Aperture

I rented a Nikon 1.8 85mm lens for the weekend. After using it I understand why the photo store rents them for $17. I absolutely don't want to give it back! It's amazing and this will be high on my list of business items to purchase.

For those that don't know anything about aperture, it is the size of the lens opening during exposure, also known as f-stop. When using a really wide opening, like 1.8 it lets more light in enabling the use of a faster shutter speed. More importantly to me, it only focuses on a small part of the image.

Check out how only the baby's foot is clear and the rest of the image softens as it gets further away.