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Photography Terms

Camera settings, composition ideas and photo words.

64 cardsGrades 6–8, Grades 9–12, Adult#photography#camera#exposure

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  • ApertureTerm
    The opening in a lens that lets light in
  • f-stopTerm
    A number describing the size of the aperture; smaller number means bigger opening
  • Shutter speedTerm
    How long the camera's shutter stays open
  • ISOTerm
    How sensitive the camera sensor is to light
  • ExposureTerm
    The amount of light that reaches the sensor
  • Exposure triangleTerm
    The balance of aperture, shutter speed and ISO
  • OverexposedTerm
    Too much light, picture too bright
  • UnderexposedTerm
    Too little light, picture too dark
  • Depth of fieldTerm
    How much of the picture is in sharp focus from near to far
  • Shallow depth of fieldTerm
    Only a small part is sharp, background blurry; made with wide aperture
  • Deep depth of fieldTerm
    Most of the picture is sharp; made with small aperture
  • BokehTerm
    The soft blur of out-of-focus lights in the background
  • FocusTerm
    Making the subject look sharp
  • AutofocusTerm
    The camera chooses focus automatically
  • Focal lengthTerm
    Distance from lens to sensor in millimeters, deciding how zoomed in the view is
  • Wide-angle lensTerm
    Lens that captures a wide scene
  • Telephoto lensTerm
    Lens that brings faraway subjects closer
  • Zoom lensTerm
    A lens with a changeable focal length
  • Macro lensTerm
    Lens for extreme close-ups of small things
  • Fisheye lensTerm
    An ultra-wide lens that bends the picture into a bubble look
  • Fast shutter speedTerm
    Freezes motion
  • Slow shutter speedTerm
    Blurs motion and lets in more light
  • Motion blurTerm
    Streaks caused by movement during exposure
  • PanningTerm
    Moving the camera with a moving subject to blur the background
  • Long exposureTerm
    A slow shutter for light trails or smooth water
  • White balanceTerm
    Adjusting colors so white looks white under different lights
  • FlashTerm
    A burst of light to brighten a scene
  • Natural lightTerm
    Light from the sun
  • Golden hourTerm
    Time just after sunrise or before sunset with warm, soft light
  • Blue hourTerm
    Time just before sunrise or after sunset with deep blue light
  • BacklightTerm
    Light coming from behind the subject
  • SilhouetteTerm
    A dark shape of a subject against a bright background
  • TripodTerm
    A three-legged stand that keeps a camera steady
  • ViewfinderTerm
    The window you look through to frame the picture
  • SensorTerm
    The part of a digital camera that records light
  • MegapixelTerm
    One million pixels, a measure of picture detail
  • PixelTerm
    One tiny dot of a digital image
  • ResolutionTerm
    The amount of detail in an image
  • RAWTerm
    An unprocessed image file with lots of data
  • JPEGTerm
    A common compressed image file format
  • DSLRTerm
    A digital camera with a mirror and viewfinder (single-lens reflex)
  • Mirrorless cameraTerm
    A digital camera without a mirror box
  • CompositionTerm
    How things are arranged in the frame
  • Rule of thirdsTerm
    Placing the subject along lines splitting the frame in thirds
  • Leading linesTerm
    Lines in a scene that lead the eye to the subject
  • FramingTerm
    Using objects in the scene to make a frame around the subject
  • SymmetryTerm
    Matching halves in a photo
  • Close-upTerm
    A picture taken near the subject
  • Wide shotTerm
    A picture showing the whole scene
  • Portrait orientationTerm
    Taller than wide
  • Landscape orientationTerm
    Wider than tall
  • Aspect ratioTerm
    The width compared to the height of a picture
  • CropTerm
    Cut away the edges of a picture
  • Contrast (photo)Term
    The difference between light and dark areas
  • Saturation (photo)Term
    How strong the colors are
  • Candid photoTerm
    A natural photo of someone who is not posing
  • SelfieTerm
    A photo you take of yourself
  • PhotojournalismTerm
    Telling news stories with photographs
  • DaguerreotypeTerm
    An early photograph on a metal plate from 1839
  • Camera obscuraTerm
    A dark room or box with a tiny hole that projects an image
  • Ansel AdamsTerm
    American photographer famous for black and white landscapes of Yosemite
  • Dorothea LangeTerm
    American photographer who took Migrant Mother in 1936
  • Instant cameraTerm
    A camera that prints the photo right away
  • Black and white photographyTerm
    Photos with no color, only shades of gray

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