A lot of us take up photography as a hobby or just to take pictures at special occasions. If you are considering developing your photography to a higher level there is quite a lot of jargon to grapple. To help you get to grips with the terminology we have prepared a glossary of common terms found in photography.
- Aperture - The hole at the front of your camera that lets light through to expose the film.
- Bounce Flash - A modified flash that rebounds light off a reflector to recreate the impression of natural light.
- Cropping - Process of cutting unnecessary content from the outside of your picture to put more focus on subject.
- Dark Room - A room where photos can be developed and films can be changed. Ordinary light will over expose films rendering them useless.
- EIS - Electronic image stabilizers are used to reduce the visible effects caused by shaking whilst taking a shot.
- Fixer - Solution applied to photos after development to help remove impurities.
- Ghosts - Spots that appear on a photo after development. Usually caused by an excess of light entering the aperture.
- Hi 8 - Abbreviation for high band 8mm film used in video cameras.
- Juxtaposition - Placing two contrasting images together to form a comparison. Useful for creating scale (e.g. a shot of a climber next to a mountain).
- Kelvin - Scale used to measure the temperature of a colour. Often abbreviated to °K.
- LD - Low dispersion glass is often abbreviated to LD. The lower the dispersion generally the better the picture quality is.
- Magicube - A special kind of flashtube that can only be controlled mechanically by supported cameras.
- ND - Stands for neutral density. ND filters are used to control the amount of light in your shot to help improve contrast.
- Optical Zoom - Type of zoom which actually zooms into subject as opposed to digital which simply enlarges the existing image.
- Panning - Using the camera to follow a moving subject whilst keeping it in the same position in your viewfinder.
- Soft Focus - Effect created using special lenses that give outlines of subjects a much softer appearance.
- Tone - Term used to describe the volume of light and dark areas in a photograph.
- Unipod - A device similar to a tripod but with one supportive leg as opposed to three.
- Viewfinder - Device used to view images through your camera to help line up your shot.
- Wetting Agent - Solution used to help film dry quicker and more evenly.
- Zoom Lens - Used to change focal length of the lens. Also known as a variable focus lens.