Stupid Photography Terms
I love photography just as much as the next guy, but there's a few photography terms that are just plain stupid.
Take "fast," for example...
If you use "fast" to describe a lens, it means that lens has a huge aperture that lets in tons of light, but if you use "fast" to describe film, that means it's more sensitive to light. Add to that "fast" shutter speeds, which means there's less light to be had, and you have a recipe for confusion.
No wonder photography is hard to learn...
Another stupid photography term is ISO.
First of all, no one seems to agree if it's pronounced "ISO" or "I-S-O."
Secondly, ISO is a term derived from the International Organization for Standardization, whose acronym IOS, not ISO...
And then we have f-stops to denote varying apertures, but the f-stop scale seems to make no sense.
A sequence of numbers that goes f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6 and so on is impossible to remember, and is therefore a stupid system of measurement.
Sure, it's all based on the square root of 2, but only math nerds even understand what that means.
Don't even get me started on the exposure triangle...
I mean, sure, it takes the amount of light from the aperture, the duration of light from the shutter speed, and the sensitivity of light from the ISO and puts it into one chart, but those aren't the only factors that influence exposure.
What about ambient lighting? What about light from your flash? The exposure triangle doesn't account for those, and is therefore a stupid photography term.
You know who else has a beef with these and other stupid photography terms? Tony and Chelsea Northrup.
In the video above they explain why some photography terms are so dumb and confusing.
And just like this article, they're a little tongue-and-cheek with this...
Yes, there are some silly and confusing photography terms, but complaining about them won't get any of us anywhere.
Instead, commit yourself to learning these stupid photography terms so you can understand what they mean and how to master the concepts to which they refer.
If you need to brush up on your photography skills, we've got more than enough tips, tricks, and tutorials to help you figure this whole photography thing out.
So, take action against stupid photography terms by studying up, mastering these skills, and learning how to take some killer photos!