As an aspiring photographer, you may feel overwhelmed by the complex jargon used in the industry. But having a handle on key terminology will give you the knowledge to take creative control of your camera and unlock advanced techniques.
This article will explain the 15 most important photography terms you need to understand as a beginner. Consider me your friendly photography mentor guiding you through concepts like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and more in plain English. I‘ll also showcase how mastering these building blocks can transform you from shooting on auto mode to confidently manual.
Get ready to level up your shooting game!
Photography Term Glossary
Here is a quick reference glossary of the photography vocabulary covered in this guide:
- Aperture: Size of lens opening controlling light intake
- ISO: Sensor light sensitivity
- Shutter Speed: Duration sensor is exposed to light
- Exposure Triangle: Interplay of aperture, shutter speed and ISO
- Depth of Field: Zone of sharp focus in front of and behind subject
- Focal Length: Angle of view/apparent magnification
- HDR: High Dynamic Range imaging combining multiple exposures
- Image Stabilization: Offset lens/sensor movement to prevent shake blur
- Long Exposure: Intentionally slow shutter speed for artistic effect
- Macro: Extreme close-up photography
- Noise: Unwanted graininess, especially in dark/high ISO photos
- Bokeh: Pleasant blurred background
- Rule of Thirds: Classic compositional guideline
- Timelapse: Condensing gradual changes over time via high speed playback
- White Balance: Neutralizing color shifts from different light temperatures
Now let’s explore what each term means in more detail…
Aperture
As mentioned, aperture refers to the lens opening that lets in light. Wider apertures have lower f-stop numbers (f/1.4, f/2), narrower apertures use higher f-stops (f/16, f/22).
Adjusting aperture gives artistic control over exposure and depth of field. Open apertures brighten images and isolate subjects against softer backgrounds. Stopping down darkens scenes and brings more elements in focus.
Here is an aperture comparison across f-stops with depth of field impacts:
| f/1.4 aperture | Shallow depth of field |
| f/5.6 aperture | Moderate depth of field |
| f/16 aperture | Extreme depth of field |
Prime lenses offer the widest apertures and creamiest bokeh. But even kit zooms allow creative manipulation. Play with Aperture Priority mode to grasp this fundamental relationship.
Prime Lens Recommendations
| Canon 50mm f/1.8 | Nikon 50mm f/1.8 | Sony 50mm f/1.8 |
ISO
Higher ISO numbers reflect increased sensor light sensitivity. This permits faster shutter speeds in dim conditions. But what’s the tradeoff?
Unfortunately, boosting ISO also introduces more image noise and grain. Cleaner photos come from lower ISO values. Here is a noise comparison across the ISO range:
| ISO 100-400 | Very low noise |
| ISO 800-1600 | Acceptable noise |
| ISO 3200+ | Visible noise and loss of detail |
So use the lowest ISO feasible for lighting and desired shutter speed. Only pump it up when critical to get the shot. Modern cameras deliver usable images even at moderately high ISOs.
Test your camera’s high ISO noise threshold so you know what’s acceptable. Some added grain won’t kill most social media uses. But uncontrolled noise has an ugly sandpaper effect.
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed sets how long your camera’s sensor gets exposed to incoming light. It‘s measured in seconds or fractions of a second. Some common examples:
- 1/500th (fast action freezing)
- 1/125th
- 1/60th
- 1/30th (moderate blur for motion)
- 1/15th (very strong motion blur)
- 5 seconds (light painting/long exposure night shots)
Combining shutter speed artfully with aperture and ISO given the shooting situation enables you to perfectly expose images so they are neither too bright nor too dark.
Faster speeds combat blur from camera shake and subject motion. Slow down the shutter creatively when you want to convey action, like smoothing flowing water.
Here‘s a comparison of shutter speed effects on subject clarity:
| 1/2000s shutter speed | Frozen action |
| 1/30s shutter speed | Moderate motion blur |
| 2 second shutter speed | Strong blur |
Depth of Field
Depth of field describes how much of your scene appears sharp versus blurred. Shallow depth of field keeps only your main subject(s) crisp, with softened backgrounds. Maximizing depth of field gets everything razor sharp from front to back.
What controls depth of field? The key factors are:
- Aperture – Wider apertures yield shallower depth of field. Stopping down extends the focus zone.
- Focal length – Longer focal lengths (zoomed in) give shallower depth of field.
- Distance to subject – Focusing closer reduces depth of field.
Here is a depth of field comparison example:
| Wide aperture telephoto | Narrow aperture wide angle |
| Shallow depth of field | Deep depth of field |
Intentional depth of field control complements your creative vision. Want to isolate a subject? Open that aperture! Shooting landscapes? Stop down to get it all tack sharp.
Exposure Triangle
Photography revolves around balancing aperture, shutter speed and ISO to achieve proper exposure per the lighting. This interrelationship is called the exposure triangle:
| Aperture | Shutter Speed | ISO |
Adjust any single point of the triangle, and tradeoffs ensue elsewhere. For example, decreasing aperture size necessitates slower shutter or higher ISO to maintain equivalent brightness.
Ultimately, creative photography means maneuvering aperture, ISO and shutter speed in harmony to capture stunning images. Master the exposure triangle to gain full photographic control.
Focal Length
Focal length defines a lens’ angle of view, determining how zoomed-in your shots appear. Shorter focal lengths stretch and distort scenes more. Longer focal lengths compress perspective and isolate smaller areas.
Here are common focal length ranges:
- Wide-angle: 14-35mm
- Standard: 50mm
- Telephoto Zoom: 70-300mm
- Super Telephoto Prime: 600mm+
Standard 50mm delivers a natural angle of view close to human vision. Telephotos isolate narrow slices letting you hone in on details. Wide-angles fit expansive scenery in the frame.
Additionally, longer focal lengths reduce depth of field, contributing to that creamy bokeh effect. Shorter focal lengths extend zone of sharpness.
So pick the right tool for your photographic vision! Need to capture that lion far across the savanna? Slap on a telephoto. Shooting architecture? Go wide to avoid perspective distortion.
Understanding focal length gives you compositional mastery. Zoom with your feet too to find the perfect scene crop.
HDR Imaging
HDR stands for high dynamic range. This refers to blending multiple exposures to reveal nuanced tones exceeding your camera‘s single shot range.
Here is an example scenario: You‘re photographing a dark tunnel with bright sunlight at the end. Your eyes can discern detail everywhere. But directly capturing it as-is would blow out the exit, leaving the tunnel passage unseen.
HDR to the rescue! Take one standard exposure for the highlights, plus an underexposed version bringing out the shadows. Merge them in software, and voila—the full tonal spectrum emerges.
Similar high contrast scenes like rooms with windows benefit from HDR too. It opens up creative options otherwise impossible in a single shot.
Image Stabilization
Holding a camera perfectly still is surprisingly tough. Tiny involuntary hand tremors during exposure can ruin sharpness. This issue worsens at slower shutter speeds, telephoto focal lengths, and in low light needing high ISO.
Image stabilization saves the day by floating optical or sensor elements to counteract shake. Gyros detect movement along two axes and shift elements in the opposite direction to offset motion. This keeps the scene steady against your sensor despite instability.
The result? Crisper images in situations otherwise prone to blurring without lugging around a tripod. Stabilization buys you 2-5 stops of extra handholdability depending on system sophistication.
With non-stabilized gear, a rule of thumb suggests shutter speed should exceed the inverted focal length to avoid shake blur without IS. So at 200mm, shoot 1/250s or faster. Stabilization lets you go much slower comfortably.
Here is a sharpness comparison of the same static scene with stabilization on and off:
| Image stabilization on | Image stabilization off |
| Tack sharp | Visible blur from camera shake |
Pretty much all new interchangeable lens cameras and lenses feature stabilization. But even smartphones and compacts offer software anti-shake processing to battling blurring.
Long Exposure
Normally photographs capture fractions of a second. But creative effects emerge extending the shutter speed to multiple seconds or even minutes! For example:
- Silky water movement (seascapes, waterfalls)
- Dramatic clouds
- Light trails at night (cars, stars)
- Light painting
The longer your sensor gathers light, the more motion gets averaged together into blur while static objects remain crisp. This renders ethereal, often dreamlike moods full of whimsy.
You’ll want a sturdy tripod for ultra slow shutter speeds to avoid inadvertent camera shake over extended durations. Neutral density filters become necessary too to prevent overexposing images in daylight when stretching exposures longer than a second or so.
Don’t fear long exposures! With practice, painterly motion and glowing light artwork come alive after dark.
Macro Photography
Macro photography means extreme close-up images revealing tiny subjects in great detail. Real macro reproduction matches the subject’s actual size on the imaging sensor. So a dime sized insect projects as a dime sized image.
More practically for beginners, macro typically means 1:2 or 1:4 size ratios. Dedicated macro lenses focus astonishingly close to pull off life size effects. But less expensive extension tubes and close-up filters offer cheap magnification too.
Getting intimate with miniature worlds that normally go unnoticed opens up creativity. Try capturing dew droplets on flowers, snowflake designs, food textures, fabric weaves, and more in high resolution. A macro safari in your own backyard uncovers endless small scale beauty.
Noise
Image noise describes unwanted graininess degrading picture quality. As a baseline, all digital photos exhibit some noise due to the underlying camera sensor technology. It resembles a speckled sandpaper effect predominantly in darker tones.
What causes more noticeable noise issues? Situations including:
- High ISO sensitivity settings
- Long shutter speeds allowing sensor heat buildup
- Under exposure forcing boosts during correction
- Smaller sensors with tighter pixel density
Cameras handle noise differently, but at extreme settings grain eventually visibly erodes detail. Top tools better resist deterioration, especially with noise reduction technologies.
Still, realize some applications like social media viewing may mask modest noise unless zooming significantly. Regardless avoid blasting ISO without cause. The cleanest images come from nailing exposure at the lowest workable sensitivity.
Bokeh
Bokeh refers to the aesthetic quality and blurring style of out of focus areas in a photograph. The term comes from Japanese roots translating loosely as “haze” or “blur.”
Bright pinpoints of light often render as glowing orb shapes based on aperture design. Smooth bokeh holds artistic merit, but harsh unattractive effects result from poor lens engineering. Quality matters!
What creates bokeh? The keys involve shooting with a wide aperture, using a long focal length, and getting close to your subject. Combined, these factors minimize depth of field to blow the background away while keeping your main subject sharp.
The effect concentrates attention on what you want viewers noticing, with magical defocused regions adding dimensional depth. Bokeh introduces pleasing subject isolation and background compression in portraiture, product shots, nature imagery and more.
Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds provides suggested balance points when framing shots. Mentally divide your viewfinder into a tic-tac-toe pattern of vertical and horizontal lines. Aligning important compositional elements along these interface lines often yields more engaging, energetic results compared to dead center.
It’s believed our brains intrinsically respond more positively to asymmetry mimicking dynamics found in nature. Positioning key portions off-kilter activates the scene based on this theory.
But rules exist ready for breaking! Once internalizing intended thirds layout, don’t hesitate intentionally subverting convention as creative needs dictate. Centered compositions and diagonal flow both work wonderfully given context. Mix it up!
Timelapse Photography
Timelapse photography involves distilling ultra slow actions into rapid fast motion videos by capturing incremental progress frames then playing them back sequentially at high speeds.
Examples include:
- Blooming flowers
- Drifting clouds
- Cityscapes at dusk
- Construction projects
Specialized intervalometer tools or apps automate firing successive evenly spaced shots over minutes, hours or days. Condensing these incrementals down reveals gradual changes invisible to the naked eye in real time.
Timelapse adds mesmerizing new dimensions to sequences, from cosmic to mundane. But formulaic repetition grows dull too. Creative timelapses reveal deeper aspects like the transient beauty defining our fleeting existence.
White Balance
Have you ever photographed an interior lit by tungsten bulbs and noticed an ugly yellow-orange color cast permeating everything? This results from the warmer, lower temperature light emitted by incandescent sources compared to daylight.
Cameras provide white balance controls to neutralize such lighting biases and achieve natural rendering. By dialing in the proper setting or custom measuring the actual scene, whites look truly white instead of picking up ambient color shifts.
White balance modes include:
- Auto
- Daylight (5500K)
- Shade (~7500K)
- Cloudy (6000K)
- Tungsten (3000K)
- Florescent (4000K)
- Flash (6000K)
- Custom reading for mixed sources
Getting white balance right improves realism, especially for portrait and product shots. Playback images at full size to check if color channels appear evenly balanced without unwanted temperature biases creeping in.
Wrapping Up
Congratulations, you now have the vocabulary to understand core photography concepts and take informed control of your camera! From here, learning by doing while constantly experimenting will rapidly build experience.
If any terms need clarification, let me know in comments. And check out my guide below covering great starter camera options so you have gear matching your growing capabilities. Keep chasing the light my friend!
