Travel Tips

About the critiques. If you want some input on photos you have up on VT pages, I can take a look at them and give you some tips if you need them, technical assistance, or simply a, "Wow, nice shot."

Keep in mind that what I say is not the final word, but that I can offer some things to think about on your photos, some insights or opinions. So much of photography is subjective. What you may think is terrible, another may think is super.

Especially in travel photography, all I know of a scene or a place may be what I'm looking at in your photo. There are photos that are simply illustrative, like the Kansas road images on my homepage. There's nothing interesting about them, nothing compositionally great. They just show what they show. That empty road may be dull and useless as a picture for you, but may be meaningful to me, if you see what I'm saying. They are illustrative and nothing more, and that's ok. But if you want an opinion from someone who's been in the field a while, I'd be more than happy to help.

In many ways, it would be nice to post the critiques so that everyone can look at them and think about them. However, I think it would be better to email them to you so they are more private. If you would like to post them on a forum or a your pages, please do.

Aperture- A camera's lens is essentially a tube through which light passes. The aperture is the device which controls how much light gets through. Operating just like the eye, the aperture is made up of a number of blades that close down or open up depending on how much light is required. A wide aperture lets more light in than a small aperture. Aperture is measured in f-stop. (See F-stop) Aperture is used in conjunction with Shutter Speed to determine how much light gets to the film or digital sensor. (See CCD, CMOS)

Aperture Ring- Many camera lenses, especially older or manual lenses, have a ring on the camera-side of the lens that allows you to adjust the aperture.

Average Metering- This type of light metering (See Light Meter, TTL Metering) takes an average of the amount of light (reflecting off subjects and surrounding environs) entering the lens to determine the exposure. (See also Spot Metering and Center-weighted Metering) It is useful when you have a relatively uniform lighting situation (there are no really bright or really dark areas).

Backlit- A scene in which there is more light behind your subject than on your subject, making your subject dark against the scene. Taking a picture with the sun behind the subject in an example of a backlit photograph. These can make for tricky lighting/metering situations.

Battery Grip- Some SLRs offer the option of attaching a battery grip. This is useful as it adds an extra battery (extending time between charges) and it gives the photographer another, more comfortable and ergonomic grip to use when taking vertical photos. These typically slide in where the battery usually goes and screw into the tripod mount.

Bayonet Mount- The connection between the camera body and the lens, in which you insert the lens and twist until it locks into place.

CCD- Charged Couple Device- a type of sensor in digital cameras known to be higher quality, but more expensive. Some say CCDs are better for low-light and provide better color in images.

CMOS- Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor- A less expensive and very common sensor in digital cameras, these aren’t supposedly as high quality as CCD sensors, (See CCD) but are nonetheless quite good for most applications.

CMYK- In the printing world, CMYK is often the standard, while computers and cameras run on the RGB color space. (See RGB) CMYK refers to four colors, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. The letter “K” refers to the “Key” color, black’s old name in printing.

Center-weighted Metering- A type of light metering that uses the center 10-15% of the frame to assess the amount of light in a scene.

Composition- See Lesson 4

Depth of Field- Amount of image in focus

Depth of Field Preview Button- Many D-SLR and film SLR cameras have a button you can press to check the depth of field.
Diffuser- This can be anything, really, that diffuses light, such as a soft box, an umbrella (See Soft Box, Umbrella), a piece of paper or even clouds. A diffuser simply softens hard light. (See Hard Light)

Digital Zoom- This type of zoom is found on most compact cameras. Digital zoom is different from optical zoom (See Optical Zoom) as it doesn’t magnify the scene via lens position, but instead just magnifies the existing pixels. It would be like zooming in on a picture on your computer- it doesn’t make the subject any closer, it just makes the subject feel closer by magnifying the pixels, which is why, when you zoom into an image many times, it looks pixilated. Optical Zoom is much better!

Diopter Adjustment- Setting the viewfinder focus for use with glasses.

ED- It’s not what you think. ED refers to Extralow Dispersion, a type of glass used in many of Nikon’s better lenses.

Equivalent Exposures- See Lesson 3

Exposure- An exposure can refer to what many call a photograph. You take a photograph= you make an exposure. Exposure basically refers to the exposure of film or digital sensors to light. There is good exposure and bad exposure. Good exposures mean the image is well-balanced light-wise.

Exposure Lock- Locking your exposure can be very useful if you have, for example, a subject against a bright sky. If you just take the photo, your subject will probably be dark because the camera meters (See Meter) for the sky.

Fill Card- (See Reflector)

Film Plane- the plane on which your film or digital sensor is aligned, a specific distance from the lens mount.

Film Speed- The sensitivity of a particular film to light. A fast film has a speed of 3200, for example, while a slow film has a speed of 64. There are many speeds in between and outside these numbers as well. Slow speeds produce sharper images, while higher speeds, more useful in dark settings, or at night, produce grainier, less sharp images.

Filters- Filters are often attached to the front of the lens and have specific purposes. Some are used to color the light, giving a dull sky a sunset-light glow, for example. Some are used to soften, some to raise contrast, some to affect the way an image looks, for special effects.

Flash Bracket- Many photographers use a special bracket that mounts the flash away from the camera hotshoe (see Hotshoe) so that there isn’t a hard shadow behind the subject when the flash is used. Wedding photographers often use these. The flash usually requires a cable to set it off. This might be a PC Cord (See PC Cord) or an off-camera flash cord (see Off-Camera Flash Cord).

Focal Length- The distance between the optical center of a given lens and the focal point (See Focal Point) which is the film plane (See Film Plane) or where the light is focused, aka, on the film or sensor. This is measured in millimeters. So, you have a 50mm lens, a 200mm lens, etcetera.

Focal Point- The point at which light (and the image) focuses.

Focus Lock- A button on the camera or lens that locks the focus at a certain distance. This is useful if you want to set your focus ahead of time and wait for the subject to enter the shot. It's also useful if you're trying to photograph a subject among other subjects, so your camera doesn't focus on the wrong person, such as when shooting soccer or football.

Focus Ring- Manual and other SLR lenses set to manual mode have a ring on the lens that the photographer twists to focus the image.

Focus Screen- The small piece of glass or plastic that you see when you look though the camera’s viewfinder. This is the screen that tells you if your subject is in focus (on fully manual cameras) or lets you select your focus point (which usually flashes red) on newer cameras. You could consider it a heads-up-display inside your camera.

Frame- The term used to refer to the image as it is seen through the viewfinder. The scene in the frame is the picture you are going to take. You can also "frame" an image, just like putting whatever you want to shoot inside a picture frame, but by using the environment around the subject.

Grey Card- A grey card is arguably 18% grey, or neutral grey. Some say neutral grey is 12-13% grey. Whatever the case, a grey card is used to determine the white balance of a scene. Set it in front of wherever you are shooting aimed at the sunlight, if there is any- just not in the shadows if your subject is in the light- and set your white balance according to your camera’s instructions. If your subject is in the shadow, take a white balance reading for the shadow (with your card in the shadow.)

Guide Number- On-camera and built-in flash units all have guide numbers that give the purchaser some idea of how powerful the flash is. The higher the guide number, the more powerful the flash.

Histogram-

Hot Shoe- On SLRs and some other cameras, the hotshot refers to the point on the camera to which you attach a flash unit.

ISO- ISO (International Standards Organization) CHECK THIS!!!! Refers to the standards of film’s sensitivity to light, or, digitally speaking, the camera’s CCD or CMOS sensor’s sensitivity to light. (See CCD, CMOS) EXPLAIN OTHER STANDARDS… ASA!!!!

Image Stabilization- Typically a gyroscope-assisted floating lens element used to combat the vibrations of shaking hands allowing photographers to shoot up to two stops slower (in darker lighting conditions).

Incident Light-

LCD- Liquid Crystal Display- the monitor on digital cameras that lets you preview your images. These are not always very accurate.

Lens Diameter- Lens diameter is the size of the big end of a lens, where light enters, and is measured in millimeters. Some common diameters are 55mm, 58mm and 77mm.

Lens Hood- The lens hood is a plastic piece that attaches to the end of a lens to keep the sunlight and other ambient lights from reflecting in from the sides messing with exposure.

Light Meter- A light meter is either a separate unit designed to determine the amount of light in a scene to tell the photographer what settings to use, or a unit within a camera operating through the lens (See TTL) for the same purpose. External light meters are often more accurate and base light readings on incident light or reflectivity (See Incident Light, Reflectivity)

Long Glass- This term refers to the long lenses photographers use.

Luminance- the amount of light that reflects off the subjects

Meter- The term “meter” is used in the following sense, “I meter for the shadows.” It means that you take a meter reading with your camera’s TTL metering or a light meter (See TTL Metering, Light Meter) to determine the amount of light in a scene so you know how to set your camera. The meter is also an

Model Spot- Many floor-standing portrait-type lighting units have a built-in light that illuminates the subject so the photographer can get an idea where the shadows will be on the subject before taking the actual photograph. This is also called a hot-light. (See also, Monolight)

Monolight- A lighting/ flash unit that photographers use in portrait or studio settings, for example. A monolight is a fully self-contained unit that is comprised of the power supply, flash and model spot (See Model Spot) bulbs and attachment points for umbrellas or soft boxes. (See Umbrella, Soft Box, Reflector). This is different from flash set-ups that have separate flash/model spot units attached by cable to a power unit.

Monopod- Sports photographers often use monopods to stabilize their long glass (See Long Glass) while offering greater mobility than a tripod. Mono, of course, means “one,” so the monopod has one leg. These are very convenient to carry and faster than tripods to set up and move around.

Motion Blur- Motion blur is blurring in the image or photograph caused by the movement of a subject. A car driving past may be blurred if you photograph it with a slow shutter speed. It is blurred due to motion.

Off-Camera Flash Cord- this cord mounts to the camera’s hotshoe on one end and the flash’s hotshoe mount on the other end and allows the flash to be used off the camera body.

Optical Zoom- The lens glass has the ability to move about in the lens barrel

Over-exposed (blown out)- too much light hitting the film/sensor

Pan- Movement of the camera on the horizontal plane, such as from left to right or right to left.

Panning- Movement of the camera on the horizontal plane, such as from left to right, for the purpose of following the movement of a subject such that the subject remains in focus. If you photograph a car driving past and you turn and move the camera with the car, that is a panning shot, and if you move properly, the car will remain in focus, while the background is out of focus due to motion blur (see Motion Blur).

PC Cord- A PC cord is a cable used on many cameras, especially older cameras, to set off a flash unit when the hotshoe is non-electric or not designed to set off the flash.

Prime Lens- Any lens with a set focal length (See Focal Length) is called a “prime” lens. These are most often used on SLRs, but technically you could consider a disposable camera to have a prime lens. A 28mm lens has a focal length of 28mm and only 28mm. It cannot zoom to a 50mm or anything else. (Unless you use a teleconverter!- (See teleconverter)

Push-Pull Lens- This is a type of lens with which you push or pull a section of it to zoom in or out. This is different than a lens with a zoom ring. (See Zoom Ring).

RGB- Red, Green and Blue refers to the colors typically used in cameras and computers. Your digital camera may have three sensor layers, one red, one green and one blue, which sense the different colors in the scene and translate those colors into an image. If you have one, you’d probably have a black and white digital camera. Colors in your images are made up of different shades, saturations and hues of those three, basic colors. (See also, CMYK)

Reflectivity-

Reflector- A reflector is anything that is used to reflect light onto the subject to fill in dark areas. This might also be known as a “Fill Card”. It might be made of a silver or gold foil with a textured surface or it might be simply a white piece of paper or foam board.

Rule of Thirds- See Lesson 4

Shutter Release- This is simply the button you press to take a photo. It "releases" the shutter inside, allowing it to open and close.

Shutter Speed- Film cameras have an actual shutter that opens and closes in split seconds to let a pre-determined amount of light in. Digital cameras have a sensor, called a CCD or CMOS sensor. (See CCD, CMOS) This light is measured in time, of course, fractions of a second. (If you want to see the shutter in action, take an old SLR film camera (See SLR) remove the film cover and press the shutter release... take out any film first!) The shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter is open. This can range from 1/20,000th of a second to "bulb" in which the shutter stays open as long as you have the shutter release pressed. Shutter speed is used in conjunction with the Aperture to determine how much light gets to the film or digital sensor.

SLR- Single Lens Reflex, refers to a type of camera.

Soft Box- A soft box is a studio or portrait tool that diffuses light to make it softer and more even (See Soft Light, Diffuser). It is essentially a soft tent of black or dark material that light can’t get through, with one side that does let light through and is aimed at the subject. (See also, Umbrella, Hard Light)

Soft Light- Light that doesn’t create hard shadows on or behind a subject. (See Hard Light, Soft Box, Umbrella)

Spot Metering- This type of light metering (See Light Meter, TTL Metering) takes a reading of the center two percent 2% of light (reflecting off subjects and surrounding environs) entering the lens to determine the exposure. (See also Average Metering and Center-weighted Metering) It is useful when you have a bright background and a dark subject, for example, if you want to get good exposure (See Exposure) of the subject. You can estimate the center 2% by looking at the center two percent 2% of the frame (See Frame) or focus screen (See Focus Screen). (See also Exposure Lock)

Subject- Whatever it is you’re shooting, be it a person, animal, building, tree… if there is something you’re focusing on in an image, it’s the subject of the image. Some images don’t have any particular subjects. These can be landscape shots, for example.

TTL- Through The Lens refers to any determinations that happen by a camera’s internal meter or auto focus features to give the photographer information on light, distance and settings.

TTL Flash- Through The Lens Flash refers to the ability of a camera and flash to work together to determine the appropriate amount of light the flash needs to put out to properly light the scene. This is most common with newer flash units on SLR (See SLR) cameras.

TTL Metering- Cameras have internal light meters (See Light Meter) which determine how much light you have/need to get a good exposure (See Exposure). These are not perfect, but save the photographer from always having to use an external light meter to determine the camera settings. Through The Lens metering uses the internal light meter to tell the photographer what the lighting conditions are and what the photographer needs to do to set the camera (change the f-stop or shutter speed (See F-stop, Shutter Speed).

Teleconverter- Most SLR lenses can work with a teleconverter, which basically increases the zoom of the lens. A “2x teleconverter,” for example, will double the focal length (See Focal Length) of a given lens throughout its zoom range. So, a 28mm prime lens, will become a 56mm lens. A 28-70mm lens will become a 56-140mm lens. The teleconverter attaches between the camera and the lens and has to, of course, be made for that camera/lens make and model (you can’t use a Nikon teleconverter on a Canon camera and lens).

Telephoto Lens- A telephoto lens refers to a lens’s ability to bring a subject closer/make a subject larger in the camera. A 300mm lens is an example of a telephoto lens. A 28mm lens is not a telephoto lens. (See also, Telephoto Zoom Lens) These lenses have a tendency to flatten an image, making a distance subject and a close subject seem close together, such as when you watch the pitcher and batter in a baseball game on TV. Some say 75mm or 85mm+.

Telephoto Zoom Lens- a telephoto zoom lens brings the subject closer/makes a subject look larger in the camera but offers the ability to zoom in or out. A 70-200mm is a telephoto zoom lens.

Tilt- Movement of the camera on the vertical plane, such as up and down.

Tripod Head- Tripods can come with different heads, offering the photographer many different options and levels of control. For video use, there are “fluid heads” which pan and tilt smoothly.

Umbrella- This is a tool used for portrait or studio photography that is basically a reflector in the shape of an umbrella. The light from the flash is reflected into the concave part of the umbrella, which has diffusing/reflecting surfaces that bounce the light less harshly onto the subject. (See also, Hard Light, Soft Light)

Under-exposed- An image that is under-exposed, didn’t get enough light, or exposure to light, to properly show the scene. These images may be dark. MORE!!! (See also, Over-Exposed)

Viewfinder- This is the part of your camera you look through to take a photo.

White Balance- Light has different temperatures and therefore colors depending on the source of the light. An incandescent bulb is redder than a fluorescent bulb, for example. Our eyes compensate for this difference, essentially working to make all the whites white, regardless of the color of light. The camera’s white balance does the same thing, but has various settings, often for sunlight, shade, incandescent light, fluorescent light, flash, and cloudy days. There is usually a setting for “automatic” as well. Light balance is often taken care of for you on compact cameras, and, set to automatic, is usually handled well by D-SLRs.

Zoom Ring- On SLR zoom lenses, there is a ring that you twist to zoom in or out to and from the minimum and maximum zoom ranges of the lens. Occasionally you push or pull (See Push-Pull Lens).