Photography tips, 35 professional terms

35 Photography Professional Terms

Exposure: Exposure is what we usually call the "brightness of a photo", that is, the amount of light that enters the lens and shines on the photosensitive element during the photography process. Affected by aperture, shutter and sensitivity.

In addition to the influence of the three elements of exposure, we can also adjust the exposure of the photo by adjusting exposure compensation. Common exposure situations include: normal exposure, underexposure, overexposure, and accurate exposure.

Aperture: The aperture is a device inside the camera that controls the amount of light that enters. It consists of a set of blades that can be opened and closed (the greater the blades are opened, the smaller the size of the middle light hole, and the greater the amount of light that enters. (less) The aperture is represented by F on the camera, and the size of the F number is opposite to the aperture. The larger the F number, the smaller the aperture, the less light that enters, and the darker the photo; the smaller the F number, the larger the aperture, the more light that enters, and the brighter the photo.

Shutter: The shutter is also a device in the camera that controls the amount of light. It controls the amount of light by controlling the length of time it takes to enter the camera (it can be understood as a device that controls the exposure time). The shutter speed is measured on the camera, and the unit is seconds (s); the larger the shutter value, the more light enters, and the brighter the photo; the smaller the shutter value, the less light enters, and the darker the photo.

ISO: Sensitivity is a value used to judge the sensitivity of a camera sensor to light. It is represented by ISO on the camera, such as ISO200 and ISO300; the larger the ISO value, the brighter the photo and the rougher the image quality; The smaller the ISO value, the darker the photo and the better the image quality. What needs to be noted here is: the higher the sensitivity, the better. High brightness will cause rough image quality!

Focal length: Focal length simply means how far or wide the camera can shoot; the longer the focal length, the farther the shooting distance, and the narrower the viewing angle; the shorter the focal length, the closer the shooting distance, and the wider the viewing angle.

White balance: The white balance of the camera is used to restore the true color of the object, and the white balance is adjusted by adjusting the color temperature. Therefore, we can also adjust the white balance to achieve the tone of the picture we want.

White balance is represented by K. K<3800K, the color tone of the photo is cooler; 4000K5500K, the color tone of the photo is warmer.

Depth of field: Depth of field is the distance from the clear part to the blurred part of the picture. Depth of field can be understood as the degree of background blur. There are two factors that affect the depth of field: aperture and focal length. The larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field; the smaller the aperture, the deeper the depth of field; the larger the focal length, the shallower the depth of field; the smaller the focal length, the deeper the depth of field.

Color temperature: Color temperature is the most common indicator of the spectral quality of a light source. We often express it in K. For example, the color temperature of natural light is about 3300K. Color temperature can show the cold and warm effects under different lights; the higher the color temperature, the cooler the photo will be: the lower the color temperature, the warmer the photo will be.

B door: When we press the shutter button/shutter release cable, B will appear on the camera, and the shutter will remain open at all times. A tripod is a must when shooting in B door. It is often used for shooting night scenes and starry sky at night.

AEL: Automatic exposure control lock. Relying on this function, you can perform spot metering on the parts that need to be correctly exposed when shooting, such as faces. Press the shutter halfway to determine the exposure and focus. Press the lock button, and the camera will Lock exposure.

EV: EV is the exposure index of the camera. The exposure is combined through different shutters and apertures. The exposure achieved by different combinations is the same.

Full-frame, half-frame: The frame refers to the size of the photosensitive element; the length and width of the full-frame sensor is about 36mmx24mm camera, because it is the same size as the traditional 135 film negative, so it is also called It is called 35mm frame and 135 frame; the sensor size of the half-frame camera is 22.7*15.5mm, and the size of the sensor of the full-frame camera is about 23 times larger than that of the half-frame camera. Therefore, the body of a full-frame camera is larger than that of a half-frame camera.

Focus: (AF) Autofocus: means that the camera will start to focus automatically when you press the shutter halfway. When the camera locks the focus, it will stop focusing. At this time, no matter how you move the position to compose the picture, the focus will be fixed. Unchanging; autofocus is best used for shooting things that are stationary. Autofocus is the most time-saving and least error-prone for novice photographers.

(MF) Manual focus: refers to the focusing method that achieves clear focus by turning the lens focus ring. Manual focus in the era of digital cameras is generally used when autofocus fails, and is a powerful supplement to autofocus. Manual focus is more selective and versatile.

Contrast: Contrast refers to the range of differences between the brightest part and the darkest part of the picture, that is, the intensity of the contrast between light and dark in the photo. If the difference range is large, the contrast of the picture will be large; if the difference range is small, the contrast of the picture will be small.

Boundary line between light and dark: The boundary between light and dark, as the name suggests, is the dividing line between the dark and bright parts of the picture. When we shoot with harsh light, the boundary between light and dark in the picture will be obvious. When we shoot with soft light, the boundary between light and dark in the picture will not be obvious.

Out of focus: Out of focus is an undesirable phenomenon caused by the equipment itself, causing the expected focal plane to not coincide with the actual imaging focal plane.

In short, out-of-focus means that the focus point determined by the camera through the autofocus system is inconsistent with the actual focus point when we shoot, resulting in a deviation in the focus point.

Defocus: Defocus is generally caused by factors such as the accuracy of the focus system or external light. It means that after the focus is locked, the subject or camera leaves its original position, causing the focus to deviate.

Out of focus and out of focus are actually similar. Out of focus only occurs on autofocus cameras. It's because the camera's computer made a misjudgment the moment the shutter was pressed after focusing, and there was a small drive lens movement, causing the focus to drift away from its original position.

Noise: Noise is the rough part of the image produced when the sensor uses light as a received signal and outputs it. It is usually produced by electronic interference.

Shooting mode

AUTO: Automatic mode (AUTO) exposure parameters are controlled by the camera for fully automated operation.

P: Programmed automatic mode (P) "semi-automatic" mode, except for aperture and shutter parameters, everything else can be adjusted.

AV/A: Aperture priority mode (A/AV) requires manual control of the aperture, and the camera will automatically adjust other parameters. Can shoot most photography subjects.

S/TV: Shutter priority mode (S/TV) can manually control the shutter speed, and the aperture is automatically adjusted by the camera. ISO can be manual or automatic.

M: Manual mode (M) manually controls exposure parameters (aperture, shutter, sensitivity, etc.), and full manual operation is complicated.

Photo storage format

There are two photo storage formats: RAW and PEG; RAW format: it will retain the detailed information of the photo, which is very convenient for later editing. However, the file memory is large and requires a large amount of storage space. JPEG format: Very little detailed information of the photo is saved, and the corresponding memory occupied by the file will be smaller, making it easier to manage. Therefore, if you need to retouch images later, you can store RAW format + JPEG format to facilitate image retouching. If you do not need to retouch images, you can save only PEG format.

Classification of lenses

Small spittoon: Small spittoon is the nickname of the Canon EF50mmF/1.8 lens; its large aperture of 1.8 allows it to provide faster shooting in low-light environments. Shutter speed to ensure the success rate of film production. It is also currently used to refer to lenses with a focal length of 50mm.

Biscuit head: Biscuit head refers to a type of SLR lens that is very short (that is, very thin). Because it looks like a biscuit, it got the nickname biscuit head.

In order to pursue the ultimate compact size, this type of lens does not hesitate to sacrifice the size ratio of the maximum aperture and even the image quality of the lens. The maximum aperture of the biscuit head is generally only F2.4-2.8.

Big three-yuan lens: Big three-yuan lens refers to the general name of three zoom lenses with a constant maximum aperture of F2.8. One of these three lenses is responsible for ultra-wide angle, one is responsible for standard zoom, and one is responsible for telephoto. The three together can cover the most commonly used focal lengths from ultra-wide angle to telephoto; (Canon and Sony are 16-200mm, and Nikon is 14-200mm, Pentax is 15-200mm); therefore, it is called the "big three yuan". At the same time, only the highest-grade constant aperture lenses can be named "Big Three Elements".

Little Sanyuan: Xiao Sanyuan lens refers to the general name of three zoom lenses with a constant F4 aperture.

One of these three lenses is responsible for ultra-wide angle, one is responsible for standard zoom, and one is responsible for telephoto. The three together can cover the most commonly used focal lengths from ultra-wide angle to telephoto (usually 16- 200mm); therefore, it is called "Little Sanyuan". Only constant aperture lenses can be called "little three yuan". Canon's small three yuan refers to three constant aperture red ring lenses with a maximum aperture of f4.

Smooth light: The light source and the subject are face to face, and the light shines directly on the subject.

Metering: The direction of light irradiation is at an angle of about 90° to the shooting direction of the camera. Using side light shooting can produce a sharp contrast between light and dark on the subject, making the picture appear very textured.

Backlight: refers to the light shining from behind the subject towards the camera. It is a kind of lighting with artistic charm and strong expressive power.

Top light: refers to the light shining from the top of the subject to the subject, maintaining a vertical angle of about 90° with our camera. In nature, the most common top light is the rays of the sun at noon. Usually, top light is used when shooting still life subjects and other subjects that need to show the details on the top of the subject.

Soft light: generally refers to indirect light. For example, on a cloudy day, the contrast between soft light and dark is small and will not leave obvious shadows. Generally speaking, soft light is more suitable for shooting.

Fill light: It exists as a supplement to the main light when shooting, and its function is to fill in the shadows.

Flash and reflector: common fill-light tools, their main function is to enhance the exposure (increase the brightness of the photo) when shooting.