F-stop

Hey Alison,

I've been following your website for a while now and I just LOVE your photography. I also really love photography but I'm pretty oblivious to the finer details and terms. I'm still trying to grasp F #'s and SLR and all of that. I don't have the greatest camera in the world, but I sure would like one.


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Thanks for the questions...

I am going to start REALLY basic...you may know some of what I have to say and I am aware of that. It is better to start more basic and have it be review than to not understand terms and have it be over someone's head.

SLR is single-lens reflex - check out this Wikipedia link.

F-stops are the same as aperture. To put is very simply, f-stop is how big the whole is in the shutter and therefore it controls how much light enters the camera, along with the shutter speed. Aperture also controls how much of your image is in focus. The smaller the aperture, the less will be in focus. So, if you really love portraits where just the baby's eyes are in focus and the background is super blurry...go f/2.8 or less. If you are wanting a landscape or a family portrait where the foreground, middle ground and background are all in focus, go for a higher number...f/11 or so.