Photography Glossary: Every Term & What They Mean
The world of photography can be a complicated one, and there is a lot of camera terminology that comes with it. Sometimes it can feel like a different language. This is a simple beginners guide to all the terms you should know in the world of photography, from the very basics to the pro stuff! I’ve done it in alphabetical order so you can search easily for specific words. Bare in mind that multiple terms may have the same meaning!
Aa
AF Servo
AF Servo is most commonly referred to as Continuous Focus, and is maintained by half pressing the shutter release button, which will enable you to keep a continual focus on a moving subject.
AFS
Stands for ‘auto focus single’. It means you can set your focus on a single point and your camera will automatically focus on this point when you press the shutter.
Ambient
Another term for ‘natural light’, meaning light only from the sun.
Aperture
The opening in the lens that lets light through. This can be made wider or smaller and is measured in F-Stops (see below). The wider the aperture, the more light is let in.
Aperture Priority
A mode on a camera that allows the photographer to manually control the Aperture whilst the camera will adjust the Shutter Speed automatically to create a well-exposed image. It appears as ‘Av mode’ on your camera.
Artificial Light
Any light created that isn’t naturally occurring, via mains power or battery.
Astrophotography
The type of photography where you take photos of the sky or deep space at night.
Aspect Ratio
The ratio of height to width of your image. There are set ratios most photographers work within as printers can only print certain aspect ratios, like 6x4 or 8x10 for example.
Auto Mode
A mode on a camera where the camera adjusts all the settings for you to create a well-exposed image.
Bb
Barn Doors
Refers to shutter-like doors which are placed onto a studio light in order to direct the light in a certain direction.
Blown Out
Means a photo is over-exposed and therefore too bright.
Blue Hour
The time of day immediately after sunset when the sky often turns a deep blue colour. A favourite time of day for photographers to shoot portraits at as it creates a beautiful ambient light.
Blur
When a photo is not sharp. Subject of the photo may be hazy, unclear or out of focus.
Bokeh
Bokeh is the way the lens processes out-of-focus points of light and often creates orbs of light created in out-of-focus images. When using a shallow DOF/wide aperture you can focus on a subject in the foreground, therefore making the background blurry. Any spots of light in the background will be so out of focus they will appear as round discs in the image.
Bracketing
When you take multiple photos of the same subject at different exposures. Particularly useful for when you are taking high contrast photos or creating a HDR image.
Buffer
A buffer is a form of memory that enables a camera to continue capturing more images without having to shut down to process the previous images. If you experience any lag when taking multiple photos in quick succession, it means the buffer memory is getting too full.
Bulb
A mode on a camera, labelled as ‘B’ where the shutter remains open for the entire time it is pressed, either by hand or with a remote trigger. Particularly useful for undertaking astrophotography where your exposure time exceeds 30 seconds.
Burst Mode
Usually you take one photo at a time but you can take multiple images in a row using burst mode. When in burst mode the camera will keep taking images at a set frame rate until you release the shutter. Particularly useful when capturing moving objects.
Cc
Candid
A photo of a person that isn’t posed. Most often the person won’t know their photo is being taken and it will therefore be more natural.
Camera
An optical device used to record imagery. At it’s most basic level, a camera is a sealed ‘container’ with one small hole (aperture) that let’s light in. The scene directly in front of the whole will be reflected into the ‘container’. On original cameras, light sensitive materials and film were placed into the ‘container’ to permanently capture the image. In the modern day, it is captured by a sensor.
Camera Shake
When you take a blurry image as a result of your shutter speed being too low when the camera is hand-held. A good rule to follow to avoid this is to use a shutter speed equal to or greater than the focal length of your lens. (E.g: 1/50th of a second on a 50mm lens or 1/300th of a second on a 300mm lens).
CCD
Means ‘charge coupled device’. Basically put, a CCD sensor is responsible for recording the pixels in an image.
‘Chimping’
The slang term used when someone looks at the back of their camera after every image they take, therefore taking more time reviewing the images instead of shooting them.
Chromatic Aberration
When a lens fails to focus all colours (RGB) into the same point. It creates a ‘colour fringe’ in areas of great contrast (where light meets dark). So for example, when this happens you may see a purple or green ‘halo’ around any points of contrast.
Composite
A composite image is when you combine several elements from different images into one final photograph.
Composition
The composition is how and where elements of your photograph are put together. If used correctly, composing elements in a certain way can draw the viewer into the image and lead the eye to a specific point. Just like a musical composer brings all the musicians together to create one perfect harmony, the same applies to photographing.
Compression
A way of reducing the size of an image file to free up more storage space. For example you can compress files into a ‘zipped’ folder in order to send and download the files quicker. Some compression techniques can permanently decrease the quality of an image though.
Contrast
Where something is extremely different from something else. For example, in photography the main points of contrast are light and colour; where light meets dark and where opposite colours meet. It can also be described in other ways such as varying textures in an image or sharpness against blur when using a shallow depth of field.
Crop
Reducing the size and shape of your image, either in camera or in post-production, therefore removing any unwanted areas.
Crop Factor
The ratio of the dimensions of the sensor in comparison to a 35mm format (full frame). The crop factor of a sensor will directly effect the lens you are using. For example, if you use a 50mm lens at a 1.5x crop factor (see crop sensor below), your resulting image will look like it was taken at 75mm (50x1.5) instead.
Dd
Diaphragm
The mechanism inside the camera lens that controls the aperture. In SLR cameras the diaphragm is made of multiple overlapping blades that swivel round each other to make the aperture smaller or larger.
Digital Vs. Optical
Optical is much better than digital. Digital means an effect is achieved through software, whereas optical means an effect is achieved by physical parts of a camera. So an optical zoom, for example, will zoom in using the lens, whereas digital zoom will take the full image and zoom into that digitally, therefore achieving a lower resolution photo.
DOF (Depth Of Field)
At which point in your photo the focus lies. Using a shallow depth of field for example means only a small part of your image is in focus and the rest blurred. The deeper the depth of field, the more elements in your image are in focus. Portrait photographers in particular will often use a shallow depth of field when photographing people. A shallow depth of field is achieved by using a wider aperture.
DSLR
Stands for ‘digital single lens reflex’. It refers to a camera that hosts interchangeable lenses and where a mirror is used inside the camera to view the image. In other words, it means what you see through your viewfinder is the image you will get.
Dynamic range
The range of brightness/luminance of an image between the highest and lowest light intensities, typically between pure white and pure black. The dynamic range of a sensor in a camera is incredibly limited in comparison to the human eye, which is why the camera can often over or under expose portions of an image in a situation where your eye can see every detail clearly, regardless of brightness.
DX Crop Sensor/Full Frame
A full frame sensor is larger than a crop sensor (also know as a DX camera). When you take a photo, a circle of light shines through the lens and hits the sensor. This circle of light is just large enough to cover the whole of a full frame sensor. So when you use a crop sensor which is smaller, you won’t capture the entirety of the light shining through the lens. As a result the resulting image will be slightly smaller than if you were using a full frame sensor. The amount of image cropped out (also know as crop factor) will depend on which lens you use.
Ee
EV
Stands for ‘exposure value’. It is a number that represents the various combinations of aperture and shutter speed that create the same exposure.
Exposure
How much light hits the sensor. The higher the exposure, the brighter the image. The exposure is controlled and manipulated by adjusting the aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Exposure Compensation
When you manually adjust the exposure to create a certain lighting effect, often used in modes where the camera is automatically adjusting some of the settings for you, for example in aperture priority or shutter priority modes.
Ff
F-Stop
F-stops are used to measure the aperture of your lens. It is a fraction, like f/2 or f/16. The “f” stands for the focal length of the lens. So, f/2 literally means the focal length divided by 2, which equals the diameter of the aperture. So for example if you had your 50mm lens at f/4, then your aperture would be 50/4. 50 divided by 4 is 12.5mm. So the opening of your lens will be 12.5mm wide in diameter. Thats why the smaller the f-stop number, the wider the lens’ aperture is.
Fast Lens
A term photographers refer to when a lens has a very wide maximum aperture. So a lens that can go to f/1.4 would be faster than a lens that can only go to f/4. It is referred to as ‘fast’ because you can use a much faster shutter speed with these lenses when they are at a wider aperture.
File Formats (JPEGs, RAWs, & PSDs)
These are the different ways cameras save files and ways you can save them in post-processing. These file formats will effect the size of the file and how much information is stored within it. For example a RAW file contains much more detail and information than a JPEG file shot at the same resolution, which will give you a lot more creative control when processing it. A PSD file is a photoshop file that will save all your layers of editing without compressing it.
Fill Light
A second light used to accompany a key light, most often used in a studio. Used to fill in any extra unwanted shadows on your subject. A fill light can also be a reflector used when shooting in ambient light.
Filter
A glass or plastic ring attached to your lens to create a certain effect (also see ND Filter below).
Fish Eye
The term used when a wide angle is so extreme it creates a panoramic or hemispherical image, resulting in distortion which creates a ‘bulging’ effect. It is referred to as ‘fish eye’ due to the wide peripheral vision a fish’s eye has.
Flash
An artificial light source used to brighten areas of an image without altering any in-camera settings. A flash can be in-built into the camera or external in the form of a flash gun or light box.
Flash Modifier
Also known as a diffuser, flash modifiers alter the intensity or colour of your flash. It can be in the form of a filter or a soft box over the flash and many more variants.
Flash Sync
When the firing of your flash synchronises with your shutter speed. It’s important to know your sync speed when using flash; if your shutter speed is too quick, then it’ll be quicker than your light, therefore only illuminating a portion of your image.
Focal Length
The distance between the lens and the sensor when the subject is in focus, measured in millimeters. In a prime lens, the focal length will be fixed, for example at 50mm or 105mm. In the case of zoom lenses, both the min and max focal lengths are stated, for example 75–300 mm.
Focus
When you make your subject clearer/less blurred and therefore ‘in-focus’. Also can refer to the main subject in an image, e.g; ‘she was the focus in the photo’.
FPS
Stands for ‘frames per second’. It determines the speed at which a camera can take photos. This is particularly key for any photography that involves taking lots of images very quickly in succession (see burst mode) and vital for videography.
Gg
Gaussian Blur
Named after mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, it is the result of manually blurring an image by a Gaussian function in editing software. It is used to reduce noise and detail, and smooths out the image.
Glass
Slang term referring to a lens. For example a photographer may ask “what glass do you use” which refers to the type of lens you are using.
Gobo
An object used to block unwanted light in an image, most often something that is a dark colour to absorb the light, like the black side of a reflector for example.
Golden Hour
The time of day right before sunset or right after sunrise when the sun is at it’s lowest on the horizon. Considered by many as the best time for flattering natural light photography. (Blue hour is immediately after sunset).
Hh
Hard Light
Refers to light when it is harsh and not diffused, such as bright, direct sunlight, small external flashes, and on-camera flash. The light will cause harsh shadows with defined edges and give the image a high contrast. It is not the most flattering light in portraiture, but it can be used to great effect for more dramatic and ‘moody’ imagery as it emphasises texture.
HDR
Stands for High Dynamic Range. It is the technique used to expose every part of the image evenly, by lightening the shadows and dimming the highlights. If your camera has an HDR setting, it will take photos that retain all the details in the lightest and darkest parts of the image, which would usually appear just black or white. It can also be achieved by bracketing and merging the photos together digitally.
Histogram
A histogram is when the tonal values in your image are represented in a graph. It shows the amount of tones in your photo and the brightness/luminance of each one. The height of the histogram shows how many pixels there are for each specific tone, and if any of the tones hit the top of the graph, this indicates that it is too light or too dark and that details in this area will be lacking.
Hot Shoe
A part of the camera that lies on top, adjacent to the in-built flash. It is a slot that enables the photographer to attach other pieces of equipment to the camera, such as cable releases or external flashes.
Hyperfocal Distance
The focus distance providing the the maximum amount of depth of field. You can work out the hyperfocal distance of your own lens with a hyperfocal distance calculator. Making this calculation is a bit of work, but could prove useful, especially for landscape photography.
Ii
IS
Stands for ‘image stabilisation’, which is a technology that reduces any effects caused by vibration in an image. It can be integrated into both the camera or lens and is mostly used when hand-holding the camera.
ISO
Stands for International Standards Organization. In film photography, the ISO was the indication of how sensitive the film was to light. In digital photography it is the same, except the value of the ISO will effect your sensor’s sensitivity to light instead of film. The lower the number, the lower the sensitivity and the finer the grain in the resulting images. A higher ISO will allow you to shoot in lower light conditions but setting your ISO too high will make noise/grain appear in your images.
Kk
Kelvin
Kelvin is the measurement of colour temperature. On the white balance settings in your camera there may be a “K” setting, which will allows you to adjust the colour manually by degrees kelvin. The lower numbers represent warmer colours like oranges, reds and yellow, and the higher numbers are cooler like blues and purples. Altering the kelvin will therefore make your images appear warmer or cooler.
Key Light
A key light is the main source of light in your image, for example the sun or a flash. It is the source of light that produces the most intensity in your photo.
Ll
Lens
An optical lens made of glass, used in conjunction with a camera body to make images. It can be permanently fixed to a camera or it can be interchangeable. Different lenses have different focal lengths and apertures, and therefore will effect how the light hits the sensor in your camera. This is why different lenses are used for different situations.
Lens Flare
When the light hits the lens directly, it can cause your image to become hazy or produce little circles of light within it. It can be used as a compositional tool but is mostly avoided.
Light Meter
A light meter gives photographers a measurement of the exposure of their surroundings and tells them what combination of shutter speed and aperture to use.
Long Exposure
A long exposure image is when the photographer chooses to deliberately use a very long shutter speed to create a certain effect. Most often used in low light conditions such as astrophotography, or to create the effect of rushing water in landscape photography.
Mm
Macro
Macro lenses have the ability to focus to 1:1 magnification, so the size of the image in real life can be the same size as it's reproduced on the sensor. They also allow you to be able to focus a lot closer to your subject than normal lenses would.
Manual Mode
Refers to settings or modes on the camera where the photographer takes partial or full control of all of the exposure and tonal settings.
Megapixel
One million pixels= one megapixel. Megapixels are used to measure the resolution of cameras. For example, a camera that can produce images with 24 million total pixels would be referred to as a 24 megapixel camera.
Metadata
Metadata is basically any essential information about the image, including, but not limited to, it’s size, resolution, exposure settings and focal length. This information is stored within the photo file and can be accessed and potentially modified in post-production.
Motion Blur
When a moving object in a photo creates a blurred, streaking effect, often due to the shutter speed being too low. In order to produce a sharp image of a moving object the shutter speed needs to be a lot higher, though motion blur can also be a creative choice in an image.
Nn
ND Filter
Means Neutral Density Filter. It is a filter that goes onto your lens to reduce the intensity of all light wavelengths equally, therefore reducing the amount of light entering the lens and hitting the sensor. Often used by landscape photographers or for any camera work taking place in direct sunlight.
Noise
When your ISO is too high it creates an image that has a lot of noise, which means it will appear grainy and pixelated. Modern day cameras can handle ISO a lot better now and allow for much clearer images when using a higher ISO, but no camera is immune from it, so it is always recommended to shoot in as low an ISO as possible.
Oo
Over/Under Exposed
Means when your exposure is too bright in your image, resulting in a washed-out photo with little to no detail in the highlights. Overexposure was a term used to describe the process of exposing film to too much light, which would make the image too bright, but now digital photography, it refers to the sensor being over-saturated with light instead. Under exposed is literally the opposite, when it isn’t exposed enough, rendering parts of the image too dark and lacking in detail.
Pp
Panning
It is a technique that combines a lower shutter speed with camera motion to create an atmosphere of speed, where instead of the moving subject being blurred, the subject is in focus and the background is blurred. Panning is the action of moving your camera horizontally or vertically in time with your subject to create this effect.
Photography
Originates from the Greek words phos (light) and graph (to draw). So the term photography literally stands for ‘drawing with light’.
Pixel
A pixel is a singular point in an image, and is the smallest element of a picture represented on the screen. Photographs are made up of thousands of these pixels, each pixel varying in light and colour intensity, and coming together to create an overall image. If an image has a small resolution, it means there are less pixels in the image, and when such images are enlarged, the pixels eventually become visible.
Portrait
In photographic terms, it is the practice of photographing a person or animal, most often when the facial expression of the subject is dominant. It also refers to the orientation of a photograph (portrait or landscape).
Prime/Fixed Lens
A lens where the focal point is singular and therefore fixed and unable to zoom, for example a 50mm or 80mm lens.
Program Mode
Program mode, identified as ‘P’ on your camera, is a semi-automatic mode. It stands for ‘programmed automatic’, though for some reason it is a common myth that it stands for ‘professional’! It enables you to control some settings like the flash, ISO, and white balance, whilst the rest of the settings such as the aperture and shutter speed are automatically changed by the camera.
Rr
Reflector
An object or device that creates a reflection or refraction of light. Most commonly used by photographers when creating portraits and the main light needs to be bounced/reflected in a different direction. It is a way of achieving a nice, soft light on your subject.
Remote Trigger/ Cable Release
A remote trigger or cable release is something that can be connected to your camera either wirelessly or by cable, and enables you to press the shutter remotely without physically touching your camera. A useful alternative instead of using the timer function on your camera, and particularly useful when you want to limit any camera shake.
Resolution
The measurement of the quality of an image or screen, characterised in pixels squared. For example, high definition (HD) resolution is described as 1080 x 1920 pixels. Therefore, the lower the resolution, the more pixelated an image becomes. Uploading an image to the internet or using it in any digital capacity usually requires the image to be a minimum resolution.
RGB
RGB literally stands for Red, Green, Blue. It is a way of representing the colours used on a computer as all three colours can be combined in various ways and percentages to create any colour in the visible spectrum. Each type of colour created this way has a value attached to it, and this value is dependant on the percentage of red (255), green (255) and blue (255) in it. So for example, true white is represented as 255255255, because it has equal amounts of red, blue and green in. This is the standard way of categorising colours on digital devices.
Ss
Saturation
Saturation means the colour intensity of an image. If you increase the saturation the colours will become more vivid and vibrant, whilst decreasing the saturation will create more muted colours. Taking the saturation down to 0% will result in a monochromatic image.
Scene Mode
Most cameras will have a scene mode that enables you to pick from different scenes relating to what you’re photographing. All of these different scenes are automatic modes and come with their own pre-set exposure settings. For example, the scene ‘night mode’ will slow down the shutter speed and increase the aperture and ISO. It is particularly useful for people who want to improve their photos but are uncertain about going fully manual and controlling the settings themselves.
Scrim
Similar to a gobo, a scrim is a translucent device used to diffuse and soften the light. Scrims can be made extremely large to create shade where there is direct sun without it and are used often on film sets.
Selfie
A relatively recent slang term referring to a self portrait.
Sensor
A sensor is the modern day equivalent of camera film. It is a solid-state device and forms part of the camera's hardware that captures light and converts it into an image. A camera with either have a full frame (FX) sensor or a cropped (DX) sensor which is smaller.
Shooting
Slang referring to the practice of taking a photo by pointing and aiming your camera, for example when taking a photo of a flower a photographer may say “I’m going to shoot this flower”. Weaponry terminology is quite frequent in photography. A snapshot was a shot fired quickly, without careful aim and therefore refers to shutter speeds becoming quicker. Cameras also have ‘triggers’ (shutter release), and you can load cameras with film ‘magazines’. The term ‘gun-shy’ has even been coined to describe a subject that is uncomfortable in front of the camera.
Shutter
Back before digital cameras, the shutter was a mechanism that allowed light to pass for a determined period, exposing photographic film to light in order to capture a permanent image of the scene before you. In modern day it is the same, except a sensor is now used instead of film. Think of it as effectively opening a curtain to let the light in, and shutting it again.
Shutter Lag
Almost completely unnoticeable in most modern cameras as they are so fast, but in some smaller models the delay between pressing the shutter and the image being captured is actually noticeable and can cause you to miss your shot, especially if the subject is moving.
Shutter Priority
The mode on the camera displayed as ‘S’ or ‘Tv’. It gives the photographer the ability to alter the shutter speed, whilst the camera will automatically change the other settings for you to compensate for the light.
Shutter Speed
The shutter speed is the length of time that the shutter is open when taking a photo and therefore how long the film or sensor is exposed to light. The slower the shutter speed, the more light hits the sensor, and the brighter the resulting image.
Snoot
A tube or similar object that fits over an artificial light or flash and allows you to control the direction and radius of the light. Most often used in studio portrait photography.
Soft Light
The opposite of hard light. Where hard light creates strong, harsh shadows, soft light creates more of an even gradient of light where the shadows and highlights merge very smoothly into each other and are not individually defined. It is a much more flattering light for portraiture and can be created by using a diffuser or reflector.
SOOC
Means ‘Straight Out Of Camera’ so it refers to an image that has had absolutely no editing or processing.
Speedlight
A small, portable flash light used when extra light is needed in an ambient environment. Can be used remotely or placed into the camera’s hot shoe.
Stop Down/ Up
The act of closing down the aperture to a smaller opening or enlarging it for a wider opening. For example stopping down from f4 to f5.6 to decrease the light.
Subject
The dominant feature of a photo or the main focus. Typically a model is referred to as ‘the subject’.
Tt
Telephoto
A telephoto lens is a lens that has a much longer focal length than a normal lens, a 70-300mm for example. It gives a narrower field of view and much larger magnification. Particularly used by wildlife and landscape photographers as well as photo journalists.
Tilt Shift
A favourite lens of landscape and architectural photographers. a lens that attempts to recreate the movements available when using a view camera. A tilt shift lens allows the photographer to change the position of the imaging circle, which will straighten any lines that appear to converge in the distance. It allows you to adjust the placement of the subject within the frame without angling the camera, therefore stopping any parallel lines from converging.
Time Lapse
Where a long exposure image is a single photo taken over a longer period of time, a time-lapse is a video created by stitching several photos together taken of the same thing at different times. Often used in film-making for showing changes, like the sun rising and setting for example.
Tog
A slang term used to refer to a pho’tog’rapher.
Tone
Tone describes the darkness or lightness of an area in an image. Colours also have different tones depending on their luminosity (brightness).
TTL
TTL means ‘Through The Lens’ and is an exposure metering setting in a flash gun or speedlight. When in TTL mode, the flash will emit light until it is turned off by the camera sensor, therefore the flash will be for the same period of time as your shutter. This will create more even light when using high shutter speeds.
Vv
Vibrance
Similar to saturation, however, when you increase the saturation, all of the colours are increased equally, whereas increasing the vibrance will increase only those colours that are less saturated than the others.
Vignette
A vignette is when the border of an image appears darker and less vibrant. It can easily be fixed in post-production, though a lot of photographers like to make use of it for creative effect.
Ww
White Balance
Getting the right white balance means getting the correct colour temperature in your image. Altering the white balance will remove undesired colour casts, often from artificial or direct lighting, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. If incorrect in camera, it is something that can easily be manipulated in post-production.
Wide Angle
Wide angle lenses show a wider field of view than a normal lens, which allows you to fit more into your frame. When using a very wide angle lens you can often get distortion, particularly at the edges of your image, and the wider you go, the more distortion you get until it becomes fish-eye.
Wide Open
To shoot ‘wide open’ means to shoot at the maximum aperture of your lens (the widest it will open). So if you had a 50mm f1.4 lens, shooting at f1.4 would be referred to as shooting ‘wide open’.
Zz
Zoom Lens
The opposite of a prime/fixed lens. Where a prime lens has a fixed focal length, zoom lenses have multiple focal lengths which enables you to zoom in or out. They portray their minimum and maximum focal lengths, for example a 15-85mm lens will enable you to take photos at any focal distance between 15 and 85mm.
