Photography Definitions
(digital photography terminology)
Have you ever come across a photography word you don't understand.
The following photography definitions have been simplified so that you can understand these various digital photography terms.
A B C D E F G HI J K L M N O P QR S T U V W X Y Z
A- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyAberrationImperfection in an image caused by defects within a lens. These affect color, sharpness and shape, on parts or all of the photograph.Ambient Light also known as existing light. It is the light that is already there before you add any light with your camera's flash. The natural light in a particular scene, such as daylight or lighting from a man-made source such as a lamp or floodlight that is already turned on.Angle Of ViewThis photo term is used to describe how much a lens 'sees'. A large angle of view means it's wide angle and your picture will include a lot more subject. A small angle of view means it's zoomed in to a narrower angle or telephoto and not as much is included in the photo.ApertureThe definition of aperture is the size of the opening inside the lens. It controls how much light strikes the camera's senor sensor. The numbers used are called f-stops. A lower number such as f-2 or f-4 means the aperture is more open or larger. Changing the aperture will change the range of what is in focus. A large f-stop like f-11 is a small aperture and will give you more depth of field, DOF. A larger DOF is a higher range of near to far things that are in focus. To understand how changing the aperture can effect your photo exposure exposure, read this: Photo Exposure Aperture PriorityA camera setting where the photographer sets the aperture and the camera will set the shutter speed automatically to give the right exposure.Artificial LightAs a photography term, it mean any light on your subject that is not the sun or something illuminated by sunlight. This could be your camera's flash, a light bulb or other electrically generated light source.Aspect RatioThe proportions or ration of a picture's width to it's height. An 8x10 print has the same aspect ratio as a 16x20 print. The width compared to the height in both sizes are 4:5 ratio. ArtifactsPicture imperfections from an error when the camera processes the data or from a bad spot on your camera sensor. Sometimes it's only a single tiny pixel that won't be seen. Sometimes there can be hundreds or thousands of bad pixels.
B- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyBacking UpMaking copies (and saving in a 2nd location) of important computer files such as documents or digital photographs. This protects you if the original files are lost or damaged.BacklightPhoto term used to describe the situation when most of the light is coming from behind your subject. You are shooting towards the light, so your subject is lit from behind. A silhouette of a person with the bright sun setting behind them is an easy example to imagine.Bounce LightingA lighting method that involves aiming the main light sources so that it bounces or reflects off of a surface. The light is often bounced off a large white or light object. This could be a wall, ceiling or reflector. The light becomes "softer" and doesn't have harsh shadows light a direct light source.BPIBPI is the acronym for Basic Photography Information. It's what you will find on this web site along with advanced digital photo tips as well. A good place to start is here: Basic Photography Information.BufferThis is a temporary storage place for the data that your digital camera uses. This allows you to take several photos quickly without having to wait for the photos to be stored in the camera's permanent memory. A large buffer allows you to shoot many photos while the camera is processing and saving photos. For more on this go to: Camera Buffer.
C- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyCable ReleaseAn accessory which allows you to trip your camera's shutter release without touching it. This helps to prevent camera shake and means you can take pictures with long exposures and not get Blurry Pictures.Camera MonopodsThere are differences in the way monopods are made. Some are for videographers. Some are for hikers. What is different about Camera Monopods?Color CastThe effect of one color dominating the look of an image. Often caused by incorrect settings of a digital camera's white balance for the lighting.CCDCharge Coupled Device. One of the two main types of image sensors used in digital cameras. Digital Camera Choice-CCD vs CMOSColor TemperatureColor temperature is a characteristic of visible light. In photography it often refers to a warm color or a cool color. For a detailed explanation go to What is Color Temperature.CMOSComplementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor. One of the two main types of image sensors used in digital cameras. Digital Camera Choice-CCD vs CMOSCompact Flash CardA common type of digital camera memory card. There are two types of CF cards. Type 1 and type 11, that vary in their thickness. CompressionReducing the file size of digital data files by removing redundant or non-critical information within a digital image. This makes the size of your digital image file smaller and easier to store. ContrastThe difference between the darkest and lightest areas in a photograph.
A B C D E F G HI J K L M N O P QR S T U V W X Y Z
CroppingOnly using part of the picture area by framing a smaller area and cutting out the area outside the frame to improve the composition.Crop FactorIt is also commonly referred to as a focal length multiplier. It's a number used to compare lens focal length in relationship to the size of a sensor.For a more detailed photography definition and an illustration go to this article titled Crop Factor.
D- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyDedicated FlashAttached or separated electronics flash that sends/receives information with the camera to ensure proper camera and flash settings to get the right exposure.Depth Of Field (DOF)The distance between the closest and farthest points that appear in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. This is one of the most important digital photography terms to understand. It can effect every single picture you will every take. The DOF varies with the lens aperture, focal length and distance to subject. Read this article on What is Depth of Field.D-SLR (DSLR)Camera DSLR - The photography definition is Digital Single Lens Reflex camera. A camera that allows the scene to be viewed through the lens EXACTLY as the photo will be taken. More on camera types at Camera InstructionsDiagonalAnything that is not straight up and down or straight side to side is considered a diagonal. Diagonals are often use in photography compositions to create more visually interesting photographs. If you are interested in how diagonal compositions are used in family portraits, read this article on Basic Family Portrait Poses.Digital ZoomA zoom-like effect enlarging the central portion of a scene. Not my favorite feature at all. You waste the use of the full size of your sensor. Optical Zoom is a much better feature to have.DPI - Dots Per InchThe number of dots of ink per inch when a photo is printed or the number of dots per inch on a tv screen or computer monitor. Often confused with the resolution of a digital camera sensor which is PPI (pixels per inch). Just remember higher DPI means higher quality.DownloadingTransferring files from a digital camera or other source such as a web site or server to a computer.
E- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyExposureThe total amount of light allowed to fall on a digital camera's sensor during the process of taking a photograph. It is a product of how much time (the-shutter-speed) the shutter is open, how wide of an opening (the-aperture) and how sensitive (the-ISO-setting) the sensor is.External Flash An accessory flash unit that is attached as an add-on on top of the camera or completely separate from the camera. It is the opposite of "built-in" flash.Existing lightThe light that is naturally illuminating a scene without any additional light that has been added by the photographer. Ambient light and available light are two other terms that mean the same thing.
F- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyFill FlashA flash technique used to brighten deep shadow areas even though there may be enough light for a proper exposure according to your camera's built-in exposure meter.Ideal for portraits. Manually turning on your camera's flash or using a separate, remote or external flash will fill in the darker shadow areas caused when the lighting is coming from behind or from a sharp side angle. Fill flash is also useful if your background is very bright and you want to match the brightness of your subject. Flash MemoryThe technology used by memory cards. A kind of solid-state memory that is electrically changeable and retains those changes even in the absence of electricity.Focal LengthWhat is focal length ? The technical definition: the distance between the near nodal point of the lens and the film plane when the lens is focused on infinity. Click here for a detailed explanation of Focal Length. Click here for a focal length-Camera Lens Comparison. F-stopis a number related to the size of the lens opening(same as aperture). It's actually the ratio of the lens focal length divided by the diameter of the lens opening of the lens. The larger f-stop number, such as f-11 means a small lens aperture.Full Frames Sensormeans that the camera's senor is the same size as 35mm film. For some information on the advantages and disadvantages of a camera with a full frame sensor, read this: Full Frame Sensor.
A B C D E F G HI J K L M N O P QR S T U V W X Y Z
G- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyGOBOA light blocking devise that got its name because it GOesBetween the subject and the light source.GalleryThere are many definitions of the word gallery, but on this photography definitions page, we are interested in a photo gallery as a collection or assortment of photographs. Studying family portraits taken by other photographers can improve your portrait taking skills. Look at this: Family Portrait Photography Gallery
H- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyHDRIn photography, what is definition of HDR? A photographic technique used where several shots are taken of the same scene at different exposures. Highlights from the underexposed photos and shadows from the overexposed photos are combined together to create a new picture. Click here for an article on the use of High Dynamic Range for nature pictures: Nature Pictures-HDR. High KeyAn image that is mainly made up of light tones, which relatively few mid-tones or shadows. A picture of a polar bear playing in the snow is a good example of a high key photograph.HistogramA graph showing the brightness range of an image. Histograms can be used to make a better judgment if you have a good exposure for your picture. Full-featured digital cameras and some computer programs can display these graphs. Histograms plot brightness along one axis of the graph and how many pixels at that brightness level along the other axis of the histogram graph. For more details on how it can help you, click on What is a Histogram
IISOThe ISO refers to how sensitive the digital camera sensor is. A high ISO number means the sensor is more sensitive to light. In other words, it needs less light to get the right exposure. This will allow you to take a picture in a darker situation or you can use a faster shutter speed or a smaller aperture and still get a good photo exposure.
J- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyJPGThe standard format of digital photography
KKey lightAlso called "main light." The principal source of light on a subject or a scene. The key light is often the brightest light on the subject, or the one that will have the greatest overall effect on the image.KickerA kicker light is a light the "kicks" in a little more light to a small area of the subject such as a hair light or edge light to create a highlight or more separation from the background.
L- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyLatitudeThe range of dark areas to light areas that can be recorded or perceived. Our human eyes have a much, much larger range of latitude than digital camera sensors.Light RatioA lighting ratio is the ratio between the main light (also known as the key light) and the fill light. Lighting ratios are used primarily in portrait photography. A light ratio of 2:1 means that the main light is twice as bright as the fill light.For more on this topic click on Light Ratio.
MMacro PhotographyClose up photography of a subject where the image is recorded on the sensor at the same size or larger than actual subject. If you have an interest in macro photography, find out more about it in this related article: Macro Photography.For information on macro photography equipment and technique, go to Macro Photography Equipment and Macro Photography Technique. MB - Megabyte A megabyte of memory is about 1 million bytes of information. This is the same as 1,000 kilobytes (K) A photograph that is several MB (megabytes) is a higher quality and is suitable for printing. Usually when photos are used for emailing or for web site use, they are smaller and we talk about their size in kilobytes(KB)Megapixel This digital camera term means one million (1,000,000) pixels. Camera manufacturers describe the size of a digital camera's sensor in megapixels and abbreviate the term as "MP".An 8 MP camera has a sensor that has about 8 million pixels. Caution: sensor size is not the only thing to look at when comparing digital cameras. Monopod Sometimes referred to as a unipod, "mono" means one and pod means "leg." A one legged support for your camera. Read up on Monopod Reviews or How to Use a Monopod.
N- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyNoiseThis photography term has to do with the grainy look you find in a digital image. It is more apparent in underexposed images or in the shadows where the pixels on the digital camera sensor did not get enough exposure.Nature Photography Second to portrait photography, my favorite kind of photography. One of those activities that combines two interests into one. For tips on taking nature photography go to Nature Photography TipsFor some excellent examples of nature photography, I made a small gallery of pictures of nature. Want to have a look? Pictures of Nature
A B C D E F G HI J K L M N O P QR S T U V W X Y Z
O- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyOpen ShadeThe definition of open shade is shade that is in the shadows of large buildings, under big trees or other area that still allows a large light source to illuminate your subject. Benefits of open shade: No harsh highlights from the sun, no squinting, and an even light source.Optical ZoomThe different photography definitions of optical zoom vs. digital zoom are important to understand. With optical zoom, you are using the lens to come closer or to include more in your pictures. So, you still are using all of your camera's sensor to record your image. This gives you the best quality. Digital zoom means you are literally not using part of your sensor to make it appear as if you are moving closer to your subject. You can always do cropping later when you are doing your photo editing.Over ExposureWhen a picture is overexposed, the sensor received too much light during exposure. Sometimes a little over exposure is okay. If the overexposure is too great, details in the highlight areas of the photograph are lost forever. Many professional photographers like to shoot in "raw" mode, because the exposure can be adjusted, even after the photo has been taken.Over exposure often happens when most of a subject is dark, but there are very bright areas in your scene as well. This is the biggest photo mistake when photographing the moon: How to Photograph the Moon.
P- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyPanningTechnique that involves taking a picture while moving the camera at a relatively slow shutter speed. It is almost always used when tracking a moving object. When properly carried out, the object is rendered relatively sharply while its surroundings are blurred. Here is a great example of panningPixelWhat is a pixel? "Pixel" is a contraction of the two words: picture element. On an LCD screen, what appears as a single white dot actually consists of three pixels: one red, one green and one blue. White light is actually a blending of the three colors together.With most camera sensors, there are actually two, very tiny green light collectors combined with a tiny red and a tiny blue light collector. The camera processes the information gathered from these combined collectors and each pixel has a value for red, green and blue which make up it's actual color. PortraitA pictorial representation of a person, usually showing the face. For a different view on this photography definition, you may be interested in this article on Newborn Portrait Photography.Prime LensNot like prime beef where it has anything to do with quality. Today's common definition: A prime lens is simply a lens with only one focal length. In other words, it has no zoom feature. To find out WHY anyone would ever want to use a prime lens, read this: What is a Prime Lens?
QQuicklyThe speed at which you can learn to take better digital pictures by reading the articles on the better digital Photo tips web site.Can't find what you are looking for?
Click here and tell me a photography term you don't understand.
R- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyRawAlso called camera raw or raw format. Shooting in "raw" mode allows the photographer to process the data later instead of having the camera process the data at the time the picture is taken. It contains the most information possible from a camera's sensor. Saving the raw image allows us to process it any way we wish, making choices on color, sharpness, exposure and many other variable. Raw files are very large compared to the standard jpg format that all digital camera can shoot in. RGBThe three colors which cover the range of wavelengths that we humans and digital camera sensors are sensitive to: Red, Green and Blue.
S- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminology
SaturationThe degree of hue in color as perceived subjectively. Saturated color can be termed strong, vivid, intense or deep. Desaturated color can be termed weak, pale, washed out or dull.Shallow Depth of FieldThis is one of those photography definitions that has several ways to express it. "Shallow" or "Narrow" or "Short" depth of field all mean that the range of things in focus is small. For examples of shallow depth of field, go to Shallow Depth of Field Examples.Shutter Lag Using a digital camera, the delay that occurs between pressing the shutter release button and the actual moment the picture is taken. Shutter Speed Simply the length of time that the camera allows the light to strike the sensor. It is usually given in fractions of a second such as 1/60 of a second or in seconds for very long exposures. For more on beginning photography tips regarding Shutter Speed, click here: Beginning Photography Tips - Shutter Speed." Shutter Priority An exposure mode (in a camera with automatic exposure control) that permits the photographer to preset shutter speed while the camera automatically determines the aperture setting required for proper exposure. See also the definition of aperture priority.
T- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyThumbnailA small version of a photo. Image browsers commonly display thumbnails of photos several or even dozens at a time.TripodA three-legged stand for supporting a camera or other apparatus. More stable, but heavier than a Monopod.TTLIn photography terms TTL stands for "Through The Lens." It is most commonly applies to electronic flash and exposure. TTL flash means the exposure is controlled by reading the actual amount of light reaching the camera sensor and adjusting the length of time the flash fires. Exposure with flash was originally only manually controlled; then "automatic" flash control was done with a separate sensor on the flash unit. Now it has evolved to E-TTL and E-TTL II by Canon and I-TTL by Nikon. TutorialA tutorial is one method of transferring knowledge. More visual and specific than a book or a lecture; a tutorial seeks to teach by example. A self-paced learning exercise; a lesson prepared so that a student can learn at their own speed, at their convenience.This entire web site has been designed with specific examples and lessons to be used as your Digital Photography Free Tutorials source. For instance, here is an illustrated tutorial for macro photography, specific for inside macro photography and for using a point and shoot camera Macro Photography Tutorial.
UUnderexposureWhen the sensor does not receive enough light, the image is underexposed. It can be lightened, but image quality is reduced. Digital Noise and un-sharpness result.USBUniversal Serial Bus: A standard type of connecting port for transferring information ( data, photos) between devices such as computers, digital cameras, printers and scanners. A USB device can be used as soon as it is connected, without having to reboot the computer.V- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyVignettingWhat is Vignetting? It is the gradual darkening of your picture toward the edges. Sometimes photographers create this effect on purpose. Darkening the edges will emphasize the area in the middle of your picture. Vignetting can also be caused by a defect in the lens or a lens hood or something else blocking part of the lens when the photo is taken.WWhite BalanceThe camera adjusts the overall scene's color balance so that the areas meant to be reproduced as neutral or white in the picture will be accurate, thereby also adjusting all the other colors in the scene using the same color shift values.
X- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyX SETTING - Shutter speed setting at which flash synchronization occurs. For some manual cameras, the X setting designates the maximum shutter speed at which the camera synchronizes with flash.X-SYNC - Same as “X Setting” YYesWhat you tell your friends if they want to know if you are having fun with digital photography.Z- Photography Definitions - digital photography terminologyZoomThe action of varying the focal length of a zoom lens to show more or less in the photo. You can zoom in to show less in the photo or zoom out to show more in the photo. Zooming in will bring the main subject closer. See the photography definitions for optical zoom and digital zoom. It's important to know the difference between these two digital camera terms.
A B C D E F G HI J K L M N O P QR S T U V W X Y Z
Understanding photography definitions and digital photography terminology can help you when you are reading about tips and techniques on taking better digital photos. Do you need to know other camera terms? Or would you like to share one of your own photography definitions ? Do it here.
Can't find a photography definition? Ask me!
Would you like to learn the meaning of a photo term?
Ask away. If I can't answer it, maybe one of our readers can.
What Other Visitors Have asked
Click below to see the questions from other visitors to this page...
photo image size
Barb,
Question: If the pic to be uploaded is 50 mb is it under the 300K size?
Answer: No, "50 mb" means 50 megabytes or 50 million bytes.
300k ...
digital photography free tutorials
What is the definition of digital photography free tutorials ?
Charlotte,
A tutorial is a session of intensive tuition given by a teacher to an ...
Why is TTL & Tripod not listed in your definitions?
Not rated yet
Going over you definitions; I realized you don't have TTL/iTTL/e-TTL, & Tripod listed. I know & understand the terms but other amateurs may come across ...
KB vs. MG
Not rated yet
I have a new client and send photos on their system. They are recommending pictures be 50-150 KB in size. I am no expert but I did set my camera at ...
dynamic range
Not rated yet
I see it being referred to a lot but I don't quite grasp the meaning.
Hi Brenda,
Thanks for asking the question about what is dynamic range. It ...
people and human interest
Not rated yet
In a photo composition what is expected for the category of "people and human interest"?
Hi,
Thanks for your question, but I don't understand ...
Back from Glossary of Photography Definitions to Digital Photo Tips
Back from Glossary of Photography Definitions to Camera Instructions
|
