To be a professional photographer, you need to learn a few skills that you may imbibe through a few courses and programs. If you are planning to pursue photography as a hobby , you need not be equipped with these terms. But if you wish to take it up as a profession, there is a lot you need to yet know. It seems like a very tough job and involves a lot of technical terms. The first step towards photography is to learn the terms, definitions associated. These are just a guide to improve your quality of working . Here are a few terms that a beginner should be equipped to:-
- Aperture
The aperture stop in photography helps control the amount of light that reaches the film. Jest like the iris in your eye contracts and expands everytime you move in and out of light, so does the aperture. This has a great effect on exposure and improves the quality of photos. It creates an octogonal shape. It is referred to as the “pupil” of your lens. It is named in F stops . The lower the F stop , the more the opening of the aperture.
- Depth
The depth nor field is the distance about the plane of focus where objects appear sharp in an image. Refers to how much of an image is in focus. This gives the viewer a feeling that they are a part of the image. A large DOF is called a deep focus and a smaller one is called a shadow focus . If we distinguish between a portrait it leaves a soft unfocused background, while a landscape leaves more image in focus. DOF can be increased by stopping the lens down to small aperture. And opening the lens will narrow the DOF.
- Exposure
Exposure is a combination of light passing through the aperture and duration of exposure . Getting a proper photo is balancing these three settings. And the act is known as “ The Exposure triangle/ Value” , for a given setting. It is basically the light striking the surface of the film. A dark photo b will be referred b to as underexposed , but a light one would be overexposed . An automatic one will be handy , but it limits your creative ability to a beautiful picture.
- Focus
Just like , while watching an object, you use your eyes to focus b. While you do this the rest of the surrounding feels blur. Similarly, the focus mode , only focuses on the object and does not sharpen the rest. The position at which rays of light from a lens converge to form back clear and sharp defined image on a focal place. This takes tremendous light b, using the lens. An autofocus is the power- focus , an automatic mini motor that helps focus the lens for you.
- Shutter speed/release
The shutter speed opens and closes letting light in and taking a picture. It determines how long back shutter can stay open. The longer it stays , the more light it lets in. If an object moves when the shutter is open, the image will be blur. Shutter speed images therefore, need to be taken using a tripod stand. In most cases, will be using a shutter speed of 1/60 the of a second or faster. Shutter release on the other hand refers to the button you use to press , in order to point and capture a picture
