Understanding Photography Terms by Summerana

U N D E R S T A N D I N G
P H O T O G R A P H Y T E R M S
a S u m m e r a n a g u i d e
a l l y o u n e e d t o k n o w a b o u t p h o t o g r a p h y
t e r m s , f r o m t h e b a s i c s t o t h e m o r e
c o m p l e x l i n g o y o u ' l l h e a r p r o f e s s i o n a l s u s e
w r i t t e n b y R h i a n n o n D ' A v e r c

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
h e r e ' s w h a t t h i s g u i d e w i l l c o v e r
Photography lingo can be confusing to navigate when you’re
first starting out. In fact, if you haven’t received formal
training or don’t work alongside other photographers, there
can be some terms whose meaning remains unclear for years!
This guide will give you some insight into the most-used
photography terms out there so you can use them with
confidence.
We’ll cover a range of topics, from words having to do with
your camera and words to use on set, right through to words
you might hear when working with models or with commercial
clients.
c a m e r a
t e r m s
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s t u d i o
t e r m s
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i m a g e
t e r m s
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m o d e l i n g
t e r m s
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s e l f - t e s t
q u i z
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t a k e y o u r
l e a r n i n g
f u r t h e r
Previous page: Image
by Andrew Poplavsky
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Camera Terms
Aperture – the opening in the lens which light passes
through to hit the sensor; changing the aperture allows more
or less light to pass through
AEB – see bracketing
B, or Bulb – the ‘B’ on your camera setting stands for Bulb,
allowing the shutter to stay open for as long as the button is
pressed down – often used for long exposures
Bracketing – taking a series of images at different
exposure levels (or EVs). Used in difficult lighting
situations where you might wish to combine your images
later for a better end photograph, and for HDR images; the
camera setting AEB will provide auto exposure bracketing
Cropped sensor – a sensor which is smaller than the circle
of light provided by the lens, meaning you will have a
cropped image; see also: full frame
Depth of field – the distance between the closest and
furthest objects in your field of view that are in focus; think
of it like a grid stretching from the lens back to the horizon:
a certain portion of the grid will be in focus, from one side
to the other
ISO – the number controlling how sensitive your camera is
to light; a higher ISO will introduce more grain but allow you
to shoot in darker situations
Kelvin – a measurement of color temperature
Manual mode – allows you to take full control of your
camera settings
Priority modes – shutter priority allows you to set the
shutter speed, leaving everything else on automatic;
aperture priority allows you to set the aperture and leave
everything else on automatic; and so on
Resolution – the dimensions of the image your sensor can
capture, expressed in megapixels
RAW – the camera’s most detailed file format, which will
need to be converted to a different format before you
can use it, giving you more control over the final image
Shutter speed – how long the shutter stays open,
represented by a fraction of a second, such as 1/125
TTL – through the lens; this setting allows your
flash system to decide what settings to use based on the
camera’s sensor
DSLR – a digital single lens reflex camera; your camera will
have interchangeable lenses, a digital screen, and you will
take the image by looking through a viewfinder that shows
exactly what your lens sees.
EV – exposure value, a number representing the
combinations of aperture and shutter speed that will
provide the same level of exposure.
Exposure – the amount of light reaching the sensor
Focal length – the length of your lens when the shutter is
pressed
F-stop – the measurement that we use to describe how
open or closed your aperture is; you get the number by
dividing the focal length of the lens by the aperture
diameter, and each step provides double the number of
light
Full frame – the sensor and the circle of light from the lens
are roughly the same size, so you get the full image that
your lens can see; see also: cropped sensor
Images by Erik Reiss at Getty Images
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Studio Terms
Soft light – diffused light that has passed through a
softbox, an overcast sky, or from indirect sunlight which
creates soft-edged shadows with lower contrast
Ambient light – the light which is already available on the
scene, such as daylight
Body – your camera, not including any lenses or
accessories
Chimping – looking at the back of the camera after every
shot – usually a sign of low confidence
Flash – your electronic lighting
Fill light – a light positioned secondary to the key light,
which fills in the shadows as you prefer; it could be a light
source or just a reflector
Speedlight – a small, portable flash that can attach to the
top of your camera or stand alone
Telephoto lens – a longer lens than the average; between
70mm and 300mm; above 300mm is super telephoto
Umbrella - a reflective umbrella used to send light back
towards the subject with your lights facing away
Wide-angle lens – allowing a wider field of view than other
lenses
Zoom lens – a lens that can be zoomed in by changing the
focal length
Fixed lens – see prime lens
Glass – a term for any and all lenses
Hard light – harsh light from sources such as direct
sunlight or on-camera flash, that creates harsh shadows
with well-defined edges
Honeycomb grid – a filter placed over a light to create a
tight beam with high contrast light
Key light – also called a main light, this is the main light
source for your image; it could even be the sun
Macro lens – allows you to focus very closely to the
subject
Prime lens – a fixed-length lens that cannot be zoomed in
or out
Reflector – a reflective surface that can either add or
remove light – usually white, silver, gold, or black
Remote trigger – a device that allows you to push the
trigger without touching the camera, great for eliminating
camera shake
Snood – a conical filter that goes over a light to direct it
to a smaller area
Softbox – a white fabric box that is fitted over a studio
light to diffuse the given light and soften shadows
Image by Pixelshot
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Image Terms
Blown-out highlights – an area of the image that is so
bright, you can’t make out any detail
Bokeh – an effect created by putting light sources out of
focus far in the distance, creating circular or hexagonal
(or so on) shapes across the background of the shot
Chromatic aberration – color fringes around areas where
dark meets light in your image, indicating that the lens
was unable to cope with the contrast – something you’ll
want to avoid
Dust bunnies – black or gray spots that appear on an
image due to dust on the lens or sensor
Golden hour – a time right before sunset or after sunrise
when the light is golden
Lens flare – a circular bright mark on the image, or a
general haziness, created by the light source directly
hitting the lens
Magic hour – see golden hour
Panning – moving the camera at the same time as taking
the shot, often used in sports photography to achieve a
still subject with a blurred background
Rule of thirds – a compositional rule dividing the image
into a 3x3 grid of nine squares
“light sources out of
focus far in the distance,
creating circular shapes across
the background of the shot”
Leading lines – lines which draw the eye across an image
as part of your composition
Images by Scopio, Sara Iniyan with Getty Images, and Kristina Paukshtite
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Modeling Terms
Talent – a model, or someone who works in another form
of entertainment that might need a photoshoot
Call sheet – a written document setting out the timings
and personnel of a shoot
Closed set – a private shoot, no unauthorized persons are
allowed access
Creative director – someone who controls the look of a
shoot; this may also be the photographer, or it could be
the client or a third party hired for the job
MUA – makeup artist; MUAH adds hair styling to the mix
On location – a shoot that takes place outside of a studio, either
outdoors or inside another location
Test shoot – a test shoot is ostensibly a test for a later
shoot that will probably be paid; some photographers and
models also use this to mean a photoshoot intended for
submission to magazines, which may or may not end up
being published
TFP – time for prints; this essentially means neither the
model nor the photographer pay to shoot together, but they
both get shots for their portfolio
Tog – a photographer
Tearsheet – originally used to describe a published image
torn directly from a magazine or other printed publication to
display in your portfolio; now more likely to be a digital file
Pull letter or pull request – a request made by a stylist to borrow
items from a brand to use in a photoshoot
Set – your photoshoot area
Images by Kaboompics, 4FR with Getty Images, and Jeny Hanter with Getty Images
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Self-Assessment Quiz
Check your learning with our self-assessment quiz! Can you remember the answers?
If you can’t, you’ll find them in the pages of this guide.
1. What is aperture defined as?
2. What do leading lines do?
3. How is a macro lens different from other lenses?
4. What’s the purpose of a tearsheet?
5. What is fill light?
6. What should you pay for a TFP shoot?
Images by Lukas Hartmann, Public Domain Pictures, and Arnold Matausz with Getty Images
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Take Your Learning Further
If you’ve enjoyed studying these photography terms and
want to go deeper, consider reading technical photography
manuals, as these will provide much deeper explanations of
how to use your camera and all the terms that come with
it.
If you loved this guide by
Summerana, head to
Summerana.com for more!
YouTube channels specializing in photography are
another good place to look, and of course you can check
out our other Summerana guides and blog posts for more
examples of all of these photography terms in use!
About the writer
Rhiannon D’Averc is a fashion and portrait photographer, as well as a published author of more than 50 books. She is the Chief
Editor of London Runway, an indie fashion magazine. Find more of her work on Twitter by following @rhiannondaverc.
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