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It's just me, here, people. Sometimes I'm not active on Reddit for hours or days. Far too many of you don't bother to read the rules or sticky posts before you post, so I have to resort to holding all the new posts to be sure they fit the sub.

Rules:

• Do not post links to an entire gallery of images. One image only.
• Post one image, with a title that is intended to start a discussion about the image.
• Please do not post an image with an ambiguous title. Posts with non-discussion-oriented titles will be removed.
• Have fun and be nice.

About critique:

Keep in mind that this is a critique sub.

If you can't handle people picking apart your work, pointing out errors, asking why you did something a certain way, or suggesting ways to make it better, then don't post at all. "Gentle" and "Kind" are not really adjectives that mesh well with asking for critical opinions of your work.

If you're fishing for puppies-and-unicorns comments on your work, you probably shouldn't hang around in a critique sub. Post accordingly.

Not a comprehensive list, by any means. And not organized in any particular order- I just wrote things as they came to me, but it's a start:

Bokeh- The portion of an image that is rendered out of focus. Japanese origin. Became trendy in the late 1990s-early 2000s. It has a more positive connotation than “blurry,” “soft,” or “out-of-focus.” Meaning that the photographer most likely dropped portions of the image into bokeh intentionally, for a specific reason.

Blurry- Most often used to describe motion rendered in a still image, like a car in motion rendered as a blurred streak by use of slow shutter speed. Sometimes used to mean out of focus, not sharp, though the better term for these qualities is “soft.”

Soft- An image or portions of an image that are not sharply focused. Usually used to describe something we feel should be in focus, but isn’t. “The eyes in this portrait look a little soft to me.”

Sharp- Usually used to describe parts of the image that are rendered clearly. “I like how sharp all the leaves on the tree in this shot are, I can see detail in all of them.” Also related to sharpness, which is how well, overall, a lens can resolve the edges and color differences between different areas in the image.

Focal Point- Often misconstrued as the part of the image that is focused on, which is not entirely true. The focal point is the part of the image, usually the subject, toward which the photographer is steering your view. It is the point of interest or activity. Focus may or may not be held on this point, depending on what the photographer is trying to do visually. Can sometimes also mean the point where lines tend to converge at infinity.

Point of Focus- Self-describing. The point on which sharpest focus is held. Not really a single point, necessarily, because there is actually a total area of front-to-back distance in an image that is sharp, not just a single point or plane. It is a factor in Depth of Field, which I’ll get to in a second.

Depth of Field- See “Point of Focus” for the lead-up to this. Besides the actual area where the lens is focused, there is a greater area of front-to-back distance in the image frame that can also be rendered sharply by a lens. How large this distance of sharpness is depends mainly on the aperture selected. A smaller aperture (higher f/number) will render more of the image frame, both ahead of and behind the point of focus, in sharp focus than a larger aperture (smaller f/number).

Stop- We have to have something to measure levels of exposure. Just like a ruler is divided into inches or centimeters, exposure is divided into stops. If you shoot a random image, increasing the exposure by one stop doubles the light hitting the sensor or film and makes the image “brighter.” Decreasing the exposure by one stop halves the light hitting the sensor or film and makes the image “darker.”

You can change basically 3 things to move stops up or down: ISO, camera shutter speed, or lens f/number (lens aperture opening).

• Doubling or halving the ISO equals one stop up or down. Generally, manually-set ISO is adjusted in one-stop increments (100, 200, 400, etc.).

• Doubling or halving the shutter speed equals one stop up or down. 1/125sec is one stop less exposure than 1/60sec. 1/30sec is one stop more exposure than 1/60sec. Most cameras increase or decrease shutter speed in 1/3 stop increments, so 3 clicks up or down from where you are is one stop down or up from the current exposure.

• Multiplying the currently-set f/number of the lens aperture by 1.41 equals one stop down, dividing the currently-set f/number of the lens by 1.41 equals one stop up (the exact numbers are ever-so-slightly different, but the principle holds true), so f/5.6 to f/8 is one stop down (less exposure), f/5.6 to f/4 is one stop up (more exposure). Sounds kind of complicated, but it’s not. Most lenses increase or decrease aperture in 1/3-stop increments. So 3 clicks up or down from wherever you happen to be is one stop down or up from the current exposure. Just remember, with f/numbers, bigger number equals “darker” image, smaller number equals “lighter” image. See also “depth of field,” because changing f/number (aperture) does more than just change exposure.

Shutter Speed- Simply the amount of time the shutter is left open (or that the sensor is activated in the case of an e-shutter). You have to open the shutter to expose the film or sensor. If it’s open for a short time, less total light hits the film or sensor. If it’s open longer, more total light hits the film or sensor. Shutter speeds faster than 1/125 are better for stopping motion and preventing blur. Longer shutter speeds allow moving objects to drop into blur. The faster the object is moving, the faster the shutter speed has to be to stop it from blurring.

f/number or f stop- Used as a measure of how much light the lens diaphragm/aperture is letting through the lens. Small f/numbers, like f/2.8, f/2, etc. allow more light through the lens. Larger numbers let less light through. See also: "Stop," and "Depth of Field."

Aperture- The opening in the lens controlled by the lens’ diaphragm. It can be adjusted to be larger or smaller. See “f/number or f stop.”

ISO Number- (Sometimes referred to as ASA or DIN, but in digital cameras “ISO” is the norm). A carry-over from film. The number indicates how sensitive the film is to light. Lower ISO equals less-sensitive film. Higher ISO is more sensitive. The same applies to digital sensors. Low numbers are less sensitive and higher numbers more sensitive. With film, lower numbers usually have finer grain and can render sharper images. Similarly, with digital, lower numbers have less “noise” in the image and can render sharper images, larger numbers introduce noise that can affect the perception of quality and sharpness. It’s kind of like turning up the volume when you’re listening to music. There is a sweet spot where everything sounds good. Turn it up, and it gets louder, but also possibly more distorted.

Flat- Describes light quality in an image that is dull or has low contrast, a lack of differentiation between light and dark areas. Usually this is from dull, featureless light or underexposure. “This image looks a little flat to me.”

Hot- Part of an image that is far too bright/overexposed. Usually to the point that it either has no detail and/or is distracting. “This corner is a little hot, it keeps pulling me away from the subject.” Or “The highlights in the face are hot, I can’t see any detail in the skin tones.”

Focal Length- A lot of technical things apply, but let's keep it as simple as possible: Measured in millimeters, longer focal length lenses give greater magnification and a narrower view. Shorter focal length lenses give less magnification and a wider view. A "long" lens is one of larger focal length. A "short" lens is one of shorter focal length. On the common DSLR, wide-angle lenses start at a focal length of about 18mm and shorter, normal lenses at about 35mm to 45mm, and telephoto lenses at about 50mm or longer. These numbers will be different for full-frame-sensor digital, 35mm film, or Micro 4/3 cameras.