This page will be my glossary of terms – a kind of “photographic dictionary”. The list of definitions will grow over time.
AE (Auto Exposure) – a camera setting that allows the camera to automatically adjust the aperture and shutter speed.
AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) – A set of shots taken of exactly the same scene at varying exposure settings. The resultant shots are often combined in post-editing into a “HDR” image.
Aperture – A hole through which light can travel. The size of the aperture in a camera can be adjusted to control the amount of light which is allowed to pass through the lens to the film
Aperture Priority – a semi-automatic setting on a camera that allows the photographer to manually adjust the aperture. The camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed accordingly.
Artificial light – Light from a man-made source.
ASA – a speed rating for a photosensitive material – now superseded by ISO.
Back Lighting – Lighting whose source is behind the subject and aiming in the general direction of the camera. Back lighting is often used to create a sharp silhouette of the subject.
Bulb Setting – Bulb mode is used for long, manually timed exposures. The shutter is usually mechanically operated by a wired or wireless remote to prevent movement of the camera. The term “bulb” is in reference to earlier days of photography when a shutter mechanism was triggered by a hand-held air-bulb. Squeezing the bulb would hold the shutter open until it was released.
Cassette – or cartridge. A light-proof cylindrical container used to house strips of film.
Cropping – Is a technique used to create a print from a portion of a developed negative, less than the full frame. Cropping of digital photography is performed using computer software.
Darkroom – a lightproof area used for developing film and enlarging.
Depth of Field – the area of a shot that appears within an acceptable range of focus or sharpness.
Dioptre – A measurement of magnification for a lens or a curved mirror. A cameras viewfinder dioptre can often be adjusted to suit the photographers specific requirements – depending whether the photographer uses contact lenses or glasses, and whether or not they wear them when using their camera
Double Exposure – Two pictures taken on one frame of film, or two images exposed on one piece of photographic paper in the darkroom.
Emulsion – a light sensitive chemical mixture (silver-salts and gelatin) which is coated onto photographic paper. It is the emulsion that is exposed when taking a photograph.
Enlargement – a printing made from the developed negative or positive film which is larger than the original.
Enlarger - A projection device use to project a copy of a devloped film onto photographic paper to make prints/enlargements
Exposure – the length of time and intensity of light that is allowed to act on a photographic medium.
Exposure Bracketing – shooting the exact same scene through a range of exposures, from under exposed to over exposed. Exposure Bracketing can be used to ensure a properly exposed photo of a subject, or, more recently for the purposes of compiling into a HDR image.
Focal Length – A measure of distance between the centre of the location where light enters the lens and the point to which it is focused
F-stop (f number) – The ratio of focal length divided by the aperture diameter. The lower the f number, the larger the aperture opening. For example, if the focal length is 16 times the aperture diameter, the f-number is f/16
Fill-in Flash – a technique used to brighten the forefront and shadows of a shot. Particularly used outdoors on sunny days when the background is very bright.
Film – a thin piece of plastic that has been coated in a light sensitive
(photosensitive) chemical or chemicals.
Filter – a transparent material that is used to remove certain frequencies of light, or effect the path through which light will travel.
Grain – speckles in a developed film are caused by clumping of the crystals of the photosensitive material on the film. Higher ISO rated films tend to be grainier when developed whereas lower ISO films have a finer crystalline structure and therefore appear less grainy when developed.
HDR (High Dynamic Range) – a technique used to create an image where the scene offers a much greater dynamic range of contrast than would normally be visible in a single photograph. Although computer software can create similar images from a single shot, HDR photos are usually a composite image made from three or more photographs taken of exactly the same scene with differing exposure settings ranging from under exposed to over exposed.
Hot Shoe – A connector containing electrical contacts that is usually located on the top of a camera. The hot shoe is traditionally used to supply a trigger pulse to a flash unit, but these days can also be used to power additional accessories.
Hyperfocal Distance – Is the distance at which the nearest object appears in focus when the depth of field is set out to infinity.
ISO – Speed rating for a photosensitive material meeting standards defined by the International Standards Organisation. The ISO standard is based on the ASA (American Standards Association) standard which has similar numeric values.
Lens Speed – refers to the maximum amount of light that a lens will allow to pass. A “fast lens” will allow more light to pass than a “slow lens”.
Macro Photography – photographs taken at extremely close range where the subject is photographed at a magnification of 1:1 or higher.
ND Filter (Neutral Density) – A filter that is designed to reduce the intensity of all wavelengths of light equally. ND filters are used to reduce the amount of harsh light in a scene and allow the photographer to use a lower than normal shutter speed and/or higher aperture.
Negative – a film that when developed reveals an image who’s tones and contrasts are inverted.
Normal Lens – A lens whos focal length is roughly equal to the diagonal measurement of the film (or sensor in a DSLR). Generally speaking, when using a normal lens, photos tend to have the same perspective that a human being would see when viewing the the same scene.
Overexposure – allowing too much light onto the photosensitive film by leaving the shutter open for too long. An over exposed film will result in a saturated scene.
Panning – Panning is the term use when the camera is moving sideways – the shot is exposed whilst the camera is moving. Panning in still photography is usually use to capture a moving subject such as a car driving by. A panned shot usually results in the moving subject being in focus and the background blurred.
Panorama (Panoramic) – A photograph that is much wider in comparison with a “normal” photograph of a similar height. Usually used to capture a sweeping landscape.
Pentaprism – A 5-sided glass or crystal optical prism used in SLR cameras to provide the same view to the photographer that will be exposed on the film when the shot is taken.
Polarising Filter – A filter that prevents non-direct light from passing through it. A polarising filter is used to reduce glare and reflections from harsh lighting environments.
Portrait – A photograph taken of a person that is intended to represent their personality. A portrait photograph is usually engineered to represent a specific demeanor of the subject dependent on the intended use of the shot.
Red Eye – An naturally occurring effect that results in the subjects irises looking red. This problem occurrs when light reflected from the back of the subjects retina is captured by the camera. Usually the result of using a flash in a dimly lit room when the subjects iris is wide open
Resolution – The amount of detail in an image – with digital cameras, resolution is directly related to the number of pixels the camera has
Retouch – post-editing carried out on a photograph to adjust it’s appearance
RGB – An acronym – Red, Green, Blue
Ring Flash – A circular flash that is fitted around a lens. It provides very uniform light and is often used for portrait photos.
Rule of Thirds (intersection of thirds) – A technique used to compose placement of subjects within a shot. The frame is divided into nine equal sized squares by using two horizontal and two vertical lines spaced evenly apart. The subject is placed where any two of these lines intersect.
Safelight – Used in darkrooms during developing, a safelight is a light source that emits frequencies of light that are deemed “safe” for a particular type of film. Not all safelights are safe for all types of film. Requirements can vary between manufacturers.
Shutter – a mechanism that exposes light to a photographic film (or light-sensitive semiconductor in the case of digital cameras) for a specific period of time.
SLR (Single Lens Reflex) – a Camera system which allows the operator to see the shot through the same lens that takes the photo.
Shutter Priority – a semi-automatic setting on a camera that allows the photographer to manually adjust the shutter speed. The camera will automatically adjust the aperture stop accordingly.
Shutter Speed – A camera setting that determines the length of time a photosensitive medium (such as film) is exposed for.
Sunny 16 Rule – This rule states that you roughly select the correct exposure setting by assuming that an aperture setting of f/16 will be used on a sunny day, and the shutter speed should be based on the ISO rating of the film – for example, set a shutter speed of 1/400s for film rated at ISO 400.
Telephoto Lens – A lens whos focal length is longer than the physical length of the lens. Subjects photographed with a telephoto lens appear larger than they would to the naked eye.
Time Exposure – a technique used mostly in low light scenes. A time exposure (or timed exposure) opens the shutter for a longer period of time than a normal photograph. Time exposure photos are usually measured in seconds but sometimes in minutes to allow enough light to create the photograph. Shorter time exposures can also be used in a scene wit more light to create artistic blur effects from moving objects.
Underexposure – not allowing enough light onto the photographic film. Can be caused by a shutter speed set too fast and will result in a dark photograph.
Vignetting – a darkening of the edges and/or corners of a photograph that can be caused unintentionally by a poor quality lens or lens hood. Vignetting is also often created intentionally as an artistic expression during developing.
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