Glossary
1. aperture
The aperture controls the amount of light that gets through a lens during an exposure. A larger aperture lets in more light, a smaller aperture lets in less. Aperture is measured in "F-stops" and the lower the stop, the wider the aperture. So for example, f-2.8 lets in more light than f-16. The wider the aperture, the narrower the depth of field.
2. aperture blades
Small blades that open and close in a circle, forming the hole that defines the aperture.
3. aperture priority
A setting on many cameras that allows the photographer to set the preferred aperture, while the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed to compensate. The priority is placed on the aperture.
4. ASA
Once referred to as ISO, the ASA (American Standards Association) defines a film's speed. "Fast" films of ASA 800 and above are very quick to record light. Consequently, they are very good in low light (although grain increases). "Slow" film speeds of ASA 100 or lower are slower to record light, making them more suitable in bright sunlight. However, they suffer from much less grain. In the modern digital era, ASA is mostly an artificial concept that along with aperture and shutter speed provides a third method of controlling an exposure.
5. bokeh
Bokeh is the portion of the image that is blurred due to narrow depth of field. It is pronounced BOW-kuh and comes from the Japanese word "boke" which means fuzziness or blur.
6. depth of Field
Depth of field is controlled by a camera's aperture setting. A wide-open aperture set at, say, f-1.4 will cause most of the image to be blurred except for the very narrow portion of the image that is in focus. Conversely, an aperture stopped down tight to f-22, for example, will allow a deeper depth of field with more of the image appearing sharper. Depth of field is among the main creative elements available to photographers.
7. digital zoom
A very bad idea. Essentially digital zooms amount to in-camera cropping. It's always better not to have to crop, since an image loses resolution in the process (as it expands to fill the frame). But if you have to crop - don't do it in the camera. Optical zooms are always the best way to go since no cropping of an image occurs. A lot of consumer digital cameras offer digital zooms. If you have it - I strongly encourage you to disable it.
8. Exchangeable Image File
Also called EXIF. Exchangeable Image Files are recorded by many digital cameras and contain embedded information such as aperture, shutter speed, focal length, type of camera used, flash information, etc.
9. EXIF
Acronym for Exchangeable Image Files. EXIF are recorded by many digital cameras and contain embedded information such as aperture, shutter speed, focal length, type of camera used, flash information, etc.
10. fill flash
A flash technique to apply light to shadowed errors "filling" in the dark areas with light.
11. film speed
Once referred to as ISO, the ASA (American Standards Association) defines a film's speed. "Fast" films of ASA 800 and above are very quick to record light. Consequently, they are very good in low light (although grain increases). "Slow" film speeds of ASA 100 or lower are slower to record light, making them more suitable in bright sunlight. However, they suffer from much less grain. In the modern digital era, ASA is mostly an artificial concept that along with aperture and shutter speed provides a third method of controlling an exposure.
12. geotagging
The process of "tagging" an image with geographic information identifying where it was taken. Some photo sites such as Flickr support geotagging.
13. giclee
Giclee (pronounced GEE-slay) prints are created by professional ink-jet printers with between 8 and 12 color nozzles. Epson, MacDermid, Colorspan and HP all make giclee printers. The ink can be sprayed onto a variety of medium including canvas, fine art, and photo paper. The process is said to provide better color accuracy than many other printing technologies. Giclee prints are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Iris prints, which is a different process.
14. golden hour
The period about one hour before and slightly after both sunrise and sunset where the "golden" light is quite beautiful.
15. grayscale
The same as "black and white."
16. high key lighting
Flat, direct lighting of a subject that minimizes shadows.
17. histogram
A graph that shows the qualities of a particular image - either its brightness from light to dark and/or its range of colors.
18. image sensor
The sensor built in to digital cameras which records the image. Essentially, a camera's image sensor functions like film.
19. image stabilization
Called "image stabilization" by Canon and "vibration reduction" by Nikon, the effect is achieved by a gyro stabilizer built within a camera lens. Essentially, the stabilization is achieved as a camera adjusts the plane of its stabilizer lens to compensate for motion in the camera - thereby redirecting light through the lens to hit the image sensor properly.
20. JPEG
A form of compression applied to a digital image file. It's an acronym for the Joint Photographic Experts Group which developed it.
21. megapixel
One million pixels.
22. noise
Also referred to as "grain," image noise literally appears grainy - like sand. It becomes most evident with very fast films - high ISO - around 800 speed and above. Although the amount of noise present in an image shot at a particular ISO speed varies widely among individual cameras. The "slower" the ISO speed (ie, the slower it is to record light) the less grain. That is one reason why a lot of landscape photographers prefer to shoot at very slow ISOs - much less grain to contend with. However, grain can be used creatively, and some photographers shoot very fast ISO speed precisely for its creative impact, as well as its ability in low light.
23. prime lens
Fixed-focal length lenses (not zooms).
24. RAW
RAW format refers to the image as it comes directly from the camera without any processing or compression. It is arguably the closest thing to a digital negative.
25. resolution
Resolution is defined by the number of pixels within an image.
26. shutter priority
A setting on many cameras that allows the photographer to set the preferred shutter speed, while the camera automatically adjusts the aperture to compensate. The priority is placed on the shutter speed.
27. shutter speed
The camera's shutter controls the amount of time that light is permitted to enter through the lens, through the aperture, and onto the digital image sensor (or film). Speeds on some cameras range from 1/8000th of a second or faster to as long you want. Fast shutter speeds stop motion. Generally, 1/250th of a second or faster is necessary when attempting to freeze a moving subject. Slower shutter speeds allow motion-blur.
28. status Bar
The bar along the bottom of your web browser.
29. white balance
A camera function that allows adjustments for different kinds of light - ie, tungsten, daylight, etc. The proper white balance determines the correct rendition of color in an image.
30. zoom lens
Unlike a prime lens, a zoom lens expands over a spectrum of focal lengths - say, from 28mm to 70mm.
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