Photography Lingo 101
Have you ever noticed that photographers tend to have a language of their own? Put a group of photographers together, and you might pick up a word or two. For the most part, the lingo we use is our own, but I’m here to help you decipher the code. Let’s call this the ABCs of Senior Photography! (I also may have cheated! Not all letters were used, so I double-dipped on others!)
Aperture - The aperture is the opening in the lens that either lets in more light when wide open or less light when closed. To measure the size of the opening, we use a term called F-Stop… more on that later!
Bokeh - Bokeh is the dreamy, out-of-focus light we all love. Think about a Christmas tree. When the lights are in focus, you can see each individual bulb. When they are out of focus, they are circles of light.
Camera - Your camera is your tool to take your photos! Come on, guys, that one was too easy!
Depth of field - Let’s say you and two friends are standing right next to each other. You are on the same plane, and when taking a photo, all will be in focus. Now, the friend to your left takes a step forward, and the friend to your right takes a step back. You are no longer on the same plane, and the depth of field has changed. There is a chance that not everyone will be in focus now.
Exposure - Each time you take a photo, the sensor in your camera is exposed to light. The photo is overexposed if the sensor is exposed to too much light. If the sensor doesn’t get enough light, the photo is underexposed. So, the exposure is how light or dark your photo is.
Focal Length - This is the distance between your lens and where the image is actually formed. The higher the number, the more “zoomed in” your image will be.
F-stop - The F-stop is how the aperture is measured! The smaller the f-stop, the bigger the opening. The smaller the f-stop, the smaller the opening.
Gallery - This is where all of your photos are displayed!
Golden Hour - This is the hour after sunrise or the hour before sunset. The light is considered warmer and less harsh at this time.
Highlights - In a photo, the highlights are the brightest part of an image.
ISO - This is your camera’s sensitivity to light. Starting in the hundreds and going into the thousands, this number is adjusted according to light. If you are in the brightest light of day, you’d have a lower iso, 100, that isn’t very sensitive to light. If you are inside a darker room, you’d want a higher iso, 3200, that is very sensitive to light.
JPEG - This is a format in which many images are saved and shared.
Kelvin - Kelvin measures the color of your photo. Warmer photos (yellows) have a higher kelvin, and cooler photos (blues) have a lower kelvin.
Lens Flare - A lens flare is when the sun is shining directly at your camera, and you have small circles or semi-circles that appear.
Manual Mode - When your camera is in manual mode, you have complete control of your camera settings. This includes the ISO, the aperture, and the shutter speed.
Noise - Having noise is having small specks on your image when you have a higher iso.
Opacity - Opacity is discussed after the photo has been taken and is being edited. The opacity determines how transparent the image is. A lower transparency means you can see less of the image, and a high transparency shows you more of the image.
Prime Lens - Think of the lens of a camera. Many lenses let you turn them to control how far zoomed in or zoomed out you are. A prime lens does not have a turn on the lens and is fixed on a specific focal length.
Raw File - a raw file has alllllll of the data the sensor captured when you took your photo. These types of files give you more control while editing. A JPEG, on the other hand, has very little data and is more difficult to control when editing.
Rule of Thirds - Think of your most favorite photo in all of the world… now, put a tic-tac-toe board on top of it. That is the rule of thirds. It divides the image into thirds. In theory, you would want to keep the subjects of your photo on the lines of the board.
Spot Metering - Remember how exposure determines whether a photo is under/overexposed. Well, how do you know what the exposure should be? You spot meter. You take an area of what you will take a picture of and expose for that spot. That area is what is being spot-metered. Think about the box that pops up on your phone before you take a photo. That is your spot and what will be exposed for and in focus.
Tonal Range - Simply the range of tones throughout the photo. From the brightest to the darkest spot in the photo and everything in between!
Viewfinder - This is how you see what you are taking a photo of. Sometimes, that is what you put your eye to on the camera, and sometimes, that is the screen on your camera or your phone.
Watermark - This is the photographer’s logo or name that is placed on the photo to identify the owner or author of the image.
White Balance - Adjusting the white balance adjusts the temperature of your photo. A lower white balance leads to a cooler photo (more blues), and a higher white balance leads to a warmer photo (more yellows)
Zoom Lens - Where a prime lens stays at a fixed length. A zoom lens allows you to cover a range of focal lengths!
Friends, I hope this was helpful! I know the vernacular of a photographer can be tricky, but I’m here to help! If there are any other words or phrases that are confusing, just click the button below, and let’s chat!
