enAll right reserved © Sam Yari 2019-2023
All right reserved © Sam Yari
2019-2021
enAll right reserved © Sam Yari 2019-2023

Photography terminologies

This post includes the most important photography terminologies you will need. Familiarity with the basic terms, definitions, and concepts of photography is the first important step in developing your skills as a photographer. If you are planning to shoot with your first digital camera or you want to learn more complex photography terms in this article, we will introduce the common terms and concepts of photography art that every photographer should know for a different kind of photography such as fashion photography, portrait photography and etc.

Photography terminologies

  1. Lens: The lenses in the camera are a set of divergent and converging lenses that form a composite convex lens. The lens focuses the light beams that come to the camera and the inlet at one point.
  2. Darkroom: The darkroom or camera body is where the light-sensitive surface is located. In analog cameras, the light-sensitive surface or electronic optical sensor is made of silicon (sensor) film, and in digital cameras, a sensor is used instead of a film.
  3. Synchronized: The simultaneous speed between the full opening of the shutter screen and the complete discharge of the flashlight is called the synchronized speed.
  4. Composition: Composition in photography work means the proper arrangement of elements within the frame. In a way that can direct the attention and eyes of the audience to the main subject in the photo.
  5. Viewing Angle: is one of the photography terminologies you should khnow, It is the angle at which the lens can see the space in front of it.
  6. Perspective: Show three-dimensional images on a flat and two-dimensional screen while showing the size, shape and distance of objects and objects from each other.
  7. Depth of field: Depth of field refers to areas of the image that are sharper than the rest of the range and are significantly focused.
  8. look room: a blank space in front of the subject’s face should be placed as standard. Otherwise, a feeling of suffocation, dissatisfaction and reaching the end will be induced in the audience.
  9. Headroom: The subject must be placed in the frame so that there is empty space above his head and the frame is closed after that. The headroom in the photo creates a sense of breathing, peace of mind and space for the mind to breathe.
  10. Focal length: is one of the most important photography terminologies you will need, That is the distance from the location of the optical center to where the virtual image is formed in the camera.
  11. Diaphragm: is a set of uniform, concentric, and concentric metal blades that are fixed around the lens body and are free in the center.
  12. Focus: on photography means achieving maximum sharpness in photography. In digital cameras, the user gets the clearest image on the sensor by moving parts of the lens.
  13. ISO sensitivity: The ISO sensitivity that controls the speed of light entering the sensor is indicated by the numbers 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400 in the camera.
  14. Shutter speed: The shutter speed controls the amount of light entering the camera sensor through a curtain made of fabric or metal. The shutter is located behind the mirror in a place called the gate. The shutter screen can move vertically or horizontally, each of which has a different effect on the image.
  15. Simple or fixed lenses: A simple or fixed lens is a lens that has only one viewing angle and cannot be changed.
  16. Composite or zoom lenses: It is a lens that consists of a long corridor with a large set of lenses. And due to the location of each of these lenses at a specific point, it is possible to change the viewing angle.
  17. Filters: are devices that absorb part of the light and pass part of it. The lights they absorb are complementary lights and make them appear darker, the lights they pass through are also family and make them brighter.
  18. Exposure: in photography is the amount of light that enters the camera during the shooting process and strikes a light-sensitive surface (film or video sensor). In other words, the amount of exposure to the film to form an image on a light-sensitive surface is called exposure.
  19. Coefficient f (f-number): is another one of the most important photography terminologies you will need. That is a number used to determine and measure the aperture of an optical set.
  20. Light Metering Method: There are several modes for measuring the camera, called the light metering method. Each of the modes in this section shows how the photographer wants to adjust the automatic exposure
  21. Exif: Shows information including date, geolocation, and some camera settings such as aperture and shutter speed.
  22. leg time: The time between pressing the shutter button and the moment the image is captured is called Leg Time.
  23. Macro lens: It is a lens that provides the ability to shoot very close to the subject. Suitable for photographing insects.
  24. Histogram: is one of the most important photography terminologies. That is a graph through which light and dark areas of a photo can be identified. If this chart is unbalanced, it can be corrected with photo editing software.
  25. Jpeg: is a format for storing photos in digital cameras with 8-bit color channels. That means a maximum of 16 million colors is stored in this image. By saving the photo in this format, its quality will decrease.
  26. Raw: is a format for storing photos in digital cameras with 12-bit color channels. This format, although it takes up a lot of space, has a high image quality because it directly saves the image and does not process or compress it.
  27. Aperture priority mode: is indicated on the camera by A or AV. In this case, the photographer is responsible for adjusting the aperture. The shutter speed is set by the camera.
  28. Shutter speed priority mode: in cameras is specified by S or TV. In this mode, you can adjust the shutter speed. The camera is responsible for adjusting the aperture.
  29. Auto bracketing: you can capture several photos of the subject with different exposures in negative to positive intervals.
  30. Lighting power: Brightness is one of the characteristics of lenses that determines how much ambient light the lens lenses do not waste. 
  31. live view: This is a mode that has been installed in digital cameras since 2005 and the photographer can see the current image in LCD continuously and without wasting time.
  32. Saturation: It is one of the attributes of color and is the purity of color from white. That is, if we add white light to color, its degree of saturation decreases, and if we take white light from color, that color looks more saturated and purer.
  33. Key light: It is the main light and the lighting of the face is done with it, so it should be the strongest and most powerful light. This light can be placed in five positions: Rembrandt, butterfly, classic, 30 degrees and a half.
  34. Fill light: is light that can dim the shadows created by the main light. In terms of power, it should not be the same as the main light because it creates fake shadows.