Glossary
With the introduction of digital photography and its rapid expansion during the last years came a new vocabulary. A better understanding of these terms will certainly support you with all your photographic activities. The glossary I am creating is a dynamic one (with cross-referencing), it will be constantly updated to reflect the latest developments and as required provided with other resources / tools like video, articles, diagrams.
A
| AMBIENT LIGHT | The natural light in a scene. |
| APERTURE | The circular opening in a camera created by a number of blades (the diaphragm). The amount of light that reaches the image sensor can be controlled by adjusting this opening. The different apertures are expressed in f-numbers (f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8 etc). The lower the aperture number the wider the opening. |
ANGLE OF VIEW
(ANGLE OF COVERAGE) | The area of a scene covered by a lens. This is basically determined by the focal length of the lens. A longer focal length will produce a larger image, with a smaller part of the scene fitting in the picture. |
| APERTURE, MAXIMUM | The maximum size of the aperture in the lens. This will allow the maximum amount of light to reach the film or image sensor and is achieved with the lowest f-number (f-stop). | |
| APERTURE PRIORITY MODE | A mode in which you set the aperture to control the depth of field. The camera will then automatically adjust the shutter speed that is required for proper exposure. |
| AUTO-FOCUS | Set to AF mode the camera focuses automatically when the shutter-release button is pressed partway down. The camera sends out a beam of infra-red light which bounces off the subject and is reflected back to a sensor in the camera. After calculation of time and distance, focusing is achieved by moving the lens in and out until the sharpest possible image of the subject is projected. Typically the viewfinder displays a focus confirmation signal. |
B
| BARRELING | Barreling is a distortion that occurs when the edges of the image bow towards the center, giving it a barrel-like appearance. |
| BRACKETING | Taking several shots of the same subject using different camera settings ( aperture, shutter speed etc.). This technique is especially useful and recommended in a situation, where it is difficult to get a satisfactory picture with a single shot. Some cameras are supplied with an automatic bracketing feature. |
| BURNING | Burning is a photography technique used to darken selected areas of a print by manipulating the exposure. With digital photography this same effect is achieved by manipulating the digital image using image editing programs like Adobe Photoshop. | |
C
| CAMERA RESOLUTION | A camera's resolution is usually described as the number of megapixels captured in a photo. A higher number will produce a sharper image. Most digital cameras offer different levels of pixel-count settings producing varying degrees of quality. Lower settings (lower number of pixels) require less memoryspace. |
| CCD | Charge Coupled Device : an electronic light sensor used in digital cameras, consisting of an array of linked, or coupled, light-sensitive capacitors, that can detect and record light patterns passing through the lens. It is the equivalent of photographic film. One advantage over film is that the data can be transferred directly to a computer for storage, peruse or further processing. |
| COMPOSITION | The way you arrange elements that make up a scene. Elements can be people, animals, mountains, lakes, lines etc. One of the first requirements for an excellent landscape image is learning to identify these elements. Next is trying to rearrange them in such a way to create the effect you desire. |
D
| DEPTH OF FIELD | When a subject is in focus the Depth of Field (DOF) is referred to as the zone in front and behind the subject that will be in reasonably sharp focus, (In landscape this is a very powerful tool since we want to achieve front-to-back sharpness). General definition: zone or area of the photo that is in focus. | |
| DIGITAL IMAGE | A digital image is represented by a two-dimensional image containing a digital set of values called pixels and are created, processed, displayed and stored electronically using different media and techniques like digital cameras, scanners, software programs, printers, printed text, computer monitors and more. | | | DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY | Digital Photography as opposed to film photography uses electronic devices to capture and produce images as binary data. This digital format offer different advantages such as:- Easy storage, editing and printing of the images.
- Deleting of unsuccessful images.
- Shooting of video and recording of sound.
- Emailing to a developing studio for further processing.
| |
| DODGING | Dodging is a photography technique used to lighten selected areas of a print by manipulating the exposure. With digital photography this same effect is achieved by manipulating the digital image using image editing programs like Adobe Photoshop. | |
E
| EXIF | Exchangeable Image File is the file format used by most digital cameras. Essentially the images are saved on image sensors together with EXIF data containing useful information about the photo such as shutter speed, date and time, focal length, exposure compensation, metering pattern, the aperture, ISO, size of image, make and model of the camera, lens used etc. This information can be read by readily available software and is very useful in the study of your pictures. |
| EXPOSURE | The total amount of light captured by the image sensor or film during the process of taking a photograph. A photo that has received the right amount of light for the correct amount of time and is balanced with good depth of color and detail is said to be well-exposed.If a beginning photographer wants to advance beyond the point and shoot level it is very important to understand the concept of exposure. The five factors that determine proper exposure are: 1. lighting conditions (light falling on the subject)
2. film speed (or image sensor equivalents)
3. lens aperture,
4. shutter speed, and
5. filters |
F
| FOCAL LENGTH | One of the characteristics of a lens is its focal length. Basically, the focal length of a lens can be defined as the distance from the center of the lens to the sharp image it forms on the principal focal point, which is located on the sensor or film when focused on infinity (focused on an object that is far away). Focal length on most adjustable cameras is marked in millimetres. |
H
| HISTOGRAM | A two-dimensional graph showing the brightness levels from the darkest to brightest in a photo. Most digital cameras include a histogram feature that display such graphs (superimposed upon the image or directly) on the rear LCD screen, enabling a precise check on the exposure of the photo (under / over exposure). |
I
| IMAGE PROCESSING | Manipulation of the structure or content of images with computers and special software programs. |
L
| LIGHT METERING | There are two ways light can be measured in photography: The Reflected and the Incident light metering. - Reflected light metering – light is measured by the light being reflected by the subject you are going to photograph (this is the type being used by virtually all built-in camera meters).
- Incident light metering – light is measured by pointing the light meter from the subject towards the camera.
Since it is not possible to walk to the subject to measure the light, the reflected light metering method is used in landscape photography (measuring of light reflected by the subject). |
M
P
| PARALLAX | With a rangefinder camera there is a difference between what is seen by the viewing system and the recorded image on sensor or film. This error is caused by the fact that the user looks at the scene directly through the viewfinder some distance from the lens. This difference becomes more noticable at close range. |
| PIXEL | (PICture ELement) Every image is arranged in a colored grid of square pixels. Each pixel is composed of three subpixels a red, a blue, and a green one. The combination of the color intensities creates the color that is perceived by the eye. A digital image composed of pixels instead of silver-halide crystals used in film photography, creates an elaborate number of new possibilities, from simple corrections of density, contrast and color to the removal of imperfections, the conversion of a color into a grayscale image and the applications of various kinds of effects. |
R
| RGB | In the RGB system the colors Red, Green, and Blue are combined in various proportions to create all other colors in the spectrum. |
S
| SHUTTER PRIORITY MODE | A mode in which you set the shutter speed to express motion or to capture different moods. The camera will then automatically adjust the aperture that is required for proper exposure. |
| STORAGE MEDIA | A technology used for recording data for later retrieval. The digital photography storage media have replaced the photochemical ones used with film photography.The four major types being used are the Compact Flash, Sony’s propietary Memory Stick, Secure Digital and Olympus propietary xD-Picture Card. |
T
| TELEPHOTO | Lenses that focus on a narrower angle of view are called telephoto lenses. |
W
| WIDE ANGLE | These are lenses that cover a wider angle of view than the standard (normal) lens or in other words whose focal length is substantially shorter than the focal length of a normal lens. |
| WHITE BALANCE | A feature of a digital camera to compensate for different colors of light being emitted. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the "color temperature" of a light source. Understanding white balance can help you improve your photos under a wide range of lighting conditions. | |
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