These words describe the tools you are using. 

• Tripod: a three-legged stand for supporting a camera 

• Shutter: The mechanism that opens and closes to let light in. (The "click" sound).

• Lens: The "eye" of the camera. Glass that focuses the light.

• Zoom: The lens physically moves to get closer (High Quality).

• Pixel: The tiny colored dots that make up a digital image.

• Resolution: The amount of detail an image holds. Higher resolution = more pixels = clearer print quality.

• SD card: a small, portable flash memory card used for storing and transferring digital data in devices like cameras 

• .jpg, .jpeg: An image file that is compressed to a standardized format

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• Candid: A photo taken without the subject knowing (or without them posing). It captures a natural moment.

• Opposite: A photo that was directed, planned, formal, artificial, "picture-perfect," or  controlled.

These words describe how you arrange objects within your picture.

• Subject: The main person, object, or animal you are taking a photo of. The "star" of the picture.

• Composition: The arrangement of elements in a photo. It’s how you choose to frame the world.

• Rule of Thirds: A composition rule where you imagine a tic-tac-toe board over your screen. You place the subject on the lines or intersections, rather than in the center.

• Leading Lines: Lines in the environment (roads, fences, hallways) that guide the viewer’s eye toward the subject.

• Framing: Using objects in the foreground (like a window, trees, or a doorway) to create a "frame" around your subject.

• Perspective (Point of View): The physical angle the camera is held at.

  • Bird’s Eye: Taken from up high looking down, makes the subject look small, cute or vulnerable

  • Worm’s Eye:Taken from  close to the ground looking up, makes the subject look big, powerful, or heroic

  • Eye Level: Standard human view.

• Negative Space: The empty space around the subject (like the blue sky or a blank wall). It helps the subject stand out.

These words describe the mood and visibility of the photo.

• Exposure: How bright or dark a photo is.

  • Overexposed: Too bright; the photo looks washed out (white).

  • Underexposed: Too dark; you can't see details in the shadows.

• Focus: How sharp or clear the subject is. If it is "out of focus," it is blurry.

• Depth of Field: How much of the background is blurry vs. sharp.

  • Shallow Depth of Field: The subject is sharp, but the background is blurry (Portrait mode).

  • Deep Depth of Field: Everything from the front to the back is sharp (Landscape).

• Contrast: The difference between the lightest and darkest parts of the photo. High contrast means bright whites and deep blacks; low contrast means lots of grays.

• Lighting

  • Golden Hour/Soft Light: The hour right after sunrise or right before sunset when the sun is low, creating soft, warm, glowing light.

  • Hard Light: Bright sun, sharp black shadows.

• Silhouette: When the light source is behind the subject, making the subject appear as a solid dark shape against a bright background.