Terms:

Okay, I’m going to have some fun with this. Here is a list of photography terms that I’ve had to learn, and while it may appear like a foreign language, they are part of the skill-set of a professional photographer. I’d like to challenge Uncle Fred (see “Why Hire a Professional Photographer”) to come up with definitions for all these!

Actions
Aperture Priority
Barn Doors
Bounce Flash
Bracketing
Centre Weighted Metering
Channels
Clone Stamp
Cokin Filters
Colour Balance
Curves
Depth of Field
Diopter Adjustment
Duotone
Dynamic Range
Exposure Lock
Fast Lens
Fill Flash
Flattening Layers
Focal Length
Format Card
FTP
Gobo
Histograms
History Brush
HotShoe Mount
Hyperfocal Distance
Image Stabilization
Infrared
ISO Rating
Layer Mask
Liquify
Matrix Metering
Middle Grey
Monitor Calibration
Monopod
Neutral Density
Noise
Parallax
Pocket Wizzard
Portrait Lens
Preflash
RAW
Reciprocity Failure
Resolution
Rule of Thirds
Sampling
Scrim
Seamless
Shutter Drag
Slave
Snoot
Spot Metering
Sunny 16 Rule
TIFF
TTL
USB
White Balance

Conditions:

Bright sunny day – while the blue sky looks great in photos, sunny days are not really a photographer’s friend. With any luck the sun will bring some warmth, but more often than not there is a northwest wind blowing on the beach which is the coldest of all winds, so be sure to have a wrap or jacket to warm up under from time to time. Bright sun also means shadows and squinting, so I’ll have a shady area scouted out to take your close-ups, to ensure the light is soft and even.

Cloudy day – my favourite! The light is soft and even, and there are no harsh shadows or squinting. No need to scout out an alternate spot for any of the photos – they’ll all look great no matter where you’ve chosen for the ceremony and family photos.

Foggy day – the locals call August “Fogust” for obvious reasons. Aside from a bit of a chill factor, the fog acts like a cloudy day and therefore is my second favourite condition. It does tend to burn off in the afternoon however, and often gives way to some sunshine, at which point we’re back to the nice blue sky but need some shade for those close-ups.

Rainy day – well the cloudy part of the equation is great, but the flying drops of water we call rain do pose some challenges. My camera is waterproof, and I’m always game to head out to the beach with some umbrellas, but if it’s really pouring you’re not going to want to stay out there long. I always suggest a “Plan B” in case of rain – a nice indoor area near a fireplace or a window so you can still see the view.