PHOTOGRAPHIC VOCABULARY

VOCABULARY IN PHOTOGRAPHY

Punctuation

. Full stops-A full stop shows that you have finished a sentence.

? Question marks-A question mark is used to show when someone has asked a question.

! Exclamation marks-An exclamation mark is used to show when something is surprising or forceful.

, Commas-Separating items in lists or clauses in a complex sentence.

“ Inverted commas-Use inverted commas around something someone has said.

‘ Apostrophes–Shows belong or missing letters like don’t and can’t

; Semicolon-Joins together two clauses that could each be separate sentences.

: Colon-used to provide a pause before introducing related information

SPECIALIST VOCABULARY:

Instead of using the same word, like TONE in your writing, swap that out for words that mean the same thing - see below:

PATTERN:

Decorative, rhythmic, applied, repeating, random, varied, regular, simple, man made, natural, positive, bold, loose, kinetic, geometric, mechanical, organic, cross hatching, dots, dashes, lines, stripes, circles, squares, motifs, symbols.

TONE:

Dense, dark, light, mid, hatched, blended, graduated, smudged, smooth, textured, rough, translucent, soft, subtle, gradual, half tone, mid tone, shadow, highlight, monotone, shade, deep, hue, graded, moody, sombre.


LINE:

Straight, curvy, vertical, horizontal, dense, diagonal, zig zag, meandering, sensitive, uneven, transparent, hatched, simple, cross hatched, disturbed, detailed

COMPOSITION:

Focal point, perspective, height, balanced, symmetrical, asymmetrical, height, depth, compose, organise, create, place, layered, central, rule of thirds, contrast, busy, thumbnail, overlapping, harmonious, arrangement.

SHAPE/FORM:

Solid, geometric, regular, irregular, positive, negative, organic, natural, man made, rounded, circular, oval, triangular, symmetrical, asymmetrical, 2D, 3D, scale, twisted, convex, concave, scale, imposing, bold, silhouette, relief, figure, outline, oval, square.

SPACE:

Relationship, special, gaps, positive, negative, line, foreground, midground, background, perspective, focal point, lead in, vanishing point, distance, illusion, adjacent.

COLOUR:

Bright, dull, strong, bold, subtle, vivid, vibrant, light, dark, deep, contrasting, hue, tint, shade, spectrum, rainbow, palette, colour-scheme, complementary, warm, rich, cool, soft, pale, hard, pastel, primary, secondary, tertiary, neutral, balanced, harmonious, opposite, muted, symbolic, limited, monochrome, faded, varied.

Tier 2 & 3 Words:

If you are looking to gain the highest marks from your annotations, research and evaluations - be sure to include as many Tier 2 and 3 words as possible. Below are a list of some of the more common words and their meanings you might want to include:

Tier 2 Words:

  1. Aperture - the size of the opening in a camera's lens that allows light to pass through

  2. Composition - the arrangement of elements in a photograph

  3. Exposure - the amount of light that a camera's film or image sensor receives during a photograph

  4. Focal length - the distance between the centre of a camera's lens and the film or image sensor, which determines the magnification of the image

  5. ISO - a measure of a camera's sensitivity to light

  6. Shutter speed - the amount of time that the camera's shutter is open during a photograph

  7. White balance - the process of adjusting the colours in a photograph to match the colours of the scene being photographed

  8. Depth of field - the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a photograph that are in focus

  9. Focus - the sharpness of an image or the part of the image that is in the sharpest focus

  10. Foreground - the part of a photograph that is closest to the camera

  11. Background - the part of a photograph that is furthest from the camera

  12. Middle ground - the part of a photograph that is between the foreground and the background

  13. Angle - the position from which the photograph is taken, such as from above, below, or from the side

  14. Lens - the transparent glass or plastic part of a camera that focuses light onto the film or image sensor

  15. Filter - a piece of glass or plastic placed in front of a camera's lens to change the way that light enters the camera

  16. Flash - a device that produces a burst of light to illuminate a scene being photographed

  17. Natural light - light from the sun or other sources that is not artificially produced

  18. Studio light - artificial light produced by a light source, such as a lamp or flash

  19. Reflector - a device used to reflect light onto a subject, such as a piece of white cardboard or a metallic surface

  20. Tripod - a three-legged stand used to hold a camera steady during a photograph.


Tier 3 Words:

  1. Aspect ratio - the ratio of the width to the height of a photograph

  2. Bokeh - the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus areas of a photograph

  3. Chromatic aberration - the distortion of an image caused by the lens failing to focus all colours of light to the same point

  4. Dynamic range - the range of tones that a camera can capture, from the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights

  5. F-stop - the measure of the size of the aperture in a camera's lens

  6. Histogram - a graph that shows the distribution of tones in a photograph

  7. Hyperfocal distance - the distance at which the lens must be focused to ensure that objects at all distances are in focus

  8. Megapixel - a unit of measurement for the resolution of an image sensor or digital photograph, equal to one million pixels

  9. Noise - a random speckling pattern in a digital photograph caused by the image sensor or electronic processing

  10. Optic - relating to the eye or the science of light and vision

  11. Panning - the technique of following a moving subject with the camera to create a sense of motion in the photograph

  12. Perspective distortion - the alteration of the apparent size or shape of an object due to the distance from the camera

  13. Pixel - a tiny dot of light that makes up a digital image

  14. Prime lens - a camera lens with a fixed focal length, rather than a zoom lens

  15. Resolution - the sharpness or detail of a photograph, measured in pixels

  16. Sensor - the electronic component in a digital camera that captures the image

  17. Tilt-shift lens - a lens that allows the photographer to manipulate the plane of focus in a photograph

  18. Viewfinder - the device on a camera that allows the photographer to frame the photograph through the lens

  19. Wide-angle lens - a lens with a short focal length that allows the photographer to capture a wide field of view

  20. Zoom lens - a lens that allows the photographer to change the magnification of the image by adjusting the focal length.


FUNDAMENTALS OF PHOTOGRAPHY:

These are really important elements that you should be talking about as much, and as often as you can in your written work - if you need reminding to what they mean, click on the title below the picture and it will take you to a website that explains it all in detail.

Aperture

Shutter Speed

ISO

Focus

Exposure

Silhouette

Lighting

Viewpoint/Camera angle

Composition

Subject Matter

Depth of Field