Name: ______________________________

Photography Terms
Research what each of these terms mean, and what controls they
are on your camera, if they are.
Give a brief description, when best each is used, and what/where
it is located on your camera if possible in your answers.
1. Aperture: defines the size of the opening in the
lens that can be adjusted to control the amount of
light reaching the film
2. Motion: the apparent streaking of rapidly moving
objects in a still image
3. Depth of Field: the distance between the closest
and farthest objects in a scene that appear sharp in
an image
4. Shutter Speed: controls the total amount of light
reaching the sensors
5. Rule of Thirds: In the rule of thirds, photos are divided into thirds
with two imaginary lines vertically and two lines horizontally making three
columns, three rows, and nine sections in the images. Important
compositional elements and leading lines are placed on or near the
imaginary lines and where the lines intersect.

6. Exposure: amount of light per unit area reaching

the film
7. Composition: arrangement or alignment of visual
elements
8. Focal Length: the distance in mm from the optical
center of the lens to the focal point
9. SLR: SLR cameras use a mirror between the lens
and the film to provide a focus screen
10.
Auto Focus: a setting on a camera where it
automatically focuses on the subject in the center of
the viewfinder
11.
Back Lighting: when a light is placed behind
or a right angles to the subject to produce effects of
depth or separation

Name: ______________________________

12.
Balance: capturing an image so that all
angels have equal weight
13.
Contrast: difference in light or colour that
makes an object distinguishable
14.
F-stop: measurement of the aperture setting
in a camera lens
15.
ISO Speed: how sensitive the camera is to
incoming light