A Beginner’s guide to photographic terms Part 2

In Master Photography Roundtable by Brent BerghermLeave a Comment

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Today’s show starts out with some fireworks photo tips. It’s our Nation’s birthday and we celebrate by exploding fake bombs in the air in reference to our National Anthem. After a few minutes on this topic we dive into the remainder of our photo terms for beginners.

Let’s get into today’s main topic. Defining photography jargon. I’ve written down some starting points here to get us started, but I really like having the three of us on to each provide our own perspective. Also, these are in no particular order.

  1. Chimping (Levi)
    1. Reviewing each shot on your camera LCD screen and saying “ooh, ooh, I got it!” every time, or more often than necessary.
  2. Workflow (Jenna)
    1. A photographer’s preferred routine for loading images and processing them in their image editor.
  3. Radio Trigger (a.k.a. Slave unit, Levi)
    1. A device used to communicate to an off camera flash allowing it to fire during your exposure. It uses a radio signal which doesn’t require a line of sight like optical triggers require.
  4. “Fast” Lens
    1. Any lens with a maximum aperture of 2.8 or larger. Called “fast” because it allows for the use of faster shutter speeds as compared to other lenses with smaller maximum apertures.
  5. Depth-of-Field
    1. Range of acceptably sharp focus.
  6. Hyperfocal Distance
    1. The point where you place the focus ring to allow for maximum depth-of-field in your scene, from infinity to whatever it calculates to be depending on lens factors such as focal length and aperture.
  7. Quality of Light
    1. Usually refers to the nature of the light, harsh or soft, specular or diffuse.
  8. Bayer Pattern
    1. The array of color filters placed on photo sites on the camera sensor. Each row is alternating colors, red green red green and so on. The next row is green blue green blue and so on. 
    2. Invented by Bryce Bayer, a Kodak employee, in 1974. He was researching ways to figure out how to capture color in a two-dimensional array of color-blind sensors.
  9. Sync Speed
    1. The shutter speed needed to fully capture the flash exposure in the entire frame. Any faster and you’ll only have part of your frame exposed during the flash.
    2. Slow Mo Guys video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmjeCchGRQo
  10. Rear-curtain sync
    1. When using a slow shutter speed and the flash goes off at the end of the exposure.
  11. Front-curtain sync
    1. When using a really slow shutter speed but the flash fires at the beginning of the exposure.
  12. Drag the shutter
    1. Another way of saying you’re using a slower shutter speed, relative to the subject you’re shooting.
  13. Panning
    1. Using a slower shutter speed on a moving subject. You track the subject rendering it sharply while blurring the background.

Doodads

Brent: X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Photo 2 ($119) For perfect color in camera.

Jenna: YONGNUO RF-602/C 2.4GHz Wireless Remote Control.

Levi: new lensbaby 

Reminders:

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