Basic Photography Vocabulary: Why I Hate These 3 Ugly Words
Large icebergs and a beautiful reflection on the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, Iceland.
There are three words related to photography I hate. Sadly, these particular words are now part of the basic photography vocabulary commonly spoken by most photographers. Long ago I decided to replace these three ugly words with more positive alternatives when speaking or writing about photography.
Photography is a visual art form described through the spoken or written word. The words shoot, take and capture are so commonly used that they’re deemed appropriate and correct. But it's worth considering the use of more positive, life affirming words that better align with why you create photos.
Photography is an act of creation and when I’m thinking, writing and speaking about photography I try to use words that are respectful of that fact.
Words have power, words have meaning and better aligning the language I use with my own approach to making photos has made me a better photographer.
Just look at this image of icebergs reflected in the waters of the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon in Iceland. Even amongst chaos I’m looking for order and beauty.
As you continue to read you’ll discover which of the commonly used words from our basic photography vocabulary I continue to embrace and which ones I now try hard to avoid.
Perhaps, by the end of this short article, you’ll begin to challenge some of the language you commonly use when talking about photography and, in particular, the photos you make.
Basic Photography Vocabulary
There’s a number of words from our basic photography vocabulary that I consider to be appropriate and helpful when describing the craft of photography. Here’s some technical terms that are commonly used in photography:
Shutter Speed
ISO
Aperture
Exposure Compenstation
Depth Of Field
I have no problem using these words and phrases when discussing how to make photos or describing the characteristics or aesthetics associated with a particular image.
Indeed, as a long standing and experienced photography tutor, the technical terms listed above are essential when it comes to describing how to use a camera to actually make photos. That’s because knowledge of these terms allows the photographer to control the following:
To control movement, by freezing action or producing creative blur.
To control sharpness, throughout the entire image or, alternatively, to localise it to a specific part of the picture.
To control the brightness of the image, ensuring it’s neither under or overexposed; or, alternatively, opting for a brighter or darker image as a way to enhance a particular mood (e.g., airy or sombre).
Likewise, there’s a number of words from our basic photography vocabulary that are used to describe the more illusive, intangible aspects of the art form. Some examples include the following:
Luminous
Ethereal
Equivalence
Juxtaposition
Luminous can a difficult term to grasp. But, in this context, think of the word luminous as a way of describing light emitted from a light source, as perceived by the human eye.
Bright, shinning, glittering or radiant are examples that come to mind.
“The term luminosity has been most famously used by Master photographer, Ansel Adams, to describe a particular and quite mysterious quality within beautifully crafted photographic prints.
I’ve observed this phenomena as the appearance of light seemingly radiating out from brighter areas within the print.
It’s subtle, but it’s there. The experience is something like the way light is transmitted, rather than reflected, through a stained glass window. ”
Actually, I’ve written a post on this very topic, titled How To Add Luminosity To A Photo which I’m sure you’ll enjoy. In addition to the above quote, the post features three black and white images of statues, one made in Bali and two I photographed in Buenos Aires.
Ugly Words In Photography I Try Hard To Avoid
Words are important, powerful and meaning rich. It’s for this reason that, despite being a part of the normal, everyday language of photography I avoid using the following ugly words in relation to my own photography.
Take
Shoot
Capture
Here’s why I actively pursue this approach.
As I said, words are important and I try, whenever possible, to use meaning rich words and phrases in discussions involving creative photography.
The language of photography is resplendent with evocative and compelling words and phrases. Why not use that language when deconstructing a visually dynamic or powerfully emotive image.
Are we not meaning seeking creatures? Is finding authentic meaning in life important to you?
Why dilute the power of a photograph by describing it in such gross and negative terms through the use of words like take, shoot and capture?
Our best photos, and those made by other photographers that inspire us, deserve a much better use of language. Don’t you think?
Wonderfully modernistic structures at a geothermal power plant in rural Iceland.
I Don’t Take Photos, I Make Photos
I don’t take photos as, to me, that would suggest that I’m stealing something that either doesn’t belong to me or that I’m prohibited from experiencing or seeking to preserve through the craft of creative photography.
Would you deny or close yourself off from the experience and the memory of beauty, friendship and love? I hope not.
So how is it that we allow the words take, capture and shoot to be such commonly used terms when referring to our own photography.
Does that not bother you?
While opinions will differ, to my mind the words take, capture and shoot are really ugly words that are as incompatible to photography as they are to notions of beauty, friendship and love.
Why not start today and turn this situation around. Respect your hobby, your craft and yourself by choosing to use more positive, life affirming words to describe the way you approach your photography.
You don’t take photos. Rather, you make or create photos.
Now that’s precisely the approach that underpinned how I went about photographing this wonderfully modernistic structure at a geothermal power plant in rural Iceland.
I love the repetition of lines and shapes in this image and made sure I emphasised those elements of composition when I created the photo.
Needless to say I didn’t feel like I was taking, capturing or shooting anything when I made this picture.
It’s simply a photographic document of what I saw and a realisation of that vision in a well exposed, nicely composed, two dimensional black and white rendering of what we humans would normally perceive as a three dimensional reality, with one or more colors falling within the visible spectrum.
Do You Capture Photos?
I don’t capture photos, or anything else for that matter. To do so suggests imprisonment and the removal of personal freedom.
I’m reminded here of the memories I have, as a young lad, when the circus came to town. It was really sad to see tigers and lions pacing endlessly back and forth within small, metal barred enclosures.
The resemblance to a prison cell was undeniable and it’s an image that’s still quite vivid in my mind many, many years later.
While it’s seeped into our basic photography vocabulary, please don’t confuse the word capture with the notion of preserving a memory for posterity. In that context I believe the word capture is used in a completely inappropriate way.
Do you capture photos? Is that really what you’re about?
An interior view of the dome at Frederik's Church in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Make Positive, Life Affirming Images?
I don’t shoot anything. That is not meant as a political statement, just a statement of fact.
Nonetheless, the concept of shooting suggests harm or annihilation which goes completely against my philosophy of making positive, life affirming images.
The phrase Saving the World, One Photo at a Time is important to me. In fact it’s central to the philosophy that underpins the Travel Photography Guru website and blog.
This photo of the dome at the magnificent Fredrik’s church in Copenhagen, Denmark is certainly a positive image.
The circular shape of the dome is pleasing to the eye, as it suggests a cosmic connection between us and the divine, and I love how the yellow colors contrast against the blue and purple hues throughout the image.
I’ve undertaken a number of documentary photography expeditions around our world, including one or more visits to the following places:
China and Tibet
India, Nepal and Sri Lanka
Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Bali
Australia and New Zealand
Argentina, South Georgia Island, Falkland Islands and Antarctica
Russia, Austria, France, Belgium, Denmark and Germany
Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands
Certainly, there’s areas in Greenland, in particular, where I wouldn’t wander out into the wild to make photos without an appropriately qualified guide.
And if we ventured into areas where polar bears roamed, I’d be expecting the guide to bring several rifles, as is common practice in that part of the world, to help protect us from polar bear attack.
Likewise, if undertaking a tour into a remote wilderness region in the tropics, such as in Australia’s Top End, I wouldn’t do so without a guide who posessed exceptional bushcraft. And, again, if they deemed it necessary, I’d welcome whatever equipment (e.g., rifle, knife) they felt was necessary to keep us safe.
So, in that context, the term shoot is completely appropriate. But you can see why I don’t confuse it with the act of creating beautiful, life affirming photos.
Guns Shoot, But Cameras Create and Preserve
It’s undeniable that the word shoot is, first and foremost, associated with guns and, sadly, death.
Conversely, cameras are used to create images that speak to how we experience the world around us. Cameras also preserve important memories from our lives. They document those we love, the places we visit and the things we do.
Cameras not only allow us to document the world around us but, importantly, to record our own, unique responses to the world.
Cameras also enable us to make artistic photos and, thereby, more deeply explore our creative self and our own, unique worldview.
I’m Australian and, in this part of the world, our access to guns is quite limited. It’s a response, in part, to our largely urban based culture and, personally, I think it’s a good thing.
While the scourge of domestic violence is a major problem in our society, fatalities in the home are rarely the result of gunfire. This is certainly not the case in all countries around our world.
I’m totally supportive of police wearing guns and, of course, military personnel need to be trained and drilled in how to use rifles in the event of military deployment.
I’m also supportive of farmers having the right to access guns to destroy feral animals or to conduct mercy killings of stock in the event of drought, flood or bushfire.
As an artist I live in a world of gray. It’s for this reason that I see the need to avoid a black and white mindset on issues as complex as gun law. And I accept that what’s most appropriate in my neck of the woods may not be the case elsewhere.
I believe it’s totally reasonable that licensed hunters are permitted to reduce the excessive numbers of feral, introduced species throughout my own country.
Likewise, suitably qualified parks officers and rangers have, on occasions, the need to eliminate dangerous wild animals such as crocodiles - populations of which have grown significantly across Australia’s Top End over recent years.
I’m not concerned about sporting gun clubs, so long as the guns are used in appropriate environments and that access to those guns is extremely limited outside of sanctioned events and practice sessions held in (what the law determines is) an appropriate environment.
However, in urban Australia, I agree with the vast majority of our population that do not want normal, everyday citizens keeping guns and other dangerous weapons in their homes. Likewise I support government initiatives to reduce ownership and possession of firearms amongst the general population.
How things work in your part of the world is a matter for you, as a voter, and your elected legislature to sort out.
The Creative Process and the Questions We Ask
The three most important questions underpinning our creative endeavors, like photography, can be described as follows:
What
How
Why
Of the three I’m convinced that why is the most important question.
Given that, it’s interesting that the question why is, if it’s asked at all, the last of the three questions we’re likely to ponder on our own creative path.
However, it’s my contention that the question why should be the first question we ask ourselves. In fact the way I suggest you plan out your own creative photography projects is quite logical and can be outlined as follows:
Understand why it is you need to make photographs.
Determine what it is you’re going to photograph that will satisfy the reasons why you need to make photos.
Figure out how you’re going to go about recording and processing the images you create in a way that satisfies your need for making the photos in the first place.
So, when it comes to starting a photography project, what I’m suggesting is that you start with the outcome in mind.
Naturally, nothing is written in stone and it’s completely reasonable that the outcome in question alters organically as the process proceeds.
That’s why it’s called a starting point.
Ultimately, it’s your choice as to whether to start with the why, the what or the how. Just be sure you do start the journey, otherwise you’ll never get anywhere.
Believe me, life can be pretty dull and uninspiring to an unfulfilled, creative soul. But I’m here to tell you that you can turn that malaise around, very quickly, once you start a creative project. And photography is a great way to do just that.
Why is this so important? It’s because photography is the search for identity and the sooner we begin that journey the quicker we’ll reach the destination that matters most.
You can only learn so much about a person by looking at their passport. You can learn a lot more by looking at the photos they create.
That’s because photos are act both as windows looking out into the world and mirrors reflecting the photographer’s true self, their actual identity. And the camera photographs both ways.
The face of innocence on St. Thomas Mount in Chennai, India.
Photos You Make: The Outcome Is Determined By Your Approach
I neither take, capture nor shoot photos.
When it comes to the art and the practice of photography, I choose to create and to make. It’s as simple as that.
And I think that approach, and the philosophy that underpins it, is clearly evident in this image which showcases the face of innocence on St. Thomas Mount in Chennai, India.
He was a lovely young boy and it was easy making his photo. As you can see I simply positioned him against a fairly nondescript background, which I placed out of focus through the use of a very shallow depth of field.
Photographing from the subject’s eye line and critically focusing on the eye closest to the camera really concentrates our attention in a very non judgemental way.
Perhaps it’s time you considered replacing the words take, capture and shoot with some of the following terms?
I document my response to the world around me.
My photos seek to preserve a moment in time.
I create photos that speak to my experience and my own, individual world view.
When you think about it, isn’t this really what you’re trying to do?
But does any of this really matter and will it make you a better photographer?
Again, it gets back to the question why it is that you do what you do.
If you’re really clear about that then you might also see the value in choosing more positive, life affirming words to describe the photography you spend so much time, effort and money pursuing.
Basic Photography Vocabulary: Mind Your Language and Nurture the Image Maker within You
This post is clearly opinion based. The opinions are my own and you’ll decide to take them or leave them. I just hope you’ve found what I’ve said to be interesting and, perhaps, thought provoking.
Did this post resonate with your own views or, at least, cause you to reconsider your use of the words take, capture and shoot in relation to your own photography?
If you like what you’ve read you might also be interested in reading a short interview I participated in with the good folks over at Matte Image, where some more of my views on photography are explored.
Matte Image is a high quality, service driven, boutique printing business in Abbotsford, in inner city Melbourne.
They’re the lab I recommend to my clients in and around Melbourne, Australia and also the lab that I employed to print my most recent photography exhibition.
If you’re based in or around Melbourne, Australia and are looking for high quality photographic prints check Matte Image out. Ask for Matt or Ria and say “strong as a mountain sent you”.
How’s your own creative journey through photography going?
I’m not sure if any important journey is supposed to be easy. After all, we all learn, improve and grow through adversity, pain and disappointment.
What matters is that you do what it is you need to do to nurture the image maker within you. And I’m quite sure that tapping into your own creativity is vital when it comes to discovering your true identity and also very much associated with the search for happiness and your ability to realize your true purpose in life.
