What do you mean when you say a “Stop of Light”

We have compiled a list of the TOP50 questions that we hear on our workshops. From gear, to settings, to composition, and shooting styles, we have decided to post three questions and answers a week till we get through them all.

We hope they answer some of the questions that you may have. Here is today’s question.

Question: What do you mean when you say a “Stop of Light”

Answer: A stop is simply a doubling or halving of the amount of light let into the sensor when you are taking a photo.

When you hear a photographer say he's going to increase his exposure by 1 stop, it simply means he's going to capture twice as much light as on the previous shot. And he is doing just this by adjusting one of three things…the shutter speed, the aperture diameter, or the ISO.

Thanks for reading,

Northof49Photography