Photography

Photography is a way of making a picture using a camera. A person who makes pictures using a camera is called a photographer. A picture made using a camera is called a photograph or photo.

A "camera" is, in its simplest form, like a box with a hole in the front. There is a special piece of glass in front of the hole called a lens. To take a photograph of something, the lens makes a small picture of the object inside the camera. The lens does this by focusing light. A lens in a camera works like a lens in glasses (spectacles) or a magnifying glass.

To make a photograph with a camera the shutter release button is pressed. Pressing the button opens the shutter. The shutter is like a door. It covers the hole in the camera box. The shutter is behind the lens. When the shutter is closed no light can enter the camera box. When the shutter is open light can enter the camera. When the button is pressed the shutter opens and then closes. This happens very fast. The amount of time the shutter stays open for is called the shutter speed. The shutter speed can change between 1/1000th of a second (0.001 s) to a few seconds. Normally the time taken for the shutter to open and close is much less than 1 second.