“The background is distracting.” “Use a faster shutter speed.” “Could you take a photo of us?” Photography conversations range from simple requests to technical decisions. This guide explains the English words you need to describe your camera, discuss light and composition, and give useful feedback on a photograph.
Start with camera, lens, subject, focus and frame, then learn phrases such as take a photo, focus on the subject and crop the image. Aperture describes the lens opening, shutter speed describes the exposure time, and composition describes how elements are arranged within the picture.
What's your English level?
Take the test and get your certificate!
Camera and Equipment Words
A photographer takes photographs; photography is the activity or field. A photo is a photograph, while picture is a broader word that can also refer to a drawing or painting. In everyday conversation, “Can you take a picture?” usually makes your meaning clear.
| Word | Meaning and example |
|---|---|
| Lens | The optical part that directs light into a camera. “Clean the lens before taking the photo.” |
| Camera body | The main camera unit, without an interchangeable lens. “Is the price for the body only?” |
| Viewfinder | The part you look through to compose a picture. “Look through the viewfinder.” |
| Tripod | A three-legged support for a camera. “Mount the camera on a tripod.” |
| Memory card | Removable storage for digital images. “The memory card is full.” |
| Flash | A device or burst of artificial light used for a photograph. “Please turn off the flash.” |
| Subject | The main person, object or scene being photographed. “The subject is too close to the edge.” |
A zoom lens lets you change focal length; a prime lens has a fixed focal length. You might ask, “Is this a zoom or a prime?” On a phone, zoom in means make the subject appear larger on screen, while zoom out means show a wider view.
Exposure and Focus
Exposure concerns the light recorded to make an image. People also use the word when discussing whether the result looks too bright or too dark. The main settings commonly discussed together are aperture, shutter speed and ISO; see Nikon’s introduction to exposure.
Aperture, shutter speed and ISO
Aperture is the lens opening through which light passes, expressed using an f-number. A lower f-number, such as f/2.8, represents a wider relative opening than f/8. Say “Use a wider aperture,” rather than the ambiguous “Make the aperture number bigger.”
Shutter speed is the exposure duration. A faster setting such as 1/1000 second gives a shorter exposure than 1/30 second and can help freeze movement. A slower setting can show motion blur, making movement visible.
ISO is a camera setting that affects image brightness for a given aperture and shutter speed. Raising it can help produce a brighter result in low light, but higher settings can make image noise more noticeable. Noise here means unwanted speckling or variation in the image, not a sound.
Useful combinations include “set the aperture,” “increase the shutter speed” and “raise the ISO.” When exact settings matter, give the number: “I shot this at one two-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second.” A shorter version is “at one over two-fifty.”
In focus, out of focus and sharp
A subject is in focus when its details appear clear at the selected focus distance. It is out of focus when those details are not clearly focused. Use the preposition on: “Focus on the person’s eyes.”
Sharp describes clearly defined detail; blurry describes a lack of clear detail. Blur may come from missed focus, subject movement or camera movement, so these words are not exact opposites of every camera setting. “The background is sharp, but the face is blurry” describes the result precisely.
Depth of field is the range of distances that appears acceptably sharp. With a shallow depth of field, a narrow range appears sharp and the background may look blurred. With a greater depth of field, more of the scene appears sharp.
Describing Light
Instead of saying only “The light is good,” describe its source, direction or appearance. “The window gives us soft side light” tells another photographer much more. These words also work when discussing phone photographs.
| Expression | Meaning and example |
|---|---|
| Natural light | Light from natural sources, usually daylight in this context. “I took it using natural light.” |
| Soft light | Light with gradual shadow transitions. “The soft light suits this portrait.” |
| Hard light | Light that creates clearly defined shadow edges. “The hard light creates strong shadows.” |
| Backlighting | Light coming from behind the subject relative to the camera. “The backlighting outlines her hair.” |
| Highlights | The brighter areas of an image. “There is little detail in the highlights.” |
| Shadows | The darker areas of an image. “The face is partly in shadow.” |
An overexposed image is too bright for the intended result; an underexposed image is too dark. However, a deliberately dark photograph is not automatically a mistake. Explain the intention: “I wanted a dark background, but the face should be brighter.”
White balance concerns how colours are adjusted for the light source so neutral tones appear appropriately neutral. A colour cast is an unwanted overall tint, such as an orange or blue appearance. You can say, “The photo looks too orange. Could we adjust the white balance?”
Framing and Composition
Composition is the arrangement of elements in a picture. Framing involves deciding what to include and where the picture’s edges fall. Adobe’s guide to photography composition explains how these visual choices shape an image.
The foreground is the part of the scene nearest the viewer; the background is behind the main subject or farther away. “There is a branch in the foreground” and “The background is distracting” identify different parts of the picture. To fill the frame is to make the subject occupy much of the image.
Portrait orientation means the image is taller than it is wide. Landscape orientation means it is wider than it is tall. These terms describe shape: a photograph of a person can have landscape orientation.
Leading lines guide the viewer’s attention through a picture, for example along a road towards a building. The rule of thirds is a composition guideline using an imaginary three-by-three grid. It is a possible way to position subjects, not a requirement for every successful photograph.
To crop a photo is to remove part of its visible area. “Crop out the bin on the left” names both the action and the unwanted object. Cropping differs from simply resizing, which changes dimensions; for more editing language, see the graphic design vocabulary guide.
Conversations, Mistakes and Practice
Asking someone to take a picture
Visitor: Excuse me, could you take a photo of us?
Photographer: Of course. Do you want the whole building in the frame?
Visitor: Yes, please. Could you take a horizontal shot?
Photographer: Sure. Move a little closer together and look at the camera.
A shot can mean a photograph: “That’s a lovely shot.” A shoot is a session in which photographs are taken: “We have a portrait shoot tomorrow.” For the verb, use shoot, shot, shot: “She shot these pictures indoors.”
Giving useful feedback
Combine an observation with a request: “The background is distracting. Could we try a tighter frame?” Or explain a preference: “I prefer the second photo because the face is in focus.” This is more helpful than simply calling a picture bad.
In ordinary English, say take a photo, not “do a photo.” Also distinguish “a photo of me,” which shows you, from “a photo by me,” which identifies you as the photographer. Say “The subject is in the centre,” and “Focus on the subject.”
Choose the correct expression
- Could you take / do a photo of us?
- The camera is supported by a tripod / memory card.
- A picture that is taller than it is wide has portrait / landscape orientation.
- Please focus on / at the nearest person’s face.
- Remove the unwanted edge of the picture: crop / charge it.
- A photography session is a shoot / shot.
Answers: 1. Take is the usual everyday verb. 2. A tripod supports the camera; a memory card stores images. 3. Portrait describes the vertical format. 4. On follows focus in this use. 5. Crop removes part of the visible image. 6. A shoot is a session; a shot can be one photograph.
Choose a photo on your phone and describe its subject, light and composition in three sentences. Then add one possible change, such as “I would crop out the sign on the right.” Practise explaining a choice as well as naming an object.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between photo, photograph and photography?
A photo is a photograph. Photography names the activity or field, so say “I enjoy photography” and “I took three photographs.” A person who takes photographs is a photographer.
Is a blurry background always a problem?
No. A photographer may deliberately use background blur to draw attention to the subject. Explain which part should be clear: “I want the face sharp and the background blurred.”
Can I use this vocabulary for phone photography?
Yes. Subject, focus, light, framing, portrait orientation and crop are useful with a phone too. Some camera settings may not be available in your phone’s standard camera controls.
How can I describe a photo without knowing technical settings?
Start with what you can see: “A person is standing in the foreground. Light is coming from the left. The background is blurred.” Clear observations are useful even when you do not know the aperture or shutter speed.
