The Field Test.

1. 

   Look at the dog’s face, then at the garden behind it. Which aperture is closest to what made this photo?

   f/1.8 — wide openf/8 — the middle of the rangef/22 — stopped right downAperture can’t do this — it’s an editing effect

2. 

   From the twigs under the water right up to the ridge line, everything is sharp. What did the photographer do?

   Stopped down to a narrow aperture — f/11 or beyondOpened wide to f/1.8 to fit the whole scene inRaised the ISO as high as it would goZoomed in as far as the lens allows

3. 

   The bird and its log are razor sharp; the whole forest is a green wash. Where is the plane of focus — and how thick is the sharp zone?

   On the bird — and paper-thin, from a wide apertureOn the trees behind — the bird just happens to be sharpEverywhere at once — that’s what focus meansPhotos don’t have a plane of focus

4. 

   Every streetlight in this shot has turned into a soft glowing disc. Why?

   The lens is wide open and the lights sit far outside the sharp zone — that’s bokehThe camera moved during the shotHigh ISO noise clumping togetherStreetlights genuinely look like this

5. 

   Cyclists in the mid-ground, a brick wall up close, houses in the distance — all acceptably sharp. Which pairing makes sense?

   A narrow aperture like f/11–16, shot in good daylightWide open at f/1.8 — more light is always betterf/1.8 plus a very high ISOAperture has no effect on what’s sharp

6. No photo for this one — it’s your shoot. A portrait of one person against a messy background. What do you dial in?

   Open wide (f/2.8–5.6), get close, zoom in — melt the messf/22, to make absolutely everything sharpIt doesn’t matter — blur can be added in editingAuto mode — the camera knows best

✓ Mastery check passed — nice work.