What is the best f-stop settings and lens?

I have noticed a lot of professional pictures that are really bright. For example, nature and sports events. I was wondering what the secret is. Thanks.

Vonnie, there honestly are no secrets. There's simply an understanding of how exposure works, and the right tools are chosen and used for the given situation. For sporting events or wildlife photography, long lenses with large maximum apertures are typically used to allow for proper exposures for the required shutters speeds. That said, with the advent of digital imaging (and the ability to use significantly higher iso's) "professional" looking nature images can oftentimes be made with more modest equipment. This is especially true for landscape images where fast shutter speeds are typically not necessary.

Edit: Oh, and I also intended to mention that tripods are typically part of the equation for sharp, properly exposed images!

Lighting also makes a huge difference. If you can get nice evening sidelighting (or morning for nature) and shadows in the right places, you can get a subject to "pop" from the background. You'll remember the lit subject and the background will fade from your memory.

Back to your subject header, if I *have* to give a generic recommendation, f8 with just about any prime. Realistically, though, most good equipment handled properly will work with good composition, lighting, exposure and technique. Modern zooms are extremely good, with the best such as the Nikon and Canon 70-200 f2.8's being within a couple of hairs of the equivalent primes. The equipment is most often limited more by the skills of the user and I have a lot of bad shots to prove it

Both replies above are spot on. I'll add one thing: if money is no object, get the Canon 300mm f/2.8, or even better, the 400mm f/2.8. They're optically superb, huge and heavy, and cost thousands. I assume Nikon makes the same thing (I just don't know offhand).

No, I don't own either, way out of reach!

Vonnie, I am not entirely sure what you are asking. In general, it's the light and the exposure (lens opening plus shutter speed) that affects "brightness"and not much else. An image can be "bright" (or "dark" for that matter) regardless of the equipment or the f-stop depending on the shutter speed and the available light. Image quality is a whole different matter that takes into account equipment, technique and, perhaps most important, the quality of the light. Hope this helps.

i usually use my tamron 200-500mm its modestly priced somewhere between

$800 and $900.

"Punch" in a photo image can be obtained in a number of ways. But perhaps most important are contrast and focus. While some don't like them, I'm an advocate of high-contrast images. Not just light-dark contrast but sometimes the "color-contrast" of opposing complementary colors (e.g. blue-orange). With respect to focus, learn about "hyperfocal distance" for landscapes. An Internet search on this term will supply a full explanation. Of course, contrast and focus are only two things to consider. Even they won't produce much improvement if the basics (notably COMPOSITION) are not fulfilled.