Photo Dictionary
New to photography?
Here are a couple of places where you can get started.
- Aperture:
Aperture is what controls your cameras ability to create depth of field (DOF). Remember those nice portraits of someone with their face crystal clear and the background all blurry? That’s aperture. How about those photos of beautiful landscapes and sceneries where the foreground and background are all in focus? Aperture. In technical info, the aperture is referred to as the f-stop. If you see data such as f/1.8 or f/22 it is referring to how open or closed the aperture is in the lens.
Related article: Photo 101: Aperture - Bokeh:
Notice sometimes parts in a photo are in focus while the rest of the image is blurred. That blur is called bokeh.
Related article: Photo 101: Aperture - DSLR:
Stands for digital single-lens reflex camera. From Wikipedia: “A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that uses a mechanical mirror system and pentaprism to direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder on the back of the camera.”
Related article: Photo 101: Exposure - Exposure:
All cameras have some sort of shutter, something that flips open the sensor/film and then shuts. That process is what “exposes” the sensor/film. Exposure is also the amount of time that you’ve left your sensor to capture the image. Ever get a picture that’s too dark? We would say that the photo is under exposed. Ever get a picture back that’s too light? Over exposed. Related article: Photo 101: Exposure - HDR:
From Wikipedia, an image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of luminances between light and dark areas of a scene than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention of HDRI is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to shadows.
Related article: Do-It-Yourself: HDR’s Made Easy - ISO/ASA:
In film, ISO, sometimes referred to as ASA or “film speed”, is the film’s sensitivity to light. In digital photography, ISO/ASA, is the image sensors sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO the more sensitive your camera is going to be to light which means you won’t need as much light for the exposure.
Related article: Photo 101: ISO/ASA - What is it? - Panoramics:
From Wikipedia: “Panoramic photography is a technique of photography that captures images with elongated fields of view. Also known as wide format. The term has also applies to a photograph that is cropped to a relatively wide aspect ratio.”
Want to make one using Adobe Photoshop? Photo 101: Easy Panoramics - Photoshop:
A great software from Adobe that allows you to edit and modify digital photographs. There are different versions of Photoshop designed to meet the requirements of all kinds of photographers, from the the amateur to the pro.
Related article: Photo 101: Easy Panoramics - POS:
A point-and-shoot camera. A simple camera. - Orton Effect:
The Orton Effect is named after Michael Orton who first used the technique is a sandwich of two images, one in focus the other out of focus.
Related article: Do-It-Yourself: Orton Effect
- Shutter Speed:
Usually how photographers refer to exposure time. A photographer uses a combination of shutter speed and aperture to attain the a correct exposure. Depending on the available light and aperture the shutter speed may need to be adjusted. The shutter speed is always measured in seconds or fractions of a second. Related article: Photo 101: Shutter Speed - Sharpen Objects (how to):
Here’s a quick tutorial showing you how to sharpen certain objects in a photo. This technique works very well on jewelry, eyes, hair, and may other things.
Related article: DIY: How to Sharpen Objects - Smooth Skin (how to):
This tutorial shows you how to smooth the skin out and remove blemishes and imperfections: DIY: How to Smooth Skin - Tilt-shift miniature faking:
Also know as “tilt-shift-fake” or “fake-tilt-shift”, is a process in which a photograph of a life-size location or object is manipulated so that it looks like a photograph of a miniature scale model.
Want to make one using Adobe Photoshop? Do-It-Yourself: Miniaturizing Photos - TTV:
Stands for Through The Viewfinder. Through the Viewfinder photography is defined as taking a picture of any subject through the viewfinder of any camera with another camera.
Want to make one using Adobe Photoshop? Do-It-Yourself: How To Fake TTV Photos Tutorial
