Common Photography Terms and Usage Examples
“Wow that’s an awesome bokeh shot!”
“Your photo could use a little bit more negative space.”
“Perhaps use a smaller aperture to increase the depth of field”
Bokeh, negative space, what? All these photography terms are probably making you crazy! If you work with photography, you will need to know these “photog” terms so work will flow more efficiently and so you won’t look like a noobie when someone asks you to stop down your camera. This is why I have compiled the most common used photography terms. I also provided example sentences on how to properly use them.
Photography Terms
Ambient Light
A lightsource that is naturally available and not supplied by the photographer.
i.e. That ambient light is strong enough that we don’t have to use any of our flash strobes.Aperture
Lens opening. The opening in a camera lens through which light passes to expose the film. The size of aperture is either fixed or adjustable. Aperture size is usually calibrated in f-numbers (f-stop) – the larger the number, the smaller the lens opening. A larger f-stop requires more light to properly expose a photo.
i.e. The new 70-200 lens is considered to be a fast lens due to the constant aperture of f2.8 throughout its focal length.Aspect Ratio
The ratio of width x height. For photography, it is typically a ratio of 2:3 and produces print sizes such as 4×6 or 5×7.
i.e. Keep in mind the aspect ratio when cropping photos in Photoshop. You want to make sure your photo will print correctly to a 4×6 size.Autofocus (AF)
A system which the camera will automatically focus on a part of an image. Most of today’s cameras have Autofocus.
i.e. The autofocus on my Canon 5DII is extremely fast even at low light setting.Background
The part of a scene that is behind the main subject.
i.e. You can blur the background even more if you use a larger aperture and a larger focal length.Backlighting
A lightsource that is usually behind the subject and towards the lens. A backlight could produce a silhouette effect if the light is too harsh (like when shooting at a sunset).
i.e. If there is too much backlighting, use a fill-flash to properly expose your photo.Blowup
An enlargement of a photo.
i.e. Make sure you shoot at the highest resolution so we can blowup the photo to a banner size later.Bokeh
One of the famous words in the Photography world. The word “bokeh” comes from the Japanese word “boke” (pronounced bo-keh) which literally means fuzziness or dizziness. Bokeh is said to describe the rendition of out-of-focus points of light. If sharpness is what happens at the point of best focus, then bokeh is what happens away from the point of best focus. To learn more about Bokeh, check out my All About Bokeh Article.
i.e. The bokeh on this photo is amazing!Bracketing
Taking pictures of the subject through a range of exposures-both lighter and darker. Usually 1-stop below and above normal exposure. Bracketing is used alot when taking HDR photos.
i.e. When bracketing your shots for HDR, make sure you use a tripod and a remote trigger to minimize camera shake.Candid Pictures
An unposed picture and usually taken when the subject is not aware. Candid shots generate a more relax and natural pose.
i.e. Candid shots are my favorite, they tend to bring out more of the subject’s personality and character.Cropping
Using only a certain part of the image. Used to remove unwanted objects in a photo.
i.e. To make this photo follow the rule of thirds, crop 1 inch from the top and 2 inches from the left.Depth of Field (DOF)
The portion of a scene that appears sharp in the image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on either side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions. Learn more about depth of field.
i.e. Increase the depth of field by using a smaller aperture like f8 or f11.Exposure
The total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium (photographic film or image sensor) during the process of taking a photograph. Exposure is measured in lux seconds, and can be computed from exposure value (EV) and scene luminance over a specified area.
i.e. Let more light in so you have a normal exposure on your subject’s face.Fill-in Flash
Secondary light from a lamp or reflector that illuminates shadow areas. Called “Fill flash” when the light source is a flash.
f-number
The f-number is the focal length divided by the “effective” aperture diameter.
Say again? The “opening” of the lens, the size of which is controlled by the iris and is measured in F numbers. Generally, the lower the F number, the larger the aperture and consequently more light can pass through the lens.
i.e. To get more of the natural lighting at low light situations , I tend to use a lower f-number, higher ISO, and disable my flash.Focal Length
The distance from a camera lens’s focal point to its CCD imaging chips with the lens focus set to infinity. Wide angle views use short focal length; narrow field of view (telephoto) use longer focal lengths. Zoom lenses have a variable focal length. Understand more about what focal lengths.
i.e. When shooting portraits, I tend to use larger focal lengths such as 70mm and above. This minimizes distortions you get when using shorter focal lengths such as with a wide angle lens.ISO
ISO denotes is how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor and therefore the possibility to take pictures in low-light situations. Read more about ISO and photography relations.
i.e. When shooting at night, I bump the ISO up so I can get brighter photos without compensating for shutter lag.Negative Space
It is the space around the subject. Pretty much the empty space around your main subject. Read more about negative space.
i.e. The negative space in this photo balances it out pretty well and pleasing to the eyes.Out of Focus (OOF)
In out-of-focus areas, each point of light becomes a disc. Depending how a lens is corrected for spherical aberration, the disc may be uniformly illuminated, brighter near the edge, or brighter near the center. Bokeh would then describe the quality of these out of focus areas. Learn more on how to achieve awesome out of focus shots.
i.e. When shooting portraits, use a larger aperture to bring the background out of focus. Using this technique will make your subject to have more focus.Overexpose
It’s when a photo has a great loss of the highlight details. Pretty much when all the bright parts of a photo is all white. A good example is improper usage of a flash. Learn how to fix overexposed photos.
i.e. Make sure to lower your flash a couple stops otherwise you will overexpose your photo.Panning
Photo courtesy of Wes Hamachi
Refers to the horizontal movement or rotation of a still or video camera, or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device. Panning a camera results in a motion similar to that of someone shaking their head “no” or of an aircraft performing a yaw rotation. Master the act of panning in photography.
i.e. When shooting moving objects, I use AI Servo and pan my camera along where my subject is moving to.Panoramic
Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialised equipment or software, that captures images with elongated fields of view. It is sometimes known as wide format photography. The term has also been applied to a photograph that is cropped to a relatively wide aspect ratio. While there is no formal division between “wide-angle” and “panoramic” photography, “wide angle” normally refers to a type of lens, but this lens type does not necessarily image a panorama.
An image made with an ultra wide angle fisheye lens covering the normal film frame of 1:1.33 is not automatically considered to be a panorama. An image showing a field of view approximating, or greater than, that of the human eye – about 160° by 75° – may be termed panoramic. This generally means it has an aspect ratio of 2:1 or larger, the image being at least twice as wide as its height. Learn how to take panoramic photos.
Positive Space
Positive space is defined as the focal point of a work of art or shape of the work of art. The primary subject matter in a work of art, as opposed to the background or unoccupied spaces. Read more about positive space and it’s relation to photography.
Stopping Down
Stopping down is when you reduce the lens aperture and thus the amount of light that passes through the lens. Stopping down also increase the depth of field.
i.e. When shooting landscapes at night, stopping down your camera requires the shutter to be left open longer. It is recommended to use a tripod to minimize camera shake.Underexpose
When an image is exposed with minimal or no light at all. Typically the shadow areas are lost. Learn how to fix underexposed photos.
i.e. Make sure you have enough light to work with, otherwise you will underexpose this shot.Vignetting
Photo courtesy of Alma Recinto
Vignetting is an optical effect in photography causing the corners of an image to be shaded, washed out or blurred – leaving a rounded picture. This can be due to poor lens design or construction, or something obstructing the lens, such as a too-small lens hood. It may also be done deliberately for effect – either using an add-on filter or hood on the lens, or in image processing software. Learn how to add vignetting in Photoshop.
i.e. Be careful of adding too many filters on a wide angle lens as they tend to add some vignetting on your photos.References
Digital Photography – Negative Space and Positive Space
Design Theory – Negative Space
Wikipedia – Panoramic Photography
Digital Post Production – Glossary
Further Reading
Digital Photography – Digital Photography Jargon? Easy!
Fotolia Blog – Digital Photography Jargon – What does it all mean?
