Photography Terminology

© Tracey Garvey Photography www.tgarveyphotography.com

Focus A lens function that brings an image into

sharpness Manual Focus – The photographer must

manually turn the focusing ring on the lens until the image appears sharp in the viewfinder

Auto Focus – Focusing is set by the camera, typically autofocus is set by lightly pressing the shutter button before taking the photo

Fixed Focus – The focus is permanently set by the camera manufacturer no focus adjustments are available

Exposure The total amount of light allowed

through the lens and onto the camera’s sensor. The aperture controls the amount of light, and the shutter controls the time that the light is allowed to pass through.

The aperture and shutter work together to control exposure.

Common Types of Exposure

Overexposure – When too much light reaches the camera sensor, creating an image to appear washed out or too light

Underexposure – When to little light reaches the camera sensor, creating a dark looking photo

Normal Exposure – The proper shutter speed and aperture combination measured by your camera’s light meter

Exposure Meter can be read in the viewfinder or the back of the display screen of your camera, it measures the light for exposure

Light Meter

Shutter Speed Shutter Speed - is how long your camera’s

shutter stay’s open Shutter speed can be read on the back of your

display screen or in the viewfinder The longer the shutter is open the more motion

is shown e.g. 1/15 The faster the shutter speed the less motion

that is captured e.g. 1/200 On your camera you can use “S” mode for

shutter priority which means you choice the shutter speed and the camera automatically sets the other settings for you.

Aperture Aperture – also know as “F Stops” it controls

how much of your image is in focus, also controls how much light comes into the lens

The lower the F Stop e.g. F3.5 not much is in focus only the subject

The higher the F Stop e.g. F22 everything in lens should be in focus

On your camera you can use “A” or “AV” for aperture priority which means you choice the aperture you want to use and the camera automatically sets the other settings for you

Manual Mode Manual Mode – is the “M” mode in

your camera Enables you to control the entire

process of taking the photo You set the shutter speed, aperture,

ISO etc.

Depth of Field The camera can only focus its lens on a single

point, but there will be an area in front of and behind this focal point that appears sharp this is known as the depth of field, it is not a fixed distance and can be changed

Shallow Depth of Field – only a narrow area appears sharp

Deep Depth of Field – where more or most of the photo appears sharp

Depth of field is controlled using your “F Stops

Shallow Depth of Field

Deep Depth of Field

ISO ISO – light sensitivity of your camera’s sensor The higher the ISO the more sensitive your

camera is to light High ISO can cause grainer images The lower the ISO the less sensitive your camera

is to light Higher ISO’s allow for faster shutter speeds in

dark conditions ISO 200 great for daylight sunny day ISO 400 great for shade or cloudy day ISO 1600 for low light situations ISO 3000 and higher for very low light situations

White Balance An electronic adjustment in the

camera that ensures realistic white and colour renditions in a photograph

WB is based on the lighting environment

WB must be changed depending on how a scene is light e.g. sunlight, tungsten lamps, florescent, flash etc.

Composition Composition is the placement or

arrangement of visual elements in a photograph

A good composition is one that has just enough detail, too few details may make the photo hard to interpret, to many details can be distracting

Guiding the viewers eye through the photo Composing an image that is visually

pleasing

Panning Photographing a moving subject, the

panning technique is allows you to keep the subject in the same position of the frame for the duration of the exposure

By moving the camera with the moving subject, the subject remains in focus and the background becomes blurred