Making sense of photography jargon.

Aperture
The opening that controls the light coming through the lens measured in f stops f2.8 lets in lots of light f22 allows less light but a greater depth of field.

Backlight control
The compensation through exposure when the subject is lit from behind by the sun for example.

B&W
Black and white.

Compact flash
Memory card used in digital cameras.

Compression
Data is compressed or squashed through TIFF for example to reduce transmission time.

Depth of field
The area in front of and behind the focused point that is sharp. A portrait shot for example would be shallow and a landscape shot would have a greater depth of field.

Exposure
The amount of light falling on the film or digital cameras charged coupled device CCD.

f-stop or f-number
See aperture.

Fixed lens

The best and most expensive type of lens with a fixed focal length.

Infinity

The furthest distance a lens can focus on.

JPEG

A file format that stores digital images JPEG reduces file sizes at the cost of finer image detail.

LCD

Liquid Crystal display found on the back of most digital cameras.

Macro

Macro lenses can focus close to chosen subjects insects and flowers for example.

Mega pixel
Equals one million pixels so 6 mega pixels is six million pixels the size of a cameras resolution.

Ram

Computer memory.

Shutter lag or delay
The delay that takes place between pressing the shutter and the photograph being taken.

Shutter release

The button that activates the shutter when pressed.

Shutter speed
The time in which the film or CCD is exposed.

Telephoto lens

Lens that will make the subject seem larger and closer.

White balance

Digital cameras will adjust to ensure the colour is captured correctly.

Wide angle lens

Allows a wider scene to fit into a photo.

Zoom lens

Variable focal length will enable you to zoom in or out.

This list is not exhaustive but we hope it helps.