chromatic aberration n. A highly technical way of saying that you get what you pay for.

previsualization n. The practice of using Photoshop to rescue poorly exposed and composed photographs, an unintended consequence of the shift from film to digital photography.

lens cap n. A camera component, usually made of plastic, that is favored by many viewfinder camera owners for recording images in lieu of film or their camera’s sensor.

bokeh n. The pleasantly blurred or out-of-focus look the world takes on after one has spent the evening enjoying a few beers with the members of his/her photo club (e.g. “He has good bokeh this evening”). The word “bokeh” comes from the Japanese word “boke” (pronounced bo-keh) which literally means “things get really fuzzy after that sixth bottle of rice [...]

scrim n. The strangled noise a photographer makes when he realizes he has just formatted and then written new data over the wrong memory card.

filter [fil·ter] n. A twenty-five cent, optically inferior piece of plastic suspended in front of a three thousand dollar, optically superior lens, thereby obviating the photographer’s investment in the latter.

tripod [tri·pod] n. A three legged contrivance used by a photographer to advertise his socioeconomic status to other photographers.

polarizer [pol·a·ri·zer] n. Mentioning your preference for Canon camera equipment during a conversation with Nikon enthusiasts. (Or vice versa.)

depth of field n. The distance you need to travel back into a field to find the lens cap you dropped.

f·stop n. A profane verbal ejaculation over a missed photographic opportunity that is cut short when the artist realizes he/she is in the presence of an audience. (”Oh f–”)