stop down

Definitions

To decrease the aperture of a photographic lens, moving from an f/stop represented by a lower number to an f/stop represented by a higher number.

Examples

“The f/stops are arranged so that as you stop⟳ down, each stop⟳ allows half the amount of light⟳ to pass⟳ through as the stop⟳ before it did.”

“To get⟳ an image with a larger “depth of field”—ie, where more of the distant objects as well as the nearer ones in a scene are in focus⟳—the photographer must “stop⟳ down” the aperture of the lens, restricting the amount of light⟳ admitted.”

CEFR level