Every photographer has two things in common: a camera and a passion for photography. But to be the best, you need to be acquainted with a few common photography terms, so that you can produce beauty with accuracy, and also show off a little to your friends!
1.Aperture
Often compared to the pupil of the eye, the aperture refers to the size of the opening of the lens. Just as the pupil opens and closes, varying in size, to allow more or less light into the eye, the aperture is adjusted to allow adequate light in the lens. Measured in f-stops, the aperture with a high f-stop value like f/22 is narrow while smaller values like f/1.8 mean a wider aperture. Aperture is an important factor to consider while clicking pictures since it affects your focus, especially in case of bokehs.
2.F-Stops
As mentioned above, f-stop is a measurement of aperture and regulates the amount of light that enters the aperture. Measurement is done by dividing the focal length of the lens by the diameter of the aperture.
3.Bokeh
Surfacing more and more in latest photography trends, bokehs are small illuminated orbs which decorate and enhance a picture’s background. They basically appear as out-of-focus light orbs which amplify your photo’s beauty. What’s interesting about this is that you can create your own bokehs, of different shapes and create innovative frames.
4.Depth Of Field
DOF can simply be defined as the area of the image that is in focus. This is determined by the distance of shooting; at a certain point, some area will stay in focus and behind said point the area may decrease. The aperture is also important in determining the DoF. Higher aperture value (which means low f-stop value) will result in a shallow depth of field, and vice versa.
5.Rule Of Thirds
Rule of Thirds is a principle wherein the image is divided into thirds horizontally and vertically (basically, nine parts) which helps you place your subject in your frame with accuracy. The reason RoT is important is that there is an interesting way to use this principle and produce beautiful frames. Photographers often place their subject not in the center but in the adjacent grid lines.
6.View Finder
This is a simple term, but significant in a photography dictionary. A viewfinder is a lens you look through, in your camera, to capture a photo.
7.International Organization Of Standardization
Short for ISO, this represents the sensitivity of the camera’s digital sensor to light. This sensitivity is regulated by a component called “image sensor”. With ISO, the lower value it has, the less sensitive the camera is to light.
8.Telephoto Lens
It is that lens which is longer than your average camera lens and often appears like an extension of your camera lens. It basically functions as a zoom lens (but is different from a zoom lens) and slows you to capture far away objects in a close-up. Telephoto lenses are those with a focal range of 100 mm.
9.Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is very important to get your picture right. A shutter is a feature which lets in light into the camera for the image to be clicked. The part of the image exposed when the shutter is opened is blurred. Therefore, faster shutter speed is necessary to freeze moments while slow shutter speed causes blurry frames.
10.Macro Lens
Macro lenses are those lenses which enable you to capture minute objects into life-size frames. For example, it would magnify a small insect like an ant into a huge size in the frame.
Written By Smriti Rajiv Sharma
