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Intro to Photography > Basic Vocab > Flashcards

Basic Vocab Flashcards

1
Q

ambient light

A

the available light on location before the photographer adds any flash or additional lighting

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2
Q

aperture

A

the part of the camera that opens to let light in

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3
Q

Aperture Priority

A

a camera mode that allows the photographer to set a specific aperture or f-stop, and the camera will automatically choose a shutter speed and ISO to match; useful for keeping a specific depth of field

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4
Q

f-stop/f-number

A

a measurement of how much light your lens is letting in through the aperture

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5
Q

autofocus points

A

the tiny dots or squares you see when you look through the viewfinder; sometimes customizable

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6
Q

bokeh

A

the intentionally blurry, out-of-focus areas of a picture; popular on portraits

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7
Q

foreground

A

the part or section of the frame closest to the camera’s lens; might include the subject or draw attention to the subject

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8
Q

middle ground

A

the area between foreground and background; not all photos have all three elements

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9
Q

background

A

the farthest part of the scene from the camera

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10
Q

burning

A

to selectively make parts of a photo darker

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11
Q

dodging

A

to selectively make parts of a photo lighter

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12
Q

composition

A

the entire picture’s content; encompasses what’s in the image, what’s not in it, angle of view, focal length, desired look, etc.

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13
Q

shutter speed

A

how long the camera’s shutter is open and the sensors inside are exposed to light; high speeds are good for moving subjects, low speeds are good for night or landscapes

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14
Q

ISO

A

how sensitive the camera is to light; a higher ISO will be more sensitive and photos will generally be brighter

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15
Q

Depth of Field (DOF)

A

the difference between the closest and farthest in-focus objects in a photo; a shallow DOF means that relatively close background objects become blurry, while while a deep DOF means that faraway background objects are still in focus.

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16
Q

white balance

A

making colors look more natural; color temperature can distort the appearance of color

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17
Q

Kelvin

A

unit of measurement for degrees of white ; bright sunlight is about 5000K, artificial fluorescent light is about 2700K; used to set white balance

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18
Q

exposure

A

the total amount of light that hits the sensor for one frame or shot; determined by the exposure triangle settings (ISO, aperture and shutter speed)

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19
Q

focal length

A

the optical distance (usually in mm) from the point where the light meets inside the lens to the camera’s sensor

20
Q

Prime (Fixed) Focal Length

A

a lens with a fixed zoom; i.e., 20 mm, 35 mm, 50mm

21
Q

hyperfocal distance

A

the focusing point at which your photo will have the most depth of field; depends on several variables

22
Q

Rule of Thirds

A

a composition guideline that places your subject in the left or right third of an image, leaving the other two thirds open

23
Q

historgram

A

a graph that shows where all the data for your picture is located on a spectrum of very bright (on the right) to very dark (on the left); a mountain is good, a valley means a lot of bright and dark areas

24
Q

RAW format

A

unprocessed data; have not been compressed or altered

25
Q

JPEG/JPG

A

standard image format; good for smaller files

26
Q

aspect ratio

A

an image’s ratio of width and height; common - 3:2, 4:3 (most smartphones)

27
Q

metering

A

the process where the camera evaluates the amount of reflected light in a scene and calculates what it thinks to be the correct exposure

28
Q

shutter

A

a very tiny door or curtain that opens and closes to let light in

29
Q

Shutter Priority

A

a shooting mode that allows you to select a shutter speed and let your camera figure out other parameters like ISO and aperture

30
Q

SOOC

A

“Straight Out Of Camera”; pictures that haven’t been edited

31
Q

subject

A

the main focus point of the image and what the photo is about

32
Q

Inverse Square Law

A

light intensity decreases as distance from a light source increases

33
Q

noise

A

splotches and funny patterns in your images

34
Q

dynamic range

A

the difference between the brightest parts and the darkest parts of an image or scene; constrast range

35
Q

lens flare

A

stray light that is hitting the front element of your lens; shows up as unclear spots or streaks of light

36
Q

macro photography

A

making small objects like bugs, insects, or flower petals look huge by letting you get very close to them

37
Q

chromatic aberration

A

when different colors of light behave strangely due to lens construction; produces purple or green fringes along the edges of objects or blurry areas near the edge of the frame

38
Q

crop sensor

A

a sensor that is smaller than 35 mm film; usually about 22x15 mm

39
Q

full frame

A

a sensor that is the same size as 35 mm film; more expensive, but have better image quality

40
Q

exposure compensation

A

can be used to adjust the exposure; adjusting it to negative values will make subsequent photos darker, and vice versa; has to be manually switched off

41
Q

DSLR

A

Digital Single-Lens Reflex; any camera with a flip-up mirror inside the camera body used to redirect the light coming through the lens up through a prism to the viewfinder

42
Q

mirrorless camera

A

a camera without the flip-up mirror for a viewfinder

43
Q

megapixels

A

the resolution of a digital sensor or the number of individual dots (pixels)that make up a digital picture

44
Q

Program Mode

A

a mode where the camera selects a few values of aperture, shutter, and ISO that it thinks would work well for a good exposure, then you can override them by turning a knob or dial

45
Q

sensor

A

a small, flat microchip that collects the light coming through the lens

Intro to Photography (1 decks)

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