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Step 2Photography Terms
Some terms you will want to learn about cameras:
Aperture: How wide the opening in a lens is. The larger the opening, the more light gets in. The common. Aperture is measured as a fraction, so the lower the number, the wider the hole. Example: f/16 means 1/16...that is a small opening. f/1.8 is 1/1.8...that is a large opening. The way the fractions work, is that the diameter of a f/16 aperture, is 1/16 the measure of the lens's focal length. The basic apertures are:
f/22
16
11
8
5.6
4
2.8
1.8
Bulb: This is a shutter speed on some cameras. What it means, is that if you press and hold the shutter button, it will stay open until you let go. This is useful for night shots.
Cityscape: A photograph of man made things
Depth of field: This is how much can be in focus. With a large depth of field, things that are far away can be in focus, as well as things that are close. With a small depth of field, things have to be relatively close to each other (distance from camera wise) to all be in focus. A larger aperture (smaller number) will give you a smaller depth of field, while a small aperture (large number) will give you a large depth of field. Small depth of fields are good for portraits, while large depth of fields are better for landscapes.
Focal length: Measured in mm, focal lengths are basically how wide angle, or telephoto a lens.
ISO: It stands for International Standards Organization. If you have a high ISO (like 1600), you camera will be more light sensitive, allowing for faster shutter speeds, but you will have more noise in your image. A low ISO (like 200) will force you to use slower shutter speeds, but you will get less noise.
Landscape: A photograph of nature
Noise: It's created by amplifying the signal that your image sensor detects. It's hard to describe what noise looks like, so i'll show you. If you have a lot of noise in an image, a blue surface will look like this:
http://www.dpreview.com/Learn/Articles/Glossary/Digital_Imaging/images/123di_noise_ex_p800_rgb.jpg
noise is the digital equivalent to grain on film. Pictures can sometimes benefit from noise.
Portrait: A Photograph of a person
Reciprocation: This is how shutter speed and aperture relate to each other. My photography teacher put it like this: If you open up, you speed up. If you close down, you have to slow down. Opening and closing relate to aperture, speed up and slow down refer to shutter speed. So, if you want to open your aperture up one stop, you need to speed up one stop, in order to have the same exposure. Why would you want to change the settings, if you'll get the same exposure? Well, you may want to slow down, in order to have a blurrier picture. Or, you may want to open up/close down to affect your depth of field. (See "stop" for more examples on reciprocating)
Shutter Speed: This is how long the image sensor is being exposed to light. The larger/longer the shutter speed, the more light gets in. If you have a long shutter speed, you need to use a tripod, in order to prevent blurs (unless you are trying to get blurs in your shot). Shutter speeds are measured in fractions as well. 2000, or 1/2000 of a second is a fast shutter speed, and requires a larger aperture. 2, or 1/2 a second is a slow shutter speed, and would require a tripod. In order to know how fast a shutter speed you need to hold the camera by hand (and not get a blurry picture) you generally can take your focal length (in mm) and use that as the shutter speed. For example, if you have an 85mm lens, use a shutter speed of at least 85 for a sharp picture. Because 85 isn't a shutter speed, we would go up to 125. The basic shutter speeds are:
1000
500
250
125
60
30
15
8
4
2
1
Stop: Stops are a way to compare shutter speed to aperture. Each shutter speed is a stop, and each aperture is a stop. This way, when you are reciprocating, if you have a shutter speed of 30, and f/16, you know that you will get the same exposure with a shutter speed of 60 and f/11
Telephoto: Basically...zoomed in. It has a smaller angle of view, but you can view things that are farther away.
Wide angle: A focal length that lets light in from a large angle (degrees) so you can see more things (left to right) but you can only view subjects that are closer to you.
Zoom: A lot of people confuse zoom, and telephoto. Zoom lenses are able to go from a wider angle, to telephoto...it has a variable focal length.
Aperture: How wide the opening in a lens is. The larger the opening, the more light gets in. The common. Aperture is measured as a fraction, so the lower the number, the wider the hole. Example: f/16 means 1/16...that is a small opening. f/1.8 is 1/1.8...that is a large opening. The way the fractions work, is that the diameter of a f/16 aperture, is 1/16 the measure of the lens's focal length. The basic apertures are:
f/22
16
11
8
5.6
4
2.8
1.8
Bulb: This is a shutter speed on some cameras. What it means, is that if you press and hold the shutter button, it will stay open until you let go. This is useful for night shots.
Cityscape: A photograph of man made things
Depth of field: This is how much can be in focus. With a large depth of field, things that are far away can be in focus, as well as things that are close. With a small depth of field, things have to be relatively close to each other (distance from camera wise) to all be in focus. A larger aperture (smaller number) will give you a smaller depth of field, while a small aperture (large number) will give you a large depth of field. Small depth of fields are good for portraits, while large depth of fields are better for landscapes.
Focal length: Measured in mm, focal lengths are basically how wide angle, or telephoto a lens.
ISO: It stands for International Standards Organization. If you have a high ISO (like 1600), you camera will be more light sensitive, allowing for faster shutter speeds, but you will have more noise in your image. A low ISO (like 200) will force you to use slower shutter speeds, but you will get less noise.
Landscape: A photograph of nature
Noise: It's created by amplifying the signal that your image sensor detects. It's hard to describe what noise looks like, so i'll show you. If you have a lot of noise in an image, a blue surface will look like this:
http://www.dpreview.com/Learn/Articles/Glossary/Digital_Imaging/images/123di_noise_ex_p800_rgb.jpg
noise is the digital equivalent to grain on film. Pictures can sometimes benefit from noise.
Portrait: A Photograph of a person
Reciprocation: This is how shutter speed and aperture relate to each other. My photography teacher put it like this: If you open up, you speed up. If you close down, you have to slow down. Opening and closing relate to aperture, speed up and slow down refer to shutter speed. So, if you want to open your aperture up one stop, you need to speed up one stop, in order to have the same exposure. Why would you want to change the settings, if you'll get the same exposure? Well, you may want to slow down, in order to have a blurrier picture. Or, you may want to open up/close down to affect your depth of field. (See "stop" for more examples on reciprocating)
Shutter Speed: This is how long the image sensor is being exposed to light. The larger/longer the shutter speed, the more light gets in. If you have a long shutter speed, you need to use a tripod, in order to prevent blurs (unless you are trying to get blurs in your shot). Shutter speeds are measured in fractions as well. 2000, or 1/2000 of a second is a fast shutter speed, and requires a larger aperture. 2, or 1/2 a second is a slow shutter speed, and would require a tripod. In order to know how fast a shutter speed you need to hold the camera by hand (and not get a blurry picture) you generally can take your focal length (in mm) and use that as the shutter speed. For example, if you have an 85mm lens, use a shutter speed of at least 85 for a sharp picture. Because 85 isn't a shutter speed, we would go up to 125. The basic shutter speeds are:
1000
500
250
125
60
30
15
8
4
2
1
Stop: Stops are a way to compare shutter speed to aperture. Each shutter speed is a stop, and each aperture is a stop. This way, when you are reciprocating, if you have a shutter speed of 30, and f/16, you know that you will get the same exposure with a shutter speed of 60 and f/11
Telephoto: Basically...zoomed in. It has a smaller angle of view, but you can view things that are farther away.
Wide angle: A focal length that lets light in from a large angle (degrees) so you can see more things (left to right) but you can only view subjects that are closer to you.
Zoom: A lot of people confuse zoom, and telephoto. Zoom lenses are able to go from a wider angle, to telephoto...it has a variable focal length.
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