Exposure triangle
A simple model that explains exposure with three settings: aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Changing one setting changes the brightness of the image, so the others must change to keep the same exposure.
Fill the frame
A simple composition approach: get close to the subject, or use a longer lens, so that it fills most of the picture and nothing distracting is left around it.
Rule of odds
A composition guideline that says groups with an odd number of subjects, especially three, often look more natural and interesting than groups with an even number.
Visual weight
How strongly an element in a photograph attracts the viewer's eye. Bright areas, strong colors, faces, text, sharp details and large shapes usually have more visual weight than dark, blurred or small ones.
Worm's-eye view
A view from very low, looking up at the subject. The camera is often close to the ground.
Bird's-eye view
A view from high above the subject, looking down. It can be taken from a building, a ladder, a drone or an aircraft.
Dutch angle
A shot in which the camera is tilted, so that the horizon and vertical lines run at an angle. It is also called a Dutch tilt or canted angle.
Point of view
The position from which a photograph is taken: how high or low the camera is, how close it is and from which side it looks at the subject. Changing the point of view can change the meaning of a picture.
Juxtaposition
Placing two or more elements side by side in one frame so that the viewer compares them. The elements can be similar or opposite, for example old and new, big and small or serious and funny.
Silhouette
A subject that appears as a dark shape without detail against a bright background. Silhouettes happen when the photographer exposes for the bright background, often at sunrise or sunset or with backlighting.
Golden ratio
A proportion of about 1 to 1.618 that has been used in art and architecture for centuries. Many people find shapes built on this ratio balanced and pleasant.
Negative space
The empty area around the main subject of a photograph, for example a plain sky, a wall or still water. It is called negative because it is not the subject, but it is still an important part of the composition.
Leading lines
Lines inside a photograph that guide the viewer's eye toward the main subject or deeper into the picture. Roads, rivers, fences, railway tracks and the edges of buildings often work as leading lines.
Composition
The way the parts of a photograph are arranged inside the frame. Composition decides what the viewer sees first, how the eye moves through the picture and what is left out.
Family of Man
The Family of Man is a historic photography exhibition that was first displayed in 1955 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. Curated by American photographer Edward Steichen, the exhibition brought together 503 photographs from 68 countries, representing the work of 273 photographers. The photographs were selected to showcase a diverse range of human experiences and emotions, emphasizing the universality of human life.
Bitumen of Judea
In photography, Bitumen of Judea has been used in one of the earliest photographic processes known as the heliograph or bitumen process. This technique was developed in the early 19th century by French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.