A toucan peers out of its nest and seems ready to take flight at any moment. I wait eagerly in the hide, my finger on the shutter button, determined not to miss the moment when it flies out and spreads its wings. Cut to an hour later. I blink, I...
Camera Terminology Tag Archive
What is Coma?
Coma, also known as "comatic aberration", is a type of optical aberration that results in off-axis points of light appearing comet-shaped. As light rays from the edges of the frame pass through various parts of a spherical surface, they vary in magnification, creating a series of asymmetrical circular shapes of...
The Myth of “Exposing to The Left”
You are probably familiar with the Exposing to the Right (ETTR) technique, where an image is intentionally captured as bright as possible in order to maximize the potential of a digital camera sensor. I recently came across some forum posts and articles on other resources that talk about Exposing to...
50 Photography Terms You Need to Know
In this article, I will introduce some of the most important photography terminology that every photographer should know, beginner or advanced. There are 50 terms at the moment, but this is an ongoing glossary, and we will be adding more words over time.
Understanding Aspect Ratios in Photography
In photography, aspect ratio is a fundamental concept that can influence the way we frame and compose our images. Although it might sound confusing for beginners at first, it is a relatively simple subject to understand. In this article, we will explore aspect ratios in detail and explain everything you need to know.
Understanding Aperture Priority Mode in Photography
Aperture priority mode is critically useful, but a lot of photographers, advanced or not, don’t fully understand its potential. I personally use it almost all the time, for everything from wildlife to landscape photography. It usually provides optimal results more quickly than Manual can.
Camera Lens Mounts Explained
With practically all camera manufacturers having launched several different camera systems, there seems to be quite a bit of confusion among photographers in regards to camera lens mounts. This is especially true for things like "throat size" and "inner diameter", where different measurements are used to wrongly quantify a mount's...
ISO Invariance Explained
ISO invariance is one of the most talked-about topics in photography today, yet most people don’t really understand what it is. That isn’t a surprise; ISO invariance can be very technical and counter-intuitive, and it doesn’t fit well with many photographers’ general understanding of ISO. However, ISO invariance is an...
Understanding Lens Flare
When light rays coming from a bright source(s) of light (such as the sun or artificial light) directly reach the front element of a camera lens, they can reflect and bounce off different lens elements, diaphragm and even off the sensor, potentially degrading image quality and creating unwanted objects in...
What is Vignetting?
Vignetting, also known as "light fall-off" (sometimes spelled "light falloff") is common in optics and photography, which in simple terms means darkening of image corners when compared to the center. Vignetting is either caused by optics, or is purposefully added in post-processing in order to draw the viewer's eye away...