A collection of dozens of common photographic terms

For beginners of photography, some professional photography terms always confuse us and we don't know what they mean. In this article, I will introduce some of the most common technical terms and some more advanced photographer terms. I believe it is a good guide manual for beginners.

Photographic terminology

Basic photographic terminology

Photography: This word comes from two ancient Greek words? phos，graphis？ , that is to say? Light? ,? Figure? It means drawing. So the literal meaning of a photo is to paint with light. So photography is the art of painting with light.

Aperture: A variable opening in a lens through which light enters a film or digital sensor. Measured in units of f value. I like to compare it with your pupil, which will open and close according to the brightness level of the room to allow more or less light to enter your eyes.

Surround exposure: Take a series of images under different exposures or EVs. You can see on the camera that it is set to AEB (automatic bracketing exposure). This is usually used when creating HDR images, or when it is difficult to illuminate, in which case you may need a series of exposures from light to dark.

? b？ Door: Just press the shutter button or press the button to release the cable when the camera? b？ Setting will keep the shutter open. On Canon, it may be located on the mode dial at the top of the camera, or at the low end of the shutter speed setting, and Nikon is similar. Please refer to the manual for details.

EV: exposure value is a number that represents various combinations of aperture and shutter speed that can produce the same exposure effect.

Exposure compensation: modify the shutter speed or aperture according to the photometric parameters recommended by the camera to produce a specific effect (overexposure or underexposure), which is usually used in shutter priority or aperture priority mode. Represented by a small+/-button on the camera. Your camera will read the light reflected from the object. Therefore, you can use this setting to tell the camera the correct exposure value when shooting objects that are brighter or darker than 18% grayscale. The rule is white plus black minus.

Exposure: The total amount of light reaching the digital sensor. Control by setting aperture, shutter speed and ISO. The principle and usage of these three parameters have been explained in detail in my previous post.

F-stop is a measure of the aperture opening of the lens defined by dividing the focal length of the lens by the aperture. The aperture series is a multiple of the square root of 2 (1.414 ...):1,1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8,1,660.

ISO: stands for the sensitivity of the camera digital sensor. The lower the number (ISO 100), the lower the sensitivity, and the higher the number (ISO 3200), the higher the sensitivity. The higher ISO allows you to shoot in low light.

Shutter speed: the time that the shutter opens during exposure. Use fast (such as 1/2000s) to freeze motion, or use slow (1/4s or longer) to blur moving objects.

Zoom lens: any lens with variable focal length, such as 24-70mm or18-55 mm.

Fixed focus lens: Any lens that does not zoom has a set focal length, such as a 50mm lens.

Cable release or timer: A device that triggers the camera shutter without pressing a button or touching the camera. Helps eliminate camera vibration during long exposure.

Macro lens: a lens that is very close to the subject, allowing the reproduction size of the subject to be 1: 1 or larger.

Standard lens: Usually, a 50 mm lens (on a Quan Huafu sensor camera) is considered as a standard lens because it is closest to the lens seen by human eyes. On a half-frame camera, the 35mm lens is closest to the human eye.

Telephoto lens: Simply put, telephoto lens is longer than ordinary lens, such as 70-300mm. A lens with a focal length longer than the standard focal length has a narrow field of view and an enlarged image. Super telephoto lens is usually more than 300 mm.

Wide-angle lens: It shows a wider field of vision than the standard lens and can cover a wider scene. Depending on the degree of wide angle, edge distortion (super wide angle) may also occur. If it becomes wide enough, the image will become round (fisheye).

Tilt shift lens: try to reconstruct the lens that can be moved when using the viewfinder camera. Being able to tilt the front lens element allows the focal plane to be readjusted. It is allowed to adjust the position of the main body in the frame without tilting the camera, thus preventing parallel lines from converging. This is a popular lens for architectural and landscape photographers, and portrait photographers are widely using it to create unique stylized photos.

Noise: When the ISO setting is too high, small particles will appear in the photos taken.

Contrast: Contrast refers to the contrast between light and dark in the picture.

Camera resolution: expressed in megapixels, which is the size that the camera sensor can capture. For example, the resolution of Canon's 6D camera is 5472 x 3648, which is equivalent to19,961856. They are already 20 million pixels. This is not the only factor of image quality, but usually the higher the number.

File formats jpg and RAW: Most DSLR can shoot in two formats. JPG format and original format. Generally speaking, files generated in RAW format will be larger and carry more information, which requires processing software. It enables photographers to better control the image quality.

Pull-out: Enlarge in the middle of exposure to make radioactive lines appear in the photo.

Out of focus: the original focus changed its original position when taking pictures.

Quan Huafu and Half Frame Sensor: What is the size of Quan Huafu sensor? Old? 35mm film is about the same size. The lens is made into an aperture, which just covers that area. In a half-frame sensor camera, the physical size of the sensor is small, so it only captures a part of the whole image projected by the lens, thus effectively cutting out a part of the image. The size ratio reflected in the image is also called the cropping factor, which is usually 1.5 or 1.6 times, so if you install a 50mm lens, it is more like a 75 mm cropping factor, 1.5 times.

Camera mode: Manual: Set ISO, shutter speed and aperture manually. Shutter priority (TV on Canon or S on Nikon) Users can manually select ISO and shutter speed, and then the camera automatically selects the aperture for correct exposure. Aperture priority (Canon Av, Nikon A) Photographers choose ISO and aperture, and cameras choose shutter speed.

Terms of light and portrait

Ambient light: Also known as available light, it is the light that appears in the scene without any flash or light adjuster. This may be daylight, or artificial light, such as tungsten lamp or fluorescent light.

Main light: it is the main light source of photos. It may be the sun, studio flash, flash, reflector or something. But it is the source of light.

Supplementary light: it is the light source second only to the main light. Mainly used to put shadows? Fill? . This can be achieved by using a flash lamp, a reflector, etc.

Lighting mode: This is the way that light shines on the subject's face, creating a specific light and shadow mode.

Illumination ratio: the ratio of the intensity (brightness) of the main light and the supplementary light is the difference between the bright shadow and the shadow edge of the subject's face.

Flash: A small portable flash that can be connected to the camera's hot shoes or used alone when activated remotely.

Reflector: a device used to reflect light, usually facing the subject. It can be a reflector made by a special factory (I suggest using 5-in 1) or a white cardboard.