Photography is the process of producing images by using light or radiant energy to capture scenes on a light-sensitive surface like film or a digital sensor. The document defines common photography terms like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, exposure, file formats, focal length, focus, and more. It provides descriptions and explanations of these essential photography concepts for beginners to understand.

1. WHAT IS PHOTOGRAPHY?

2. DEFINITION OF PHOTOGRAPHY
the art or process of producing
images by the action of radiant
energy and especially light on a
sensitive surface (such as film or
an optical sensor)

3. 25 COMMON PHOTOGRAPHYTERMS ALL
BEGINNERS NEEDTO KNOW HTTPS://WWW.CREATIVELIVE.COM/BLOG/COMMON-PHOTOGRAPHY-TERMS/
 Aperture
 Aspect Ratio
 Bokeh
 Burst Mode
 Depth of Field
 DigitalVs. Optical
 Exposure
 Exposure Compensation
 File Format
 Focal Length
 Focus
 Flash Sync
 Hot Shoe
 ISO
 Long Exposure
 Manual
 Metering
 Noise
 RAW or Raw Files

4. 25 COMMON PHOTOGRAPHYTERMS ALL
BEGINNERS NEEDTO KNOW
 Shutter Speed
 Shutter Release
 Single Lens Reflex
 Time Lapse
 Viewfinder
 White Balance

5. APERTURE
 This is the first common photography term you should learn. Simply
put, aperture is the size of the opening in the lens.Think of the lens as
a window—large windows or wide angles let in more light, while
small windows let in less light. A wide open aperture will let more
light into the image for a brighter photo, while a smaller aperture lets
in less light. Aperture is measured in f-stops; a small f-stop like f/1.8 is
a wide opening, a large f-stop like f/22 is a very narrow one. Aperture
is one of three camera settings that determine an image’s exposure,
or how light or dark it is. Aperture also affects how much of the
image is in focus—wide apertures result in that creamy, unfocused
background while narrow apertures keep more of the image sharp.

6. APERTURE

7. ASPECT RATIO
 If you’ve ever printed images before,
you’ve probably noticed that an 8 x 10
usually crops from the original image.
That’s due to aspect ratio. Aspect ratio
is simply the ratio of the height to
width. An 8 x 10 has an equal aspect
ratio to a 4 x 5, but a 4 x 7 image is a bit
wider.You can change the aspect ratio
in your camera if you know how you’d
like to print your image, or you can
crop your photo when you edit it to the
right ratio.

8. BOKEH
 Bokeh
 Bokeh is the orbs created when lights
are out of focus in an image. It’s a neat
effect to have in the background of a
photo, created through wide
apertures. It will have an interesting
effect on your image quality. Check out
our ultimate guide to Creating
BackgroundsWith Bokeh for
everything you could want to learn.

9. BURST MODE
 You can take photos one at a time. Or, you can turn the burst mode on and the
camera will continue snapping photos as long as you hold the button down, or
until the buffer is full (which is a fancy way of saying the camera can’t process
anymore). Burst speeds differ based on what camera or film camera you own,
some are faster than others. Just how fast is written in “fps” or frames (pictures)
per second.This will give you a wide selection of which close-up you’ll ultimately
select of your dog!

10. DEPTH OF FIELD
Depth of field is a photography term that refers to how
much of the image is in focus.The camera will focus on
one distance, but there’s a range of distance in front and
behind that point that stays sharp—that’s depth of field.
Portraits often have a soft, unfocused background—this
is a shallow depth of field. Landscapes, on the other
hand, often have more of the image in focus—this is a
large depth of field, with a big range of distance that
stays sharp.

11. DEPTH OF FIELD

12. DIGITALVS. OPTICAL
 Digital and optical are important terms to understand when shopping for a new
camera. Digital means the effect is achieved through software, not physical parts
of the camera. Optical is always better than digital.These terms are usually used
when referring to a zoom lens (on a compact camera) as well as image
stabilization.

13. EXPOSURE
Exposure is how light or dark an image is. An
image is created when the camera sensor (or film
strip) is exposed to light—that’s where the term
originates. A dark photo is considered
underexposed, or it wasn’t exposed to enough
light; a light photo is overexposed or exposed to
too much light. Exposure is controlled
through aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

14. EXPOSURE

15. EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
Exposure compensation is a way to tell the
camera that you’d like the exposure to be
lighter or darker. Exposure compensation can
be used on some automated modes and
semi-automated modes like aperture priority.
It’s measured in stops of light, with negative
numbers resulting in a darker image and
positive ones creating a brighter shot.

16. EXPOSURE COMPENSATION

17. FILE FORMAT
The file format is how your
camera lens will record the
image or image file. Raw
files contain more
information than JPGs,
which makes them more
suitable for photo editing
in various editing software.

18. FOCAL LENGTH
 The focal length describes the distance in millimeters between the lens and the
image it forms on the film. It informs the angle of view (how much of what is
being shot will be captured) and the magnification (how large things will appear).
Essentially, the focal length is how ‘zoomed in’ your images will appear. For
example, a Canon (or Nikon or Olympus) 35mm lens will create images that
appear more ‘zoomed in’ than a Canon 18mm.

19. FOCUS
 When your eyes focus on an object
that’s close to you, the objects far away
will appear blurry.The common
photography term “focus” has the
same meaning. Something that is in
focus is sharp, while an object that is
out-of-focus isn’t sharp. Different focus
areas determine if the camera is
focusing on multiple points or one
user-selected point.

20. FLASH SYNC
 You probably know that the flash is a burst of light—flash sync determines when
the flash fires. Normally, the flash fires at the beginning of the photo, but
changing the flash sync mode adjusts when that happens.The rear curtain flash
sync mode, for example, fires the flash at the end of the photo instead of the
beginning.

21. HOT SHOE
 Hot shoe is the slot at the top of a camera for adding accessories, like the aptly
named hot shoe flash.

22. ISO
 The ISO determines how sensitive the camera is to light. For example, an ISO of
100 means the camera isn’t very sensitive—great for shooting in the daylight. An
ISO 3200 means the camera is very sensitive to light, so you can use that higher
ISO for getting shots in low light.The trade off is that images at high ISOs appear
to be grainy and have less detail. ISO is balanced with aperture and shutter speed
to get a proper exposure.

23. LONG EXPOSURE
 A long exposure is an image that has been exposed for a long time or uses a long
shutter speed.This technique is useful for shooting still objects in low light (used
often by landscape photographers), or rendering moving objects into an artistic
blur.

24. MANUAL
 Manual mode allows the photographer to set the
exposure instead of having the camera do it
automatically. In manual, you choose the aperture,
shutter speed and ISO, and those choices affect
how light or dark the image is. Semi-manual
modes include aperture priority (where you only
choose the aperture), shutter priority (where you
only choose the shutter speed)
and programed auto (where you choose a
combination of aperture and shutter speed
together instead of setting them individually).
Manual can also refer to manual focus,
or focusing yourself instead of using the
autofocus.

25. METERING
 Using manual mode isn’t all guesswork—a
light meter built into the camera helps guide
those decisions, indicating if the camera
thinks the image is over or under exposed.
Metering is actually based on a middle gray,
so having lighter or darker objects in the
image can throw the metering off a little bit.
Metering modes indicate how the meter is
reading the light. Matrix metering means the
camera is reading the light from the entire
scene. Center-weighted metering considers
only what’s at the center of the frame and
spot metering measures the light based on
where your focus point is.

26. NOISE
Noise is simply little flecks
in an image, also
sometimes called grain.
Images taken at high ISOs
have a lot of noise, so it’s
best to use the lowest ISO
you can for the amount of
light in the scene.

27. RAW OR RAW FILES
 RAW is a file type that gives the
photographer more control over photo
editing. RAW is considered a digital
negative, where the default JPEG file
type has already been processed a bit.
RAW requires special software to open,
however, while JPEG is more universal.
Typically, it’s better to shoot in RAW
because the image retains more quality
making it better for editing.

28. SHUTTER SPEED
The shutter speed is the part of the camera
that opens and closes to let light in and take
a picture.The shutter speed is how long that
shutter stays open, written in seconds or
fractions of a second, like 1/200 s. or 1”, with
the “ symbol often used to designate an
entire second.The longer the shutter stays
open, the more light that is let in. But,
anything that moves while the shutter is
open will become a blur, and if the entire
camera moves while the shutter is open the
whole image will be blurry—that’s why
tripods are necessary for longer shutter
speeds.

29. SHUTTER RELEASE
That’s the button
(or shutter button)
you press to take
the picture. It
allows you to
point-and-shoot.

30. SINGLE LENS REFLEX
A single lens reflex camera
has a single lens that forms
an image which is
reflected to the viewfinder.
Digital single lens reflex
cameras or DSLR cameras
are the most versatile of
the digital cameras.

31. TIME LAPSE
A time-lapse is a video
created from stitching
several photos together
taken of the same thing at
different times. Don’t
confuse a time lapse with a
long exposure, which is a
single image with a long
shutter speed.

32. VIEWFINDER
 That’s the hole you look through to take the picture. Some digital cameras don’t
have one and just use the screen, but all DSLRs and most mirrorless cameras use
them.

33. WHITE BALANCE
Your eyes automatically adjust to different light sources,
but a camera can’t do that—that’s why sometimes you
take an image and it looks very blue or very yellow. Using
the right white balance setting will make what’s white in
real life actually appear white in the photo.There’s an
auto white balance setting, but like any
automatic setting, it’s not always accurate.You can use a
preset based on what light you are shooting in like sun or
tungsten light bulbs, or you can take a picture of a white
object and manually set the white balance.

34. WHITE BALANCE

35. BASIC PARTS OF DSLR CAMERA AND
THEIR FUNCTIONS

36. BASIC PARTS OF DSLR CAMERA AND
THEIR FUNCTIONS
Whether you have a Digital SLRs or point and shoot ,
these camera parts will inevitably be found on most
cameras.After getting hold of any camera, you need to
know the name of the different parts before you start
using it. A proper understanding of the names and
functions is the primary step towards improving your
photography skills. Here we will be listing Basic Parts of
DSLR Camera andTheir Functions before you buy :

37. 1. LENS
 The lens is one of the most
vital parts of a camera.The
light enters through the lens,
and this is where the photo
process begins. Lenses can be
either fixed permanently to
the body or interchangeable.
They can also vary in focal
length, aperture, and other
details.

38. 2.VIEWFINDER
The viewfinder is the area on the camera that
you look through in order to compose your
shot. For some cameras, an LCD screen is used
as a viewfinder, or your camera may have the
option to use either one. Once your photo is
taken, it may not look exactly like what you see
through the viewfinder. Factors such as
lighting, lens, camera settings and your
camera’s capabilities will affect the finished
result. Because of this, the viewfinder is not
intended as a preview of your photo, but rather
a tool to aid you in taking it.You, as the
photographer, determine the final result.

39. 3. MODE DIAL
 Most cameras today have a variety
of functions and automatic
features.The mode dial allows you
to select different options, such as
automatic mode, program mode,
sport mode or macro mode. Older
cameras may not have a mode dial,
because all of the settings are
manual.There are also some
compact cameras that use a touch-
screen for selecting options instead
of a dial.

40. 4. BODY
 The body is the main portion
of the camera, and bodies
can be a number of different
shapes and sizes. DSLRs
tend to be larger bodied and
a bit heavier, while there are
other consumer cameras
that are a conveniently
smaller size and even able to
fit into a pocket.

41. 4. BODY
 Choosing the best camera for amateur
photographer can be difficult, so try to
test several camera bodies and read
professional reviews before buying an
expensive camera for about $1500. A
matrix size and ISO settings are the
main things that show the quality of
the camera body

42. 5. SHUTTER RELEASE
 Every camera comes equipped with a
shutter release button.This is simply
the button on the camera that is used
to snap the picture. It opens and closes
the shutter, allowing the necessary
light and information to enter the
camera.The amount of time the
shutter stays open depends on what
you have your shutter speed set to.The
length of time the shutter is left open
or “exposed” is determined by the
shutter speed.

43. 6. APERTURE
 The aperture affects the image’s exposure
by changing the diameter of the lens
opening, which controls the amount of
light reaching the image sensor. Some
digital compacts will have a fixed aperture
lens, but most of today’s compact cameras
have at least a small aperture range.This
range will be expressed in f/stops. For
DSLRs, the lens will vary on f/stop limits,
but it is usually easily defined by reading
the side of the lens.There will be a set of
numbers stating the f/stop or f/stop range,
ex: f/2.8 or f/3.5-5.6.This will be your
lowest settings available with that lens.

44. 7. IMAGE SENSOR
 The image sensor converts the optical
image to an electronic signal, which is
then sent to your memory card.There
are two main types of image sensors
that are used in most digital cameras:
CMOS and CCD. Both forms of the
sensor accomplish the same task, but
each has a different method of
performance.To know more about
sensor

45. 8. LCD SCREEN
 The LCD screen is found on the
back of the body and can vary
in size. On digital compact
cameras, the LCD has typically
begun to replace the
viewfinder completely. On
DSLRs, the LCD is mainly for
viewing photos after shooting,
but some cameras do have a
“live mode” as well.

46. 9. FLASH
The on-board flash will
be available on all
cameras except some
professional grade
DSLRs. It can
sometimes be useful to
provide a bit of extra
light during dim, low
light situations.

47. 10. FOCUS RING
Film or digital SLR cameras will most
likely have a focus ring.This is a ring
typically found on the lens that allows
manual control of the camera’s focus.
You can decide if you want the whole
image in focus, or just a part of it. Many
cameras have an auto-focus feature in
addition to the focus ring. Other
cameras, such as point-and-shoot
cameras, will not have a focus ring at all,
as all of the focus is set automatically.

48. 11.VIDEO START-STOP BUTTON
Don’t press the red
button! Unless you want to
shoot video, that is.This button
may show up in a different
position on your camera, but it
is likely still decorated with a
red dot. Some cameras forgo a
separate record button and
instead use the regular shutter
button, along with a movie
mode on the mode dial, for
shooting videos.

49. 12. EXPOSURE COMPENSATION BUTTON
 If you want to control aperture, you
need to hold down this button. If not in
manual mode, this button allows you
to adjust exposure compensation —
that is, make the image brighter or
darker while still letting the camera
make its own decisions about which
settings to use to achieve that.To
know more about Exposure
Compensation in details

50. 13. MODE DIAL
This sets the camera to your
desired shooting mode.The
standard modes are Program,
Shutter Priority, Aperture
Priority, and Manual (denoted
by the P, S, A, and M positions
on the dial).To know each and
every modes in details

51. 14. FLASH BUTTON
 In any of the “advanced” exposure modes (P, S, A, or M), this button will trigger
the pop-up flash. Its location may vary from camera to camera, but the “lightning
bolt” symbol is universal, so you’ll always be able to find it.The icon next to it is
the flash symbol, plus the exposure compensation symbol.

52. 15. LENS RETRACT BUTTON
 Retractable lenses are
becoming increasingly popular
as they are more compact
than non-retractable models.
You must press this button to
initially “zoom” the lens into
its operational position, and
again to retract it when you’re
done shooting.

53. 16. LENS RELEASE BUTTON
Press this button to
unlock the lens
mount and detach
the lens by rotating
it.You don’t need to
press it when
mounting a lens.

54. 17. AUTOFOCUS-AUTOEXPOSURE LOCK
(AE/AF LOCK)
 When using autofocus and
autoexposure, holding this button
down will lock those settings, even if
you move the camera.This isn’t often
used by beginners, but it is beneficial
for more advanced shooters who can
use it to take several shots with
different framings while ensuring all
remain focused on the same point and
exposed identically.

55. 18. I BUTTON
Nikon really does call this the “i” button
— probably because it already has an
“info” button on its cameras. Many other
brands have a similar button, usually
denoted by a “Q,” for “quick menu.”
Pressing this button brings up a set of
functions on the camera’s LCD screen,
which can be controlled directly.This can
be useful for adjusting ISO, white
balance, and drive mode settings on
cameras that don’t have dedicated
buttons or dials for said features.

56. 19. MAGNIFY BUTTON
We took the liberty of
labeling this as “magnify”
rather than “zoom” in order
to avoid confusion, as this
button has nothing to do
with zooming the lens.This
is for magnifying an image
during playback, allowing
you to see greater detail.

57. 20. DEMAGNIFY BUTTON
 Again, we’re not calling this “zoom
out.”This is the opposite of the
aforementioned magnify button,
but will also let you expand the
playback view to show multiple
image thumbnails at once. Some
cameras will even let you pull back
into folder or calendar views.
 This is just a list of major parts, IWill
keep adding all other parts slowly.