Commons:Photography terms

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[edit] List of photographic terms with explanations in Basic English

[edit] Your help is welcome!

Creation on commons
Photography terms Macro photography Image editing Softwares Graphic Lab(s)

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[edit] Introduction

While looking at pages relating to photography and images on Commons users often encounter terms that might be difficult to understand. This is particularly true if the user's knowledge of photography is very basic, or if they are not a native speaker of English. This page aims to explain several of these terms in basic English, with the help of images. If you meet a term you do not understand add it at the bottom of this page. If you know what one of these terms mean, please explain it is as simple a language as you can. Please provide :

a definition allowing one to understand what is being talked about (a link toward wikipedia is welcome)
an explanation of why/when this is important in photography, and possible how to get a good result on this aspect.

Please try and write in basic English : most users are not Native English speakers, nor are they photographers ;)

[edit] Photography Terms

[edit] Angle of view

A term used by some lens manufacturers, although generally the term Field of View (FOV) is used. FOV is the viewing angle in degrees covered by a given lens. A 12 mm. wide angle lens may have a FOV exceeding 120º, while a 300 mm. telelens will typically have a FOV less than 35º.

[edit] Blur

Blur: this circle is sharp on the left, but blurred on the right

An image is "blurred" when it is not displayed sharp and clear. To avoid blur and get clear images, it is generally neccessary to set the focus distance precisely to the correct value, which can usually be done automatically via autofocus.

[edit] Camera

[edit] DSLR camera

a Digital SLR Camera

Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex). This is like a film camera, but instead of a film, there is an electronic sensor. It has a view finder. When you look through the view finder, a mirror lets you see through the taking lens. When you take a photograph the mirror moves out of the way. You can buy extra lenses to fit onto a DSLR. They can be very expensive. These lenses let you take photographs in very poor light, and very difficult situations, such as taking photographs of fast cars or sportsmen.

[edit] Compact camera or "point-and-shoot" camera

a Compact or "point and shoot" digital camera

A compact camera is a "simple" camera. It is fully automatic. It does all the settings. It is easy to use and to carry. As you have no controls it works best in good light. A Point and Shoot camera is a compact camera but you can get compact cameras that have extra controls that can be used in poor light.

[edit] "bridge-type" camera

A new term. It is a camera with some controls, and an automatic mode. You cannot change the lens. There is a view finder but it is an electronic screen. The camera is very flexible and generally good value for money.

[edit] Close-ups of 1:1

A 1:1 closeup is a photograph take with a magnification such that the image formed on the film or sensor is the same size as the original object.

[edit] Focus

[edit] To focus

usually done automatically, to focus means to adjust the lens so your photograph is sharp.

[edit] In Focus

the picture is sharp

[edit] Out of Focus

When a picture is taken "out of focus" the resulting image will be blurred.

[edit] To focus on

Choose the part of the photograph you are interested in. To choose the part of the photograph you want to be sharp.

[edit] Focal length

How focal length affects photograph composition. One subject remains the same size, while the other changes size.

A way of describing the properties of the lens. In the past, it referred to the way the lens was made. Now we saw that a wide angle lens has a focal length of 35mm or less, a standard lens has focal length of 55mm, a portrait lens has a focal length of 90mm (this is also called a medium zoom). A zoom lens will have a focal length of over 135mm. A 300m lens is a zoom lens.

Today all cameras allow you to change the focal length you are using. A second meaning of zoom, is to change the focal length. You say you are zooming in to 300mm, and zooming out to 35mm. The reason for this is historic.

[edit] Depth of Field

Depth of Field (or DOF) is decided by the given lens opening (aperture) or f/stop. A small aperture (large f/number: f/16, f/22, etc.) will give "large DOF"; the image will be sharp/in focus from the foreground to infinity. A large aperture (small f/number: f/1.8, f/2.8, etc.) will give "shallow DOF". Depending on the type of lens used, DOF can be as shallow a a few millimeters, for example when using Macro lenses or extension tubes. Good photographers know how to make use of DOF and/or use selective DOF to make their images more interesting. Some types of special lenses, known as "Lens Baby" can generate a very specific type of selective DOF, reminiscent to the imperfections of turn of the XIX century lenses, where the image gets blurred and/or distorted towards the edges. With a "Lens Baby" however, this selective focus blur/distortion can be controlled.

[edit] Macro

A Macro photo of a needle

See Commons:Macro

Technically, a macro image is an image taken with 1:1 or greater magnification at the sensor/film plane. This means that if the object were 30mm across, it would measure 30mm across on the film negative. Greater than 1:1 magnification is possible with true macro lenses, for example a 4:1 macro setting would enable a 5mm object to be 20mm across on the negative/sensor. The term has become misappropriated and used to refer to 'close up' photography in general, particularly by manufacturers of point and shoot cameras, whose lenses are rarely if ever come capable of anything close to true 1:1 macro magnification. Modern digital cameras have a macro mode. This is a mode which enables close focusing, allowing the maximum possible magnification from the camera/lens.

[edit] Lens

See: Photographic lens, Lenses for SLR and DSLR cameras)

The lens or set of lens make convert light toward the camera eyes. The quality of the lens allow to have clear image instead of blur ones ( ex: Good lens on the left, bad one on the right : )

[edit] Extension rings/tubes

Used on both digital and film SLR's as well as Mid-Format cameras (6x6, 4,5x6, 6x9 cm.) to achieve close focus in close-up and macro photography. To achieve close focus on large format (4x5", 8x10") technical cameras, bellows are used.

[edit] sharpness

Incorrect term

[edit] Zoom

it's the ability to show you things in bigger

explained above two different meanings.

[edit] Zoom, optical zoom and digital zoom

optical zoom is the zoom ability by the Lens.
POV For a digital camera and Macro photos this "optical zoom" is the only important one, since the digital zoom is simply "cropping" the image to display a part in full screen. The digital zoom imply lost of quality in the produced image file, while the optical zoom doesn't.
digital zoom, selects only the centre of the image, which makes it appear if it was taken with a lens of a greater zoom. It does this by cropping. If you are saving the photograph at the cameras maximum sensitivity- (12M on a 12M camera) see Megapixel- then there is a loss of quality. If you are saving your photographs at a reduced sensitivity (3M on 12M), then there is no loss of quality. Photographers who upload their photographs onto Wikipedia rarely work at 12M, so it is not a problem.

[edit] External Links

Digital Photography Glossary on dpreview.com
All the fields display on this page should be explain : this page