Photography

Metering

A feature on most cameras giving the photographer a choice of methods for automatically setting the exposure controls and for compensating for different lighting scenarios. Using manual mode isn't all guesswork—a light meter built into the camera helps guide those decisions, indicating if the camera thinks the image is over or under exposed. Metering is actually based on a middle gray, so having lighter or darker objects in the image can throw the metering off a little bit. Metering modes indicate how the meter is reading the light. Matrix metering means the camera is reading the light from the entire scene. Center-weighted metering considers only what's at the center of the frame and spot metering measures the light based on where your focus point is.

RAW files

A raw file is the image as seen by the camera's sensor. Think of it like unprocessed film. Rather than letting the camera process the image for you, turning it into a JPEG image, shooting in raw allows you to process the image to your liking. RAW is a file type that gives the photographer more control over photo editing. RAW is considered a digital negative, where the default JPEG file type has already been processed a bit. RAW requires special software to open, however, while JPEG is more universal. Typically, it's better to shoot in RAW because the image retains more quality making it better for editing. NEF (RAW) RAW data from the image sensor are saved without additional processing. Settings such as white balance and contrast can be adjusted after shooting.

time-lapse photography

A technique of recording very few images over a long period of time-say, one frame per minute or per day. A time-lapse is a video created from stitching several photos together taken of the same thing at different times. Don't confuse a time lapse with a long exposure, which is a single image with a long shutter speed.

Aspect Ratio (AR)

Aspect Ratio If you've ever printed images before, you've probably noticed that an 8 x 10 usually crops from the original image. That's due to aspect ratio. Aspect ratio is simply the ratio of the height to width. An 8 x 10 has an equal aspect ratio to a 4 x 5, but a 4 x 7 image is a bit wider. You can change the aspect ratio in your camera if you know how you'd like to print your image, or you can crop your photo when you edit it to the right ratio.

Burst Mode

Burst Mode You can take photos one at a time. Or, you can turn the burst mode on and the camera will continue snapping photos as long as you hold the button down, or until the buffer is full (which is a fancy way of saying the camera can't process anymore). Burst speeds differ based on what camera or film camera you own, some are faster than others. Just how fast is written in "fps" or frames (pictures) per second.

Depth of Field (DOF)

Depth of Field Depth of field is a photography term that refers to how much of the image is in focus. The camera will focus on one distance, but there's a range of distance in front and behind that point that stays sharp—that's depth of field. Portraits often have a soft, unfocused background—this is a shallow depth of field. Landscapes, on the other hand, often have more of the image in focus—this is a large depth of field, with a big range of distance that stays sharp.

digital

Digital Vs. Optical Digital and optical are important terms to understand when shopping for a new camera. Digital means the effect is achieved through software, not physical parts of the camera. Optical is always better than digital. These terms are usually used when referring to a zoom lens (on a compact camera) as well as image stabilization.

exposure

Exposure Exposure is how light or dark an image is. An image is created when the camera sensor (or film strip) is exposed to light—that's where the term originates. A dark photo is considered underexposed, or it wasn't exposed to enough light; a light photo is overexposed or exposed to too much light. Exposure is controlled through aperture, shutter speed and ISO. (Exposure compensation is a way to tell the camera that you'd like the exposure to be lighter or darker. Exposure compensation can be used on some automated modes and semi-automated modes like aperture priority. It's measured in stops of light, with negative numbers resulting in a darker image and positive ones creating a brighter shot.)

file format

File Format The structure or organization of data in a file. It is usually indicated by the file name extension. The file format is how your camera lens will record the image or image file. Raw files contain more information than JPGs, which makes them more suitable for photo editing in various editing software.

focus

Focus When your eyes focus on an object that's close to you, the objects far away will appear blurry. The common photography term "focus" has the same meaning. Something that is in focus is sharp, while an object that is out-of-focus isn't sharp. Different focus areas determine if the camera is focusing on multiple points or one user-selected point.

ISO

International Standards Organization The ISO determines how sensitive the camera is to light. For example, an ISO of 100 means the camera isn't very sensitive—great for shooting in the daylight. An ISO 3200 means the camera is very sensitive to light, so you can use that higher ISO for getting shots in low light. The trade off is that images at high ISOs appear to be grainy and have less detail. ISO is balanced with aperture and shutter speed to get a proper exposure. less exposure-clean image 100 more exposure-noisy image 26,500

Manual

Manual Manual mode allows the photographer to set the exposure instead of having the camera do it automatically. In manual, you choose the aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and those choices affect how light or dark the image is. Semi-manual modes include aperture priority (where you only choose the aperture), shutter priority (where you only choose the shutter speed) and programed auto (where you choose a combination of aperture and shutter speed together instead of setting them individually). Manual can also refer to manual focus, or focusing yourself instead of using the autofocus.

noise

Noise is simply little flecks in an image, also sometimes called grain. Images taken at high ISOs have a lot of noise, so it's best to use the lowest ISO you can for the amount of light in the scene.

Bokeh effect

Refers to the way the camera lens renders out-of-focus points of light generated by differences in lens aberrations and aperture shapes Bokeh is the orbs created when lights are out of focus in an image. It's a neat effect to have in the background of a photo, created through wide apertures. It will have an interesting effect on your image quality.

Single Lens Reflex

SLR A camera in which the image formed by the taking lens is reflected by a mirror onto a ground-glass screen for viewing. The mirror swings out of the way just before exposure; to let the image (or light) reach the film. A single lens reflex camera has a single lens that forms an image which is reflected to the viewfinder. Digital single lens reflex cameras or DSLR cameras are the most versatile of the digital cameras.

Aperature

Simply put, aperture is the size of the opening in the lens. Think of the lens as a window—large windows or wide angles let in more light, while small windows let in less light. A wide open aperture will let more light into the image for a brighter photo, while a smaller aperture lets in less light. Aperture is measured in f-stops; a small f-stop like f/1.8 is a wide opening, a large f-stop like f/22 is a very narrow one. Aperture is one of three camera settings that determine an image's exposure, or how light or dark it is. Aperture also affects how much of the image is in focus—wide apertures result in that creamy, unfocused background while narrow apertures keep more of the image sharp. f/1.8-WIDE opening, shallow DoF, more light, unfocused background f/22-NARROW opening, large DoF, less light, image sharp/clear

The Exposure Triangle

The Exposure Triangle As you may guess by the name, the exposure triangle is made up of three components. These three components are; the aperture, the shutter speed, and the ISO. Learning to control these three settings is vital to achieving a properly exposed photograph. LESS exposure (to light): A-LARGE DoF, SS-Frozen Motion, ISO-Clean Image MORE exposure (to light): A-Shallow Dof, SS-Blurred Motion, ISO-Noisy (grainy) Image

Shutter Speed

The amount of time the shutter inside the camera is open to expose your photo. The shutter speed is the part of the camera that opens and closes to let light in and take a picture. The shutter speed is how long that shutter stays open, written in seconds or fractions of a second, like 1/200 s. or 1", with the " symbol often used to designate an entire second. The longer the shutter stays open, the more light that is let in. But, anything that moves while the shutter is open will become a blur, and if the entire camera moves while the shutter is open the whole image will be blurry—that's why tripods are necessary for longer shutter speeds. less exposure-frozen motion 1/2,000 more exposure-blurred motion 1/8

Hot Shoe Contact

The socket that provides connection between the flash unit and the camera. Hot shoe is the slot at the top of a camera for adding accessories, like the aptly named hot shoe flash.

Flash Sync

You probably know that the flash is a burst of light—flash sync determines when the flash fires. Normally, the flash fires at the beginning of the photo, but changing the flash sync mode adjusts when that happens. The rear curtain flash sync mode, for example, fires the flash at the end of the photo instead of the beginning.

digital camera

a camera that encodes an image digitally and store it for later reproduction

Viewfinder

a device on a camera showing the field of view of the lens, used in framing and focusing the picture. That's the hole you look through to take the picture. Some digital cameras don't have one and just use the screen, but all DSLRs and most mirrorless cameras use them.

White Balance

camera setting that adjusts for lighting in order make white objects appear white in photos.Your eyes automatically adjust to different light sources, but a camera can't do that—that's why sometimes you take an image and it looks very blue or very yellow. Using the right white balance setting will make what's white in real life actually appear white in the photo. There's an auto white balance setting, but like any automatic setting, it's not always accurate. You can use a preset based on what light you are shooting in like sun or tungsten light bulbs, or you can take a picture of a white object and manually set the white balance.

Focal length of lens

distance from the center of the lens to the focal point measured along the optic axis The focal length describes the distance in millimeters between the lens and the image it forms on the film. It informs the angle of view (how much of what is being shot will be captured) and the magnification (how large things will appear). Essentially, the focal length is how 'zoomed in' your images will appear. For example, a Canon (or Nikon or Olympus) 35mm lens will create images that appear more 'zoomed in' than a Canon 18mm.

Long Exposure Photograph

is an image that has been exposed for a long time, or uses a long shutter speed. This technique is useful for shooting still objects in low light, or rendering moving objects into an artistic blur. You would use this for night photography and for taking pictures of stars.

photography

the art, process, or job of taking pictures with a camera; named after the original process that used light to expose an image on special paper. The word photography comes from two old Greek words "phos" meaning light and "graph" meaning to draw. So photograph literally means to draw with light, or a drawing made with light. So photography is the art of drawing with light.