use these small f/stops because the area that it's in focus (your Depth of Field) is going to be very shallow as you get physically close to the subject. You use these small f/stops to increase the DOF, but at the expense of having to use longer and longer shutter speeds, which can ofter result in the need to use a tripod.
You should practice with the Manual mode. Meter off of something that is middle-gray in tone such as green grass to get a base exposure. From there you can adjust things to get an equivalent exposure, lock it in and not have to worry about the exposure changing on you.
Do a search on youtube for "how to expose" or "understanding exposures" and "equivalent exposures."
Also do a search on how to take macro shots too.