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“Aperture is a hole or an opening through which light is admitted or more specifically in photography how wide open the shutter remains when the shutter is released.” – Wikipedia The ratio of the lens focal length to the effective aperture provides the f/stop value. (see Photo Term Series Post #6: f-stop, f/stop or f-number) [tags]aperture, f-stop, f/stop, photography, term, photo, terminology[/tags

For this term I’ll quote Merriam-Webster’s definition: Diptych 1 : a 2-leaved hinged tablet folding together to protect writing on its waxed surfaces 2 : a picture or series of pictures (as an altarpiece) painted or carved on two hinged tablets 3 : a work made up of two matching parts A Triptych would be the same, but with three matching or related parts.

I guarantee anyone that has taken a sunset shot has seen a penumbra, but likely never knew the term for what they were seeing. After the sun has set, when it is dusk, and the sky is darkening there is a transition on the eastern horizon between the last bit of sky lit by the sun and that were darkness is falling. At this point of transition is the penumbra: a partial shadow cast by the earth onto the sky. Or as someo

A “grab shot” is a spontaneous capture of a scene or moment. Usually grab shots are far from polished. They may be at an angle, slightly out of focus, composed less than ideally or display other qualities of a rushed or incompletely thought through image. There is nothing wrong with a grab shot to document a fleeting moment. A grab shot can have a negative connotation if the photo being displayed is being

As a follow up to my Top 10 Most Annoying Photo Critique Comments post I’m going to be posting a running series on photography terms and definitions. Some of these terms will be pretty straight forward and others will be new to most. The idea is that perhaps this will boost the vocabulary of those that make critiques and provide greater understanding behind much of what we see in photography. The first entry in