What do all the terms mean?

If you are anything like me you will have heard terms being thrown in photography circles that have absolutely no meaning to you at all, but rather then look like a complete fool, you smile sweetly and hope no one notices you aren't contributing to the conversation.

Now I totally advocate listening and absorbing as a way of learning, but hell it is nice to know what your teacher is talking about :-) so in the interest of demystifying some of the most commonly used photographic terms here goes.

SLR camera: Single Lens Reflex Camera - lots of fancy definitions, but it is basically a camera which will take interchangeable lenses.

DSLR: Digital version of the above.

Candid Photographs: Unposed photographs which are often taken without the subjects knowledge.

Shutter speed: The rate at which the shutter opens and closes to allow sufficient light in to correctly expose the photograph...the less light there is the slower this speed will need to be.

Aperture: Very basically, when the shutter opens the aperture will determine how wide the opening is. Always measured in f.stops.

Cropping: When unnecessary background is removed from the photograph - generally occurs in post production and should only be used to enhance the composition. Very close cropping is in vogue at the moment in portrait photography.

Fill Flash: Using your flash to supplement the natural available light and fill in the subject’s shadow area with light in order to reduce contrast. Worth using a fill flash when photographing outside in harsh light.

Contast: The difference between the light and dark areas of a photograph

Backlighting: When the subject is lit from behind...this can result in a warm light on the subject if set at a 45 degree angle, especially effective with sunlight on hair, or a total silhouette which is stunning in landscapes.

Macro photography: Extremely close up photographs normally of plants and insects where the subject is depicted larger then in life. Requires a macro lens which will allow you to focus extremely close up.

Autofocus: Allows the camera to automatically focus on the subject without requiring you to do it manually. It is possible to use all other functions on the camera manually while still having the autofocus on.

Subject: The focus point of the photograph.

Composition: How you arrange the elements in the photograph to draw the viewers eye to the subject.

Exposure: Again very very basically this is how light or dark your photograph appears. Underexposed will mean your photography appears dark and overexposed means your photograph will be very light with white areas "blown out"

ISO: This used to indicate the speed of the film and is still used today by your camera to determine how to behave in certain light conditions. The optimal ISO to shoot on would be ISO100 but in poor lighting conditions you camera may go as high as ISO800. The higher the ISO the more grainy your picture will appear.

Pixel: Think of a pixel as a single small tile in a large mosaic, it determines the resolution of the photograph and is particularly important when cropping or printing a photo. Photographs for print should ALWAYS be at 300ppi or dpi but 72ppi or dpi is sufficient for the Internet.

Portrait and Landscape: These terms generally refer to the orientation of the photograph i.e. A portrait photograph is vertical whilst a landscape photograph is horizontal, not be confused with photographs of portraits and landscapes.

This list is by no means exhaustive and if there is a term you have come across and don't know the meaning of, remember no question is a stupid question so ask away in the comment section and I will find the answer.