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TABLE OF CONTENT

1.

PHOTOGRAPHY 01

2. DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY 01

2.1 WHY DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY 01

3.

CAMERAS 013.1 FILM CAMERAS 01

3.1.1

35 mm SLR 01

3.1.2

TLR 02

3.1.3 MEDIUM FORMAT 120mm 02

3.1.4 LARGE FORMAT 4x6 02

3.2 DIGITAL CAMERAS 02

3.2.1 Compact Cameras 02

3.2.2

Bridge Cameras 02

3.2.3 DSLR 35mm Cameras 03

3.2.4 Medium Format Cameras 03

4. CAMERA COMPONENTS 03

5. EXPOSURE 03

5.1

THE RIGHT EXPOSURE 03

5.2

ISO 03

5.3 SHUTTER 04

5.4 APERTURE 04

5.5 F-NUMBER 04

5.6

WHITE BALANCE 04

5.7

EXPOSURE COMPENSATION 04

6. THE FOUR FACTORS 04

7. HOLDING YOUR CAMERA 05

8. METERING 05

9. FOCUSING 05

10.

DEPTH OF FIELD 05

11.

COMPOSITION 06

12. DIGITAL SENSOR 06

13. DIGITAL MEDIA STORAGE 06

14. IMAGE RESOLUTION 06

15.

FILE FORMATS 06

16.

LENSES 06

16.1 FIXED AND VARIABLE 06

16.1.1 MACRO 06

16.1.2

WIDE ANGLE 07

16.1.3

FISH EYE 07

16.1.4 TELEPHOTO 07

16.1.5 SUPER TELEPHOTO 07

GLOSSARY

l All materials copyrights of the Lahore School of Photography, © 2009 l HANDOUTS

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1. PHOTOGRAPHY

The word "photography" comes from the Greek word "photo" which means “light” and “ graphê ” means "representation by

means of lines" or "drawing", together meaning "drawing with light."

Traditionally, the products of photography have been called negatives and photographs, commonly shortened to photos.

So, photography is the process, activity and art of creating still or moving pictures by recording light radiation on a sensitive

medium, such as a film, or an electronic sensor. Light patterns reflected or emitted from objects activate a sensitive chemical or

electronic sensor during a timed exposure, usually through a photographic lens in a device known as a camera that also stores

the resulting information chemically or electronically. Photography has many uses for business, science, art and pleasure.

2. DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Digital photography is a form of photography that uses digital technology to make images of subjects. Until the advent of such

technology, photographers used photographic film to create images, which could be made visible by photographic processing. In

contrary, digital photographs can be displayed, printed, stored, manipulated, transmitted, and archived using digital and

computer techniques, without chemical processing.

2.1 WHY DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY?

See and improve pictures in a heartbeat

You can review pictures instantly with a digital camera, so you'll be taking better pictures than ever before. Somebody frowning?Somebody clowning? Just take another picture.

E-mail and print photos instantly

Share digital pictures seconds after taking them. E-mail them anywhere; print them at home. Or place them in an online album,

so friends and family can view your pictures.

Perfect your pictures with digital magic

Was a picture too dark? Did someone have red eyes? That's okay. You can use picture-editing software to lighten pictures, get rid

of red eye, crop pictures, and make lots of other improvements after you take the picture.

Unleash your creativity

Fulfill those creative urges. Turn your digital pictures into photo greeting cards, high quality prints, CD album covers, photo T-

shirts, online slide shows. You can do all this and more—once your pictures are digital.

Enjoy pictures, enjoy life

Invigorating. Exciting. Delighting. Digital photography is all these things and more. Escape into a realm where you can do almost

anything you want with your pictures.

3. CAMERA

A camera is a device that records images, either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies. The term

comes from the camera obscura (Latin for "dark chamber"), an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room

functioned as a real-time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscura.

Cameras may work with the light of the visible spectrum

or with other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. A

camera generally consists of an enclosed hollow with an

opening (aperture) at one end for light to enter, and a

recording or viewing surface for capturing the light at the

other end. A majority of cameras have a lens positioned infront of the camera's opening to gather the incoming light

and focus all or part of the image on the recording surface.

The diameter of the aperture is often controlled by a

diaphragm mechanism, but some cameras have a fixed-

size aperture.

3.1 FILM CAMERA

3.1.1 35 mm SLR

A single-lens reflex camera - SLR is a camera that uses a mechanical mirror

system and pentaprism to direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder on

the back of the camera.


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For viewing purposes, the mirror reflects the light coming through the attached lens upwards at a 90-degree angle. It is then

reflected twice by the pentaprism, rectifying it for the photographer's eye. During exposure, the mirror assembly swings upward,

the shutter opens, allowing the lens to project light coming through the narrow aperture onto the light sensitive film or digital

sensor. A second shutter then covers the sensor, ending the exposure, and the mirror lowers while the shutter resets. The period

that the mirror is flipped up is referred to as "viewfinder blackout". A fast-acting mirror and shutter is preferred so as to not

delay an action photo. All of this happens automatically over a period of milliseconds.

Professional still photographers often prefer SLRs because they allow an accurate preview of framing close to the moment of

exposure, and because SLRs allow the user to choose from a variety of interchangeable lenses. Most SLRs also have a function

that allows accurate preview of depth of field.

3.1.2 TLR

A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of

the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective (the lens

that takes the picture), while the other is used for the waist-level viewfinder

system. In addition to the objective, the viewfinder consists of a 45-degree

mirror, a matte focusing screen at the top of the camera, and a pop-up hood

surrounding it. The two objective lenses are connected, so that the focus shown

on the focusing screen will be exactly the same as on the film.

TLRs are different from single-lens reflex cameras (SLR) in several respects.

First, unlike virtually all SLRs, TLRs provide a continuous image on the finder

screen. The view does not black out during exposure.

3.1.3 MEDIUM FORMAT

Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in still photography and the related

cameras and equipment that use this film. Generally, the term applies to film and cameras used to

produce images larger than the 35 mm film, but smaller than the 4 x 6 inch size, which is considered

to be large format.

The main benefit of medium format photography is that, because of the larger size of the film or

digital sensor (two to six times larger than 35 mm), images of much higher resolution can be

produced. This allows for bigger enlargements and smooth gradation without the grain or blur that

would characterize similarly enlarged images produced from smaller film formats.

Compared to 35 mm, the main drawbacks are accessibility and price. While 35-mm cameras, film,

and photo finishing services are generally widely available and cheap, medium format is usually

limited to professional photography shops and can be prohibitively expensive.

3.1.4 LARGE FORMAT 4 x 6 inches

Large format describes large photographic films, large cameras that use a film or digital sensor,generally 4 x 6 inches or larger. The most common large formats are 4 x 6 and 8 x 10 inches. Less

common formats include 5 x 7 inches, 11 x 14 inches, 16 x 20 inches, 20 x 24 inches, various panoramic

or "banquet" formats (such as 4 x10 and 8 x 20 inches), as well as metric formats, including 9 x 12 cm,

10 x13 cm and 13 x 18 cm.

The Polaroid 20 x 24 inch instant camera is one of the largest format cameras currently in common

usage. Many well-known photographers have used the 235-pound (106 kg), wheeled-chassis Polaroid.

3.2 DIGITAL CAMERAS

3.2.1 COMPACT CAMERAS

Compact cameras are designed to be small and portable and are particularly suitable

for casual and "snapshot" use, thus are also called point-and-shoot camera. The

smallest, generally less than 20 mm thick are described as subcompacts or "ultra-

compacts". Compact cameras are usually designed to be easy to use, sacrificing

advanced features and picture quality for compactness and simplicity; images can

usually only be stored using lossy compression (JPEG). Most have a built-in flash

usually of low power, sufficient for nearby subjects. Live preview is almost always used

to frame the photo. They may have limited motion picture capability. Compacts often

have macro capability, but if they have zoom capability the range is usually less than

for bridge and DSLR cameras. They have a greater depth of field, allowing objects

within a large range of distances from the camera to be in sharp focus.

3.2.2 BRIDGE CAMERAS

Bridge or SLR-like cameras are higher-end digital cameras that physically resemble DSLRs

and share with them some advanced features, but share with compacts the framing of

the photo using live preview and small sensor sizes.


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Bridge cameras often have super-zoom lenses, which provide a very wide zoom range, which is attained at the cost of some

distortions to a degree, which varies with lens quality. These cameras are sometimes marketed as and confused with digital SLR

cameras since the appearance is similar. Bridge cameras lack the mirror and reflex system of DSLRs, have so far been fitted with

fixed (non-interchangeable) lenses (although in some cases wide-angle or telephoto converters can be attached to the lens), can

usually take movies with sound, and the scene is composed by viewing either the liquid crystal display (LCD) or the electronic

viewfinder (EVF). They are usually slower to operate than a true digital SLR, but they are capable of very good image quality (with

sufficient light) while being more compact and lighter than DSLRs. The high-end models of this type have comparable resolutions

to low and mid-range DSLRs. Many of these cameras can store images in lossless RAW format as an option to JPEG compression.

The majority has a built-in flash, often a unit that flips up over the lens.

3.2.3 DSLR

The term DSLR generally refers to cameras that resemble 35 mm format cameras, although

some digital medium format cameras are technically DSLRs.

Many professionals also prefer DSLRs for their larger sensors as compared to the sensors of

most of compact digital cameras. DSLRs have sensors, which are generally closer in size to

the traditional film formats that many current professionals started out using. These large

sensors allow similar depths of field and picture angle to film formats.

The disadvantages of DSLR cameras are the significantly higher costs, bigger size and weight,

and a small delay before the photo is taken because the mirror has to move out of the way

before a shot.

3.2.4 DIGITAL MEDIUM FORMAT

Digital photography came to the medium format world with the development of digital camera

backs, which can be fitted to many system cameras. Digital backs are a type of camera back that

have electronic sensors in them, effectively converting a camera into a digital camera. These backs

are used predominantly by professional photographers. As with film, due to the increased size of

the imaging chip (up to twice that of a 35 mm film frame, and thus as much as 40 times the size of

the chip in a typical pocket point-and-shoot camera) they deliver more pixels and have lower

noise.

4. CAMERA COMPONENTS

1. LCD

2. Digital Sensor

3. Memory Card

4.

Battery5. Built-in Flash

6. Shutter

7. Aperture (Lens)

5. EXPOSURE

It is the quantity of light that your camera captures while taking a picture. The exposure is determined by the aperture size and

shutter speed. To obtain the best results with certain subjects it may be necessary to alter the exposure from the value

suggested by the camera.

5.1 THE ‘RIGHT’ EXPOSURE

• Everything in the picture that should be in focus is in focus (this is what it is all about for a beginning photographer).

• Other parts of the photo may be in focus, but may also be out of focus to attract more attention to the part that is in

focus (this is what it is about for an intermediate and advanced photographer).

• There is no unwanted motion blur.

• There is no unwanted (digital) noise, due to limitations of the sensor of the camera.

• The photo is not over exposed neither under exposed.

5.2 ISO

The higher the ISO-speed the more sensitive the sensor is for light. ISO-100 is not very sensitive (but high quality) and ISO-1600 is

very sensitive.

A big advantage of digital cameras in comparison with analogue cameras is that you don’t have to change film rolls to change the


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ISO-speed. You can change it with each photo, so in fact you have an extra factor you can easily play with.

5.3 SHUTTER

Shutter is a device that allows light to pass for a determined period of time, for the purpose

of exposing photographic film or a light-sensitive electronic sensor to light to capture a

permanent image of a scene. Shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter allows light

onto the CCD. The shutter speed is measured in seconds (or fractions of a second for most

common pictures). The slower the shutter speed, the more motion is recorded by the

camera. A tripod might be needed to use slower shutter speeds without blurring the picture.

5.4 APERTURE

An aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. The aperture also

determines how many of the incoming rays are actually admitted and thus how much

light that reaches the image plane - the narrower the aperture, the darker the image

and vice versa.

5.5 F-NUMBER

The f-number or focal ratio of a lens is the diameter of the lens opening in terms

of the effective focal length of the lens. Common f-numbers are f1.4, f2, f2.8, f4,

f5.6, f8, f11, f16, and f22. The greater the f-number, the smaller the aperture

and the less light will pass the shutter.

5.6 WHITE BALANCE

Adjustment in digital cameras for the color to give as true as possible a white and correcting all the other colors.

5.7 EXPOSURE COMPENSATION

An exposure compensation button [+/-] is now found on most modern auto cameras. Positive compensation may be

needed when the main subject is darker than the background and negative compensation may be needed for a subject lighterthan the background.

6. THE FOUR FACTORS

For the exposure, four correlating factors come into play, brightness of the scene, shutter speed,

aperture and ISO-speed. The right amount of light must be captured by the sensor of the

camera. Wrong combination of these factors would create over exposure (a too bright picture)

or under exposure (a too dark picture).

The amount of light captured by the sensor is a result of some basic mechanisms:

The higher the brightness of the scene, the more light reaches the sensor. Pretty logical. This

ranges from a photo at night without flash, to a sunny afternoon with loads of light.

A slower shutter speed means a longer time of exposing light to the sensor, so in total more light

reaches the sensor. An exposure time of only 1/3000th of a second lets the light through very

short, and 1/15th or for example 4 seconds is long.

The higher the ISO-speed the more sensitive the sensor is for light. ISO-100 is not very sensitive (but high quality) and ISO-1600 is

very sensitive.

A big advantage of digital cameras in comparison with analogue cameras is that you don’t have to change film rolls to change the

ISO-speed.

A bigger Aperture means a wider opening in the lens, so more light reaches the sensor. Keep in mind that the larger the f-stop

number, the smaller the lens opening. An aperture of f/22 is very small opening for the light to get trough, an aperture of f/2.8 or

f/1.4 is very wide open.

These four factors are interrelated. If one is increased, too much light would be captured, so another must be decreased, and

vise versa.

A right combination of these factors has to be chosen at the moment a picture is taken. With digital SLRs you can set or prioritize

the factors. First you set the ISO-speed. If you choose ‘aperture priority’ (or ‘Av’), you can set the aperture, and let the camera

compute the corresponding exposure time. If you choose ‘exposure time priority’, you choose the exposure time, and the

camera chooses the aperture.

With an automatic program setting you let the camera do the judgment, and let the camera evaluate what it thinks it is the best

exposure time, aperture and ISO-speed given the lighting conditions. And the camera can even change the lighting conditions…


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by using the flash.

To shorten the exposure time, you could increase the ISO-speed of your camera. But that also increases the noise, perhaps up to

unacceptable levels. So here are boundaries. A camera that is capable of capturing at high ISO-speeds with little noise is a clear

advantage. So a good way is to start with an ISO-level where the noise is minimal or at least acceptable.

A longer exposure time brings a smaller aperture and a longer depth of field meaning more things will appear ’sharp’ on the

photo, so there is less focus on only a part of the photo. But this can mean that distracting elements on the photo will be more in

focus and therefore be even more distracting. This might be wonderful in landscape photography where every detail of the

landscape might be the part of the whole scene, but less effective in portrait photography where you want to bring attention to

the subject, and not the background.

A shorter exposure time brings a bigger aperture and shorter depth of field. Having an image stabilizing option on your camera

reduces the effects of camera shake.So the usual method is taking the right exposure as starting point (cameras work like this), and let that determine the other

factors. But that is not all. Most Digital SLRs have settings to over expose or under expose.

7. HOLDING THE CAMERA

Choose a subject or message of your photo

If there is no clear real subject, nothing of graphical interest and no mood to convey, it is probably not an interesting photo.

Remove things that don’t add to the photo

Especially if they detract from the central message. You should not only know what to include, but also what to exclude. Find a

simple background and look for balance.

Don’t be afraid to zoom in or get very close

The most common mistake is that photos are taken from too far away and that there is just too much environment that

doesn’t add to the message. Filling the image with the subject underlines what the intended subject is, and removes cluttered

background. It achieves simplicity.

Don’t automatically center your subjects

Beginners massively center their main subjects on their photos. This is not illogical because the

photographer aims at the subject with the camera viewer. If you rather place the subject outside the

center it will often result in a more dynamic composition. Experiment with that.

A popular guideline is the rule of thirds. Imagine the frame

divided into thirds, both vertically and horizontally, like a

tic-tac-toe board. Then place the subject on or near one of

the lines or intersections. This is called the rule of thirds, or

the ‘golden mean’. However don’t follow this rule slavishly.

Remember that the eyes are most important for people

and animals. When zooming in and the head fills the image,

the rule of thirds applies to the position of the eyes.

Be sure to hold your camera level

It will break the strength of your photo if the horizon appears with an apparent angle.

Sometimes photo opportunities appear in a split second, and you have just no time to control the angle of your camera. When at

home your photo appears to be tilted, no problem. With imaging tools it’s easy to level the photo afterwards. However this gives

a small loss in image quality. So practice your reflexes to hold your camera level in the first place.

8. METERING

The process of measuring the available light reflected from the subject to calculate the proper shutter speed or aperture.

9. FOCUSING

It is the adjustment of the lens of the camera to bring the subject into sharp view.

10. DEPTH OF FIELD

It is the area of a photograph that is in focus. In optics,

particularly as it relates to film and photography, the

depth of field (DOF) is the portion of a scene that

appears sharp in the image. Although a lens can

precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in

sharpness is gradual on either side of the focused

distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is

imperceptible under normal viewing conditions.

For some images, such as landscapes, a large DOF may be appropriate, while for others, such as portraits, a small DOF may be

more effective. In cinematography, a large DOF is often called deep focus, and a small DOF is often called shallow focus.

11. COMPOSITION


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The raised eyebrow of a spectator, the waterfall in a mountain forest, former opposites shaking hands. To have impact, the eye

of the viewer must be directly drawn to the main point of interest of the picture. So in the first place the photo must provide

such a main point, and secondly that must be heavily prominent. If there is visual clutter in the picture, attention flows to

irrelevant portions of the photo, and the impact is gone before you know it. With placing and removing accents, you can give

vital direction to a photo. As you position yourself for the photo look out for power poles, lampposts and other objects behind

the subject that can ruin your photo. When it happens, reposition yourself or the subject.

Also avoid objects in the background that visually merge with the subject because they have the same color. Let the subject be

freestanding.

12. DIGITAL SENSOR

An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal. It is used mostly in

digital cameras and other imaging devices. An image sensor is typically a charge-coupled device

(CCD) or a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) active-pixel sensor.

13. DIGITAL IMAGE DATA STORAGE

A CompactFlash (CF) card is one of many media types used to store digital

photographs. Most digital cameras utilize some form of removable storage

to store image data. While the vast majority of the media types are some

form of memory card using flash memory.

14. DIGITAL IMAGE RESOLUTION

The resolution of a digital camera is often limited by the camera sensor (typically a CCD or CMOS sensor chip) that turns light into

discrete signals, replacing the job of film in traditional photography. The sensor is made up of millions of "buckets" that

essentially count the number of photons that strike the sensor. This means that the brighter the image at a given point on the

sensor, the larger the value that is ready for that pixel. Depending on the physical structure of the sensor, a color filter array may

be used which requires a demosaicing/interpolation algorithm. The number of resulting pixels in the image determines its "pixel

count". For example, a 640x480 image would have 307,200 pixels, or approximately 307 kilopixels; a 3872x2592 image would

have 10,036,224 pixels, or approximately 10 megapixels.

The pixel count alone is commonly presumed to indicate the resolution of a camera, but this is a misconception. There are

several other factors that impact a sensor's resolution. Some of these factors include sensor size, lens quality, and the

organization of the pixels. Many digital compact cameras are criticized for having excessive pixels. Sensors can be so small that

their 'buckets' can easily overfill; again, resolution of a sensor can become greater than the camera lens could possibly deliver.

15. IMAGE FILE FORMATS

The Joint Photography Experts Group standard (JPEG) is the most common file format for storing image data. Other file types

include Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) and Raw data formats.

Many cameras, especially professional or DSLR cameras, support a Raw format. A raw image is the unprocessed set of pixel data

directly from the camera's sensor. They are often saved in formats proprietary to each manufacturer, such as NEF for Nikon,

CRW or CR2 for Canon, and MRW for Minolta. Adobe Systems has released the DNG format, a royalty free raw image format

which has been adopted by a few camera manufacturers.

Raw files initially had to be processed in specialized image editing programs, but over time many mainstream editing programs

have added support for raw images. Editing raw format images allows more flexibility in settings such as white balance, exposure

compensation, color temperature, and so on. In essence raw format allows the photographer to make major adjustments

without losing image quality that would otherwise require retaking the picture.

16. LENSES

16.1 FIXED AND VARIABLE

16.1.1 MACRO LENS

A lens that is made for extreme close-up photography to capture small

subjects big on the image.

16.1.2 WIDE-ANGLE LENS


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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge-coupled_devicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMOShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active-pixel_sensorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIFFhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_image_formathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Negative_Specificationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_editinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_editinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Negative_Specificationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_image_formathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIFFhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active-pixel_sensorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMOShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge-coupled_device


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A lens with a short focal length and a larger field of view.

16.1.3 FISH-EYE LENS

An extremely wide-angle lens that enables views exceeding

100 degrees up to 180 degrees, but distorts the image.

16.1.4 TELEPHOTO LENS

Lens with an adjustable focal length that lets you see a scene from a

narrow to a wide field of view.

16.1.5 SUPER TELEPHOTO / LONG LENS

Lens with a large focal length, for example 800mm


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Glossary of Photographic Term

A

ADJUSTABLE CAMERA

Commonly called the

manual camera. A camera

with manually adjustablesettings for distance, lens

openings, and shutter

speeds.

ADJUSTABLE-FOCUS LENS

A lens that has adjustable

distance settings.

AMBIENT LIGHT

The available natural light

completely surrounding a

subject. Light already

existing in an indoor or

outdoor setting that is not

caused by any illuminationsupplied by the

photographer i.e. not by

artificial light source.

APERTURE

Lens opening. The hole or

opening formed by the

metal leaf diaphragm inside

the lens or the opening in a

camera lens through which

light passes to expose the

film or the digital sensor.

The size of aperture is either

fixed or adjustable.

AUTOFOCUS (AF)

System by which the camera

lens or the camera body

automatically focuses the

image of a selected part of

the picture subject.

AUTOMATIC CAMERA

A camera with a built-in

exposure meter that

automatically adjusts the

lens opening, shutter speed,

or both (program) for proper

exposure.

B

B (BULB) SETTING

A shutter-speed setting on

an adjustable camera that

allows for time exposures.

When set on B, the shutter

will stay open as long as the

shutter release button

remains depressed. Another

similar option is the "T"

setting, where it never

drains the battery power on

automatic camera body.

BACKGROUND

The part of the scene that

appears behind the principal

subject of the picture. The

sharpness of the background

can be influenced by

apertures and shuttle set. Inthe flash mode, bulb setting

usually is set for absorbing

more ambience light

(background information),

so the end result of the

exposure won't be pitch

dark.

BACKLIGHTING

Light coming from behind

the subject, toward the

camera lens, so that the

subject stands out vividly

against the background.

Sometimes produces asilhouette effect. Always use

something (a hand, a lens

shade to avoid the light falls

onto the lens - to avoid lens

flares).

BLOWUP

An enlargement; a print that

is made larger than the

negative or slide.

BOUNCE LIGHTING

Flash or tungsten light

bounced off a reflector (such

as the ceiling or walls) orattachment that fits on the

flash to give the effect of

natural or available light.

C

CAMERA ANGLES

Various positions of the

camera (high, medium, or

low; and left, right, or

straight on) with respect to

the subject, each giving a

different viewpoint,

perspective or visual effect.

CAMERA SHAKE

Movement of camera

caused by unsteady hold or

support, vibration, etc.,

leading, particularly at

slower shutter speeds, to a

blurred image on the film. It

is a major cause of un-sharp

pictures, especially with long

focus lenses.

CAST

Abnormal coloring of an

image produced by

departure from

recommended exposure or

processing conditions with a

transparency film, or when

making a color print. Can

also be caused by reflection

within the subject as from ahat on to the face.

CCD

Electronic sensor used by all

autofocus cameras, capable

of detecting subject

contrast; also an image-

receiving device for video

camera.

CLOSE-UP

A picture taken with the

subject close to the camera-

usually less than two or

three feet away, but it canbe as close as a few inches.

COLOR TEMPERATURE

Description of the color of a

light-source by comparing it

with the color of light

emitted by a (theoretical)

perfect radiator at a

particular temperature

expressed in Kelvin (K). Thus

"photographic daylight" has

a color temperature of

about 5500K.

COMPACT FLASH Most digital cameras with PC

Card interfaces use a

storage technology called

Compact Flash.

COMPOSITION

The pleasing arrangement of

the elements within a scene-

the main subject, the

foreground and background,

and supporting subjects.

CROPPING

Printing only part of the

image that is in the negative

or slide, usually for a more

pleasing composition, in

medium format, especially

the 6 x 6, some form of

cropping is necessary for

publishing on A4 magazine

format. May also refer to

the framing of the scene in

the viewfinder.

D

DARKROOM

A light tight area used for

processing films and for

printing and processing

papers; also for loading and

unloading film holders and

some cameras. For image

purist, the cycle of

photograph is not complete

if the darkroom process isnot handled personally.

DEDICATED FLASH

A fully automatic flash that

works only with specific

cameras. Dedicated flash

units automatically set the

proper flash sync speed and

lens aperture, and electronic

sensors within the camera

automatically control

exposure by regulating the

amount of light from the

flash. A simple glance can

differentiate by identifyingthe multiple contacts on the

hot shoe (the place where

the flash is mounted).

DEFINITION

The clarity of detail in a

photograph.

DEPTH OF FIELD

The zone of acceptable

sharpness in front of and

behind the subject on which

the lens is focused; extends

approx. one-third in front of

and two thirds behind thein-focus subject; dependent

on three factors: aperture,

focal length, and focused

distance; the wider the

aperture, the longer the

focal length, and the closer

the focused distance, the

less the depth of field, and

vice versa.

DIFFUSE LIGHTING

Lighting that is low or

moderate in contrast, such

as on an overcast day.

DIFFUSING

Softening detail in a print

with a diffusion disk or other

material that scatters light.

DOUBLE EXPOSURE

Two pictures taken on one

frame of film, or two images

printed on one piece of

photographic paper. Some

cameras can have double

exposure level depressed

with multiple exposures one

even with a motor drive.


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10/13

E

ENLARGEMENT

A print that is larger than the

negative or slide; also called

"blowup".

EXISTING LIGHT Available light. Strictly

speaking, existing light

covers all natural lighting

from moonlight to sunshine.

For photographic purposes,

existing light is the light that

is already on the scene or

project and includes room

lamps, fluorescent lamps,

spotlights, neon signs,

candles, daylight through

windows, outdoor scenes at

twilight or in moonlight, and

scenes artificially illuminated

after dark.

EXPOSURE

The quantity of light allowed

to act on a photographic

material; a product of the

intensity (controlled by the

lens opening) and the

duration (controlled by the

shutter speed or enlarging

time) of light striking the

film or paper. The act of

allowing light to reach the

light-sensitive emulsion of

the photographic material or

a digital sensor.

EXPOSURE BRACKETING

Shooting the same subject

at a range of different

exposures. Some camera

provides Auto Exposure

Bracketing/Flash Exposure

Bracketing.

EXPOSURE COMPENSATION

Exposure compensation for

available light is activated by

changing the shutter speed

and/or lens aperture. This is

done by using AE L AF-L

(Auto Exposure/AutofocusLock) button or exposure

compensation button, or by

Auto Exposure Bracketing .

F

FLASH MEMORY CARD

A storage medium that uses

by most digital cameras. It

resembles film in

conventional photography.

We have an detailed article

relating to this.

FOCUS

Adjustment of the distance

setting on a lens to define

the subject sharply.

Generally, the act of

adjusting a lens to produce a

sharp image. In a camera,

this is effected by movingthe lens bodily towards or

away from the film or by

moving the front part of the

lens towards or away from

the rear part, thus altering

its focal length.

FOCUS RANGE

The range within which a

camera is able to focus on

the selected picture subject

- 4 feet to infinity - for

example.

FOREGROUND

The area between the

camera and the principal

subject.

FPS

Frames per second. Used to

describe how many frames

can the motor drive or

winder can handle

automatically on winding

per second consequently.

Also apply to areas like

video, animations, movie

cameras.

FREE WORKING DISTANCE In close-up photography, the

distance between the front

of the lens and the subject;

increases as the focal length

increases; important

consideration when

photographing shy or

dangerous subjects or when

using supplementary

illumination.

G – J

GHOST IMAGES

Bright spots of light, oftentaking the shape of the

aperture, which appear in

the camera viewfinder or in

the final photograph when a

lens is pointed at a bright

light like the sun;

controllable through the use

of multilayer coating of the

lens elements.

Grain. Minute metallic

silver deposit, forming in

quantity the photographic

image. The individual grain is

never visible, even in an

enlargement, but the

random nature of their

distribution in the emulsion

causes over-lapping, or

clumping, which can lead to

graininess in the final image.

Also cross check with below

for graininess.

GRAININESS

The sand-like or granular

appearance of a negative,

print, or slide. Graininess

becomes more pronounced

with faster film and the

degree of enlargement.

H

HIGH CONTRAST

A wide range of density in a

print or negative.

HIGHLIGHTS

Small, very bright part of

image or object. Highlights

should generally be pure

white, although the term is

sometimes used to describe

the lightest tones of a

picture, which, in that case,

may need to contain some

detail.

HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE

Distance of the nearest

object in a scene that is

acceptably sharp when the

lens is focused on infinity.

I

IMAGE

Two-dimensional

reproduction of a subject

formed by a lens. When

formed on a surface, i.e. a

ground-glass screen, it is a

real image; if in space, i.e.

when the screen is removed,

it is an aerial image. The

image seen through a

telescope optical viewfinder,etc. cannot be focused on a

surface without the aid of

another optical system and

is a virtual image.

INCIDENT LIGHT

Light falling on a surface as

opposed to the light

reflected by it.

INFINITY

Infinite distance. In practice,

a distance so great that any

object at that distance will

be reproduced sharply if the

lens is set at its infinity

position, i.e. one focal length

from the film.

INTERCHANGEABLE LENS

Lens designed to be readily

attached to and detached

from a camera.

ISO SPEED

The international standard

for representing film

sensitivity. The emulsion

speed (sensitivity) of the film

as determined by the

standards of the

International Standards

Organization. In these

standards, both arithmetic

(ASA) and logarithmic (DIN)

speed values are expressed

in a single ISO term. For

example, a film with a speed

of ISO 100/21° would have a

speed of ASA 100 or 21 DIN.

The higher the number, the

greater the sensitivity, and

vice versa. A film speed of

ISO 200 is twice as sensitive

as ISO 100, and half that of

ISO 400 film.

K - N

K

Kelvin. A scale use tomeasure the colour

temperature. 5000 K refer to

normal daylight.

LCD PANEL

An electronically generated

text, numeric & symbols.

Before the popularity of the

LCD, LED is the most

common method. LCD

consume only one fifth (1/5)

of the power of the LED and

thus have a wider

application in photographic

line. The only problem is, it'llturn dark at very high

temperature (will resume to

normal when cool down)

and it will fades in extended

time.

LENS

One or more pieces of

optical glass or similar

material designed to collect

and focus rays of light to

form a sharp image on the

film, paper, or projection

screen.


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11/13

LENS SHADE

A collar or hood at the front

of a lens that keeps

unwanted light from striking

the lens and causing image

flare. May be attached or

detachable, and should besized to the particular lens

to avoid vignetting.

LENS-SHUTTER CAMERA

A camera with the shutter

built into the lens; the

viewfinder and picture-

taking lens are separate.

LENS SPEED

The largest lens opening

(smallest f-number) at which

a lens can be set. A fast lens

transmits more light and has

a larger opening than a slow

lens. Determined by the

maximum aperture of the

lens in relation to its focal

length; the "speed" of a lens

is relative: a 400 mm lens

with a maximum aperture of

f/3.5 is considered

extremely fast, while a

28mm f/3.5 lens is thought

to be relatively slow.

LIGHTING RATIO

The ratio of the brightness

of light falling on the subject

from the main (key) light

and other (fill) lights. A ratioof about 3:1 is normal for

colour photography, greater

ratios may be used for effect

in black-and-white work

LUX

A measurement of the light

intensity. One Lux in video

means light level of a candle

light.

MACRO LENS

A lens that provides

continuous focusing from

infinity to extreme close-ups, often to a reproduction

ratio of 1:2 (half life-size) or

1:1 (life-size). Nikon's

version for their "macro" is

"micro", eg. 105mm F2.8

Micro-Nikkor.

MICRO LENS

A lens for close-up

photography; designed to

focus continuously from

infinity down to a

reproduction ratio of 1: 2, or

with a matched extension

ring or teleconverter down

to 1: 1; available in normal

or telephoto focal lengths to

provide a variety of free

working distances; with the

exception of Nikon, this type

of lens is called a "Micro

Nikkor" lens. Also see above,

Macro or Makro (Usually forGerman origin lenses)..

MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY

The process of taking

photographs of small objects

with regular photographic

lenses at reproduction ratios

of 1X or greater; also

referred to as

"photomacrography. "

O – P

OFF-THE-FILM METERING

A meter which determines

exposure by reading light

reflected from the film

during picture-taking or a

way of metering meters light

reflects off film plane during

exposure. First pioneered by

Olympus on its famous

OM2n, which is real time

metering for normal

exposure and flash

exposures. Most flash mode

for modern cameras are

with OTF flash mode now.

OVEREXPOSURE

A condition in which toomuch light reaches the film,

producing a dense negative

or a very bright/light print or

slide.

PANORAMA

A broad view, usually scenic.

PERSPECTIVE

The rendition of apparent

space in a flat photograph,

i.e., how far the foreground

and background appear to

be separated from each

other; determined by onlyone factor: the camera-to-

subject distance; if objects

appear in their normal size

relations, the perspective is

considered "normal"; if the

foreground objects are

much larger than the ones in

the background, the

perspective is considered

"exaggerated"; when there

is little difference in size

between foreground and

background, we say the

perspective looks

"compressed."

POSITIVE

The opposite of a negative,

an image with the same

tonal relationships as those

in the original scenes-for

example, a finished print or

a slide.

PRINT

A positive picture, usually on

paper, and usually produced

from a negative.

PRINTING FRAME

A device used for contact

printing that holds a

negative against the

photographic paper. The

paper is exposed by light

from an external light

source.

PROCESSING

Developing, fixing, and

washing exposed

photographic film or paper

to produce either a negative

image or a positive image.

PROGRAM EXPOSURE

An exposure mode on an

automatic or autofocus

camera that automatically

sets both the aperture and

the shutter speed for proper

exposure.

PROGRAMMED AUTO Camera sets both shutter

speed and aperture for

correct exposure.

Q – R

REFLECTOR

Any device used to reflect

light onto a subject to

improve balance of

exposure (contrast). Another

way is to use fill in flash.

RESOLUTION

The ability of a lens to

discern small detail; inphotography, the image

resolution in the final

photograph depends on the

resolving power of the

sensitive emulsion and on

that of the lensóthe two are

not related, but the effective

resolution is a function of

both; for reasonably

accurate photographic

measurements of lens

resolution, the sensitive

material must therefore

have a much greater

resolving power than the

lens.

RGB

The red, green & blue, the

black is simulated color.

CMYK is the four primary

colors.

S – T

SCALE

Focusing method consisting

of set of marks to indicate

distances at which a lens is

focused. May be engraved

around the lens barrel, on

the focusing control or on

the camera body.

SCREEN

In a camera. the surface

upon which the lens projects

an image for viewfinding

and, usually, focusing

purposes. In SLR cameras.

almost universally a fresnel

screen with a fine-ground

surface. Often incorporates

a microprism or split-image

rangefinder.

SELF-TIMER

Mechanism delaying the

opening of the shutter for

some seconds after the

release has been operated.

Also known as delayed

action.

SHUTTER

Blades, a curtain, plate, or

some other movable cover

in a camera that controls the

time during which light

reaches the film.

SHUTTER PRIORITY

An exposure mode on an

automatic or autofocus

camera that lets you select

the desired shutter speed;

the camera sets the

aperture for proper

exposure. If you change theshutter speed, or the light

level changes, the camera

adjusts the aperture

automatically.

SINGLE-LENS-REFLEX (SLR)

A type of camera that allows

you to see through the

camera's lens as you look in

the camera's viewfinder.

Other camera functions,

such as light metering and

flash control, also operate

through the camera's lens.


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12/13

SOFT LIGHTING

Lighting that is low or

moderate in contrast, such

as on an overcast day.

SYNCHRONISATION.

Concerted action of shutteropening and closing of

electrical contacts to fire a

flashbulb or electronic flash

at the correct moment to

make most efficient use of

the light output. Roughly

speaking, FP or M-

synchronization is

constructed to fire

flashbulbs just before the

shutter is fully open,

allowing a build-up time,

and X-synchronization fires

electronic flash exactly at

the moment the shutter is

fully open.

T

THROUGH-THE-LENS

FOCUSING

Viewing a scene to be

photographed through the

same lens that admits light

to the film. Through-the-lens

viewing, as in a single-lens-

reflex (SLR) camera, while

focusing and composing a

picture, eliminates parallax.

THROUGH-THE-LENS

METERING Meter built into the camera

determines exposure for the

scene by reading light that

passes through the lens

during picture-taking. Most

SLR cameras have built-in

meters which measure light

after it has passed through

the lens, a feature that

enables exposure readings

to be taken from the actual

image about to be recorded

on film, whatever the lens

angle of view and regardless

of whether a filter is used ornot.

TIME EXPOSURE

A comparatively long

exposure made in seconds

or minutes.

TINT

Shades of white in a finished

print, controlled by the color

of the paper, varying from

white to buff.

TLR

Twin lens reflex camera that

have separate viewing and

actual exposure lens. Rollei

still have one in production.

TONE

The degree of lightness or

darkness in any given area of

a print; also referred to asvalue. Cold tones (bluish)

and warm tones (reddish)

refer to the color of the

image in both black-and-

white and color

photographs.

TRIPOD

A three-legged supporting

stand used to hold the

camera steady. Especially

useful when using slow

shutter speeds and/or

telephoto lenses. Another is

the monopod, single leg

tripod.

U - Z

UNDEREXPOSURE

A condition in which too

little light reaches the film,

producing a thin negative, a

dark slide, or a muddy-

looking print.

UNIPOD

Also refer as monopod. A

one-legged support used to

hold the camera steady. Also

see "tripod".

UV

The ultra violet ray. This is

beyond the visible spectrum

i.e. it's invisible

electromagnetic radiation of

the sunlight. UV lenses are

very expensive.

VARIABLE FOCUS LENS.

Lens of which the focal

length can be continuously

varied between set limits.

The lens must be refocused

with each change in focallength.

VIEWFINDER.

Device or system indicating

the field of view

encompassed by the camera

lens. The term is sometimes

used as a description of the

type of camera that does

not use reflex or "straight-

through" viewing systems

and therefore has to have a

separate viewfinder.

ZOOM LENS

A lens in which you adjust

the focal length over a wide

range of focal lengths.

Substituting lenses of many

focal lengths. Zoom lenses

whose focal length is

continuously variable over a

certain range without achange in focus; its focal

length is changed by

operating a separate zoom

or a combination

focusing/zoom ring; difficult

type of lens to design and

manufacture.


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NOTES


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