Glossary

Reportage Photography - A technique where you document something that is happening through the use of images.

Constructed Photography - Plan/form before you shoot a specific image in order to portray a specific concept or narrative.

Pixel - The physical point in an image or the smallest addressable/recognisable element, the smallest controllable element of a picture represented on the screen/image.

Film Grain - the optical texture of processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles.

ISO - The measurement of how sensitive a digital cameras sensor is to the light.  The lower the ISO number the slower the response to light.

Aperture - The size of the diaphgram opening in a lens regulates the amount of light that passes through onto the film, measured in f-numbers.

F-number - The numbers that the size of the lens aperture opening.  The standard scale is f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, and f/22. The larger the f-number, the smaller the lens opening. f/22 is the smallest number.

Shutter Speed - The length of time the shutter is open and the amount of light that reaches the film.

Raw Image - A file of an image that contains minimal processed data from a digital camera.  Therefore allowing you to alter the properties of the image in post production.

Artificial Light - A source of light that does not come from a natural source, generally coming from flash lighting or constant lighting.

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Chiaroscuro - The use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts.

Macro Photography - Extreme close up photography, making the size of a very small object appear much larger.

Macro lens - Lens providing continual focus to extreme close ups

Depth of Field - A range of items in focus in an image.  A large or wide aperture gives a shallow depth of field (with not much in focus) and a wider/larger aperture gives a large depth of field (much more in focus).

Exposure - The amount of light that hits the image sensor of film which is controlled by the aperture and shutter speed.

Light meter - A device used to measure the amount of light, to determine the correct exposure for a photograph.

Overexposure - When too much light reaches the film, producing a very bright or light side of the image.

Cyanotype - a printing process that produces a cyan-blue print using two chemicals - Ferric Ammonium Citrate and Potassium Ferricyanide.

Tungsten Light - Light from regular room lamps and ceiling fixtures, not fluorescent. Images produced under this light source can be extremely warm.

UV - Ultra violet ray. This is beyond the visible spectrum, it's invisible electromagnetic radiation of the sunlight.


Available light - Natural lighting, the light that is already on the scene, such as moonlight or sunlight.