Unit 57 Terminology
- 1. Unit 57: Photography and Photographic Practice Terminology (P1, P2, M1, M2) Term Explanation of term e.g. what Examples it is used for / the effect it has on your images Shutter Speed In photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a camera's shutter is open. The total exposure is proportional to this exposure time, or duration of light reaching the film or image sensor. ISO An ISO image (International Organization for Standardization) is an archive file (also known as a disk image) of an optical disc, composed of the data contents of every written sector of an optical disc, including the optical disc file system. ISO images can be created from optical discs or from a collection of files by image creation software; images can be used to write optical discs. Software
- 2. distributed on bootable discs is often available for download in ISO image format, and used to write a CD or DVD. ISO image files often have a file extension of .iso. The name ISO is taken from the ISO 9660 file system used with CD-ROM media, but what is known as an ISO image might also contain a UDF (ISO/IEC 13346) file system or a DVD or Blu-ray Disc (BD) image. Aperture & Depth of field (F stop) In optics an aperture is a hole or an opening in which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.
- 3. Automatic Exposure A camera in automatic exposure (abbreviation: AE) mode automatically calculates and adjusts exposure settings to match (as closely as possible) the subject's mid-tone to the mid-tone of the photograph. For most cameras this means using an on-board TTL exposure meter. Manual Exposure In manual mode, the photographer adjusts the lens aperture and/or shutter speed to achieve the desired exposure. Many photographers choose to control aperture and shutter independently because opening up the aperture increases exposure, but also decreases the depth of field, and a slower shutter increases exposure but also increases the opportunity for motion blur.
- 4. Colour Balance In photography and image processing, color balance is the global adjustment of the intensities of the colors (typically red, green, and blue primary colors). An important goal of this adjustment is to render specific colors – particularly neutral colors – correctly; hence, the general method is sometimes called gray balance, neutral balance, or white balance. Color balance changes the overall mixture of colors in an image and is used for color correction; generalized versions of color balance are used to get colors other than neutrals to also appear correct or pleasing.
- 5. Composition In the visual arts – in particular painting, graphic design, photography and sculpture – composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art or a photograph, as distinct from the subject of a work. It can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art
- 6. Rule of thirds The rule of thirds is a "rule of thumb" or guideline which applies to the process of composing visual images such as paintings, photographs and designs. The guideline proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally- spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections. Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.
- 7. Complementary Colours Complementary colors are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel, such as blue and orange, red and green, purple and yellow. Complementary color schemes have a more energetic feel. The high contrast between the colors creates a vibrant look, especially when used at full saturation. Complementary colors can be tricky to use in large doses
- 8. Analogous colours Analogous colours are colors that are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel. Some examples are green, yellow green, and yellow or red, red violet and violet. Analogous colour schemes are often found in nature and are pleasing to the eye. The combination of these colours gives a bright effect in the area, and are able to accommodate many changing moods. When using the analogous colour scheme, one should make sure there is one hue as the main colour
- 9. Macro Macro photography is extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects, in which the size of the subject in the photograph is greater than life size (though macrophotography technically refers to the art of making very large photographs). By some definitions, a macro photograph is one in which the size of the subject on the negative or image sensor is life size or greater. However in other uses it refers to a finished photograph of a subject at greater than life size