Glossary

Angle of view- The area of a scene that a lens covers or sees. It is determined by the focal length of the lens. A wide angle lens (short focal length) includes more of the scene- a wider angle of view- than a normal (normal focal length) or telephoto (long focal-length).

Colour negative- When shooting in colour film, the negative will show exact opposites of the original colour. When printed to photographic paper, the negative becomes a positive and shows in full colour on the print.

Composition – Putting together various visual elements to create a unique organization or grouping to achieve a unified image or photograph.

Depth of Field – The area between the nearest and furthest objects that appear to be in focus. This technique is controlled by the aperture of a camera lens.

Exposure – The amount of light that is allowed to hit photo film or photo paper, creating an image on the respective source.

Film Speed – The number given to various films to describe how fast the film can capture an image when exposed to light. This number is most commonly referred to as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) film speed.

Focal Length – The distance between the point of focus and the film plane when the lens is focused at infinity. Lenses generally have the focal length engraved on the front of the lens and is expressed in millimetres.

Grain – Fine silver crystals in the light-sensitive emulsion of film that react when exposed to light and turn black. The slower the film speed the finer the grain and the faster the film speed the more present the grain. Larger film formats can be enlarged without much grain is noticed whereas 35mm formats may see noticeable grain beyond an 8 x 10 inch print.

Lens – The lens is a combination of pieces of glass with curved surfaces that receive light rays from an object and are able to form an image on the focal plane. A lens may have variable vocal lengths for zooming, macro, or wide angle shots.

Reflex Camera – A camera with a mirror directly behind the lens that captures the image and reflects the image to a viewing screen.

Parallax Error – An instance where the camera lens and viewfinder do not see the exact same frame, causing the photographer to compensate for the offset. Close-up photography suffers heavily from the parallax error as it makes it difficult to compensate and focus correctly. Problematic for viewfinder cameras or twin-lens reflex cameras.

Single-Lens Reflex – A camera with a single lens that is used for viewing and capturing the image. The image is reflected with a moveable mirror in the camera body that allows the photographer to see directly through the lens. The mirror flips up when the shutter is opened to allow light to expose the film.

Viewfinder – The viewing device on the camera that allows the photographer to see the approximate or exact view of the camera’s lens. Only single-lens reflex cameras give the user the ability to see exactly what the camera sees.

Zone System – An exposure method developed by photographer Ansel Adams for determining optimal exposure and development for each negative.

Latent image- The invisible image left by the action of light on photographic film or paper. The light changes the photosensitive salts to varying degrees depending on the amount of light striking them. When processed, this latent image will become a visible image either in reversed tones (negative) or in positive tones (colour slide).