Camera Terminology

1. Photographic Terminology
By Shaun Watkiss

2. Flash
Mode Switch
Focus mode switch
Lens release
Flash button
Main control dial
Power switch
Lens

3. Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is the
length of time when
the film or digital
sensor inside the
camera is exposed to
light, also when a
camera’s shutter is
open when taking a
photograph.

4. Shutter Speed
Fast Shutter Speed Slow Shutter Speed

5. Iso
ISO measures the
sensitivity of the image
sensor. The lower the
number the less
sensitive you camera is
to light and finer the
grain. Higher ISO are
generally used in
darker situations to get
faster shutter speeds.

6. ISO
High ISO Low ISO

7. Aperture & Depth of Field
Aperture either adds a
dimension to a
photograph by blurring
the
background/foregroun
d, or brings everything
into focus.

8. Aperture & Depth of Field
Narrow Depth of Field Wide Depth of Field

9. Manual Exposure
When the camera is in
the manual exposure
mode, you can change
either aperture or
shutter speed, or both.
Once the camera is in the
manual exposure mode,
the current aperture and
shutter speed are shown
on the monitor.

10. Automatic Exposure
Automatic exposure
mode is a standard
feature on digital
cameras that will
automaticall determine
the correct exposure for
pictures without any user
input other than to
select the AE option
before taking a picture.

11. Colour Balance
Colour balance is the
global adjustment of
the intensities of the
colours. An important
goal of this adjustment
is to render specific
colours correctly.

12. White Balance
White balance is the
process of removing
unrealistic colour casts
so that objects which
appear white in person
are rendered white in
your photo.