Basic terms of Photography also known as a glossary of photography, describe different terminology associated with cameras and photography whether it is car photography, landscape, or wildlife photography.
One should get familiar with these terms very well if one wants to take photography as a pleasant hobby or wants to build up a career in photography in the future. Knowing these terms is not a very tough task, one can easily learn these terms by going through the definitions and understanding the applications.
Also, these terms of photography are very helpful for someone who wants to purchase a new camera for car photography. One can easily understand and compare the features of the camera between different models and brands to select the best suitable model. So in this writing, we will discuss the essential terms of photography.
Photography terms for beginners
You can find below some photography terminology that is commonly used and may be considered photography terms for beginners.
Image sensor:
An image sensor is a device that captures an image through light reflection from an object. The image is kept in the memory card. This is a vital part of the digital camera which replaces film in the older versions of the camera. Image sensors can be of different types and sizes with different crop factors. Generally, three types of sensors are utilized in digital cameras such as Full-Frame, APS-C, and Micro-Four-Thirds.
Sensor resolution:
It is the dimension an image sensor can capture for any object. This is expressed in Megapixel. The larger the resolution, the better will be the quality of the image for printing. Image resolution can be HD, Full HD, 4K, or even higher. For example, Full HD quality has an image resolution of 1920×1080 pixels whereas 4K image quality has a resolution of 3840X2160 pixels.
Aperture:
Aperture is the size of the opening of the lenses to allow access to light through them. The more the opening, the more light will enter through the lens. It is expressed in f-stops; a small f-stop like f/1.8 or f 1.8 is a wide opening, and a large f-stop like f/20 is a very narrow aperture. It is one of the most important terms of photography and is considered as an element of the exposure triangle.
ISO rating:
ISO is the sensitivity of the image sensor to light. The less the ISO number, the less sensitive will be the sensor to light. That means at higher ISO sensitivity, one can capture an image in a low-light situation with low-light lenses that have better light-capturing capacity. However, photos captured at higher ISO give Image noise.
Shutter speed:
The amount of time the shutter is open for any exposure. It is expressed in fractions of seconds like 1/4000 s (fast) to 1/20s (very slow). It determines the appearance of any object in motion. Shutter speed is one of the elements of an exposure triangle.
Continuous shooting speed:
It is the number of images or frames a camera can take in a second. It is expressed in FPS (Frames Per Second). The higher the number, the more will be the quality of images of moving objects.
Focal Length:
Focal length is the distance from the optical center of the camera lens to the image sensor. It is expressed in millimeters and is variable for the zoom lenses.
Viewfinder:
The viewfinder is the window through which a photographer looks into the object for focus. One can see the object through the viewfinder as it is seen by the lens. The viewfinder can be either optical or electronic in most cameras.
DSLR Camera:
DSLR stands for the digital single-lens reflex camera. The camera that uses interchangeable lenses to take photos by mirror and prism, as well as an image sensor, is called a DSLR camera. This type of camera is used by many professional photographers.
Mirrorless Camera:
The camera that doesn’t use any mirror in the optical path but uses interchangeable lenses to capture images with a sensor and displays in the electronic viewfinder, is called a Mirrorless camera. These cameras have become very much popular nowadays for their compactness and updated features for photography.
Image noise:
It is little flecks or spots in an image normally taken on a high ISO setting. Depending on the camera, it appears with an ISO of more than 1600 or so. Hence, it is recommended not to use a high ISO setting unless required.
Prime Lens:
The lens with a fixed focal length is called a prime lens. 50 mm prime lens is very commonly used by many photographers.
Zoom Lens:
The lens that has a variable focal length is known as a zoom lens. Normally it is available in sizes 24-70 mm or 18-55 mm. Sometimes it can be as big as 300 mm or more. The zooming ratio is the ratio of the longest focal length to the shortest focal length.
Wide angle lens:
A wide-angle lens has a focal length of 35 mm or less. It has a wide depth of field so that more background scenes can be taken with this lens.
Telephoto lens:
Telephoto lens offers a greater field of view than normal lenses. It can be 70 to 300 mm or even more. These lenses are suitable for sports photography or car racing photography.
Wi-Fi connectivity:
It is the feature by which a camera connects easily with digital devices like computers, smart mobiles, tablets, or smart TV, to share photos instantly.
Burst Mode:
Burst mode is a feature of the camera to take a number of pictures while the shutter button is pressed. This is suitable for taking images of moving objects in car, sports, or wildlife photography. You can get nice action photos in burst mode.
Depth of Field:
Depth of field is the ability of the camera lens to focus on closer and distant objects sharply. If objects around the focused image appear to be blurred, then the camera has a shallow depth of field.
Aspect Ratio:
It is the ratio of height to width of the photograph. This term is used for photo printing and can be changed in the camera.
Dynamic Range:
Dynamic range refers to the difference between the brightest and darkest tones in an image. Each image sensor has different dynamic ranges for capturing photographs.
Point-and-Shoot:
The camera without interchangeable lenses is called Point and shoot camera. The camera body may have built-in digital zoom abilities. An example of a point-and-shoot camera is a mobile phone camera.
Frequently asked questions:
What are some photography terms?
Some important photography terms are-
Aperture or F-stop, Shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, Depth of Field, Image sensor, Focal length, Dynamic range, Frames per second(FPS), Image noise, etc.
What are the 3 basics of photography?
Aperture: Aperture is the size of the opening of the lenses to allow access to light through them. The more the opening, the more light will enter through the lens. It is expressed in f-stops.
Shutter Speed: The duration of time the shutter is open for the snapshot. It is expressed in fractions of seconds like 1/4000 s (fast) to 1/20s (very slow).
ISO: It is the sensitivity of the image sensor to light. The higher the number, the brighter the image.
What are the 4 basic elements of photography?
Lights, color, composition, and subject are 4 basic elements of photography.
These four elements actually are responsible for controlling the image quality. That’s why a photographer needs to understand these elements for creating a masterpiece of art.
What does ISO stand for in photography?
ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization, which fixes standards for all kinds of measurements. But, for the camera, the ISO is the sensitivity of the camera to light. ISO is expressed in numbers like 100, 200, or 800.
Conclusion:
So we have mentioned the basic terms of photography that are very important for someone who wants to get involved with any field of photography. These are not all terms, of course, there are many more terms that you will explore eventually through continuous learning and practicing.
Just leave a message below if you have questions or comments.
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