Glossary of Digital Photography Terms – Part 1

Aperture of the lens – adjustment of the “iris”, which controls the amount of light entering the lens.
Auto-focus – the selection of a point in the imaging frame upon which the auto-focus system will attempt to focus.
Depth of field (DOF) – is the distance in front of and beyond the subject that appears to be in focus.
Film speed – is the measure of a photographic film’s sensitivity to light.
Image noise or Film grain – is a random, usually unwanted, fluctuation of pixel values in an image.
ISO – on film cameras it’s an indicator of the selected film speed on film cameras, on digital cameras it’s an indication of the imaging chip’s light sensitivity.
Motion blur – is the apparent streaking of rapidly moving objects in a still image.
Shutter speed – adjustment of the speed of the shutter to control the amount of time during which the imaging medium is exposed to light per each exposure.
Photography – is the process of making pictures by means of the action of capturing light on a film.
White balance – electronic compensation for the color temperature associated with a given set of lighting conditions, ensuring that white light is registered as such on the imaging chip and therefore that the colors in the frame will appear natural.