Bokehs and Chimping

In any field of human endeavor participants invariably develop a certain "lingo" or "terms of art" used to describe activities specific to that field. Photography is no exception. Two that I've come across recently are Bokeh and Chimping.

In photography, Bokeh refers to a blurring of a portion of the image hopefully made in a manner that adds to the aesthetic quality of the final image. This can be achieved through the use of various lens and F stops to throw parts of the scene outside the depth of field.



It can also refer to specular reflections caused by shooting with a lens "stopped down" smaller than its maximum aperture, so that out of focus points are blurred into the polygonal shape of the aperture blades of the lens used.


Chimping in digital photography is used to describe the act of checking images on the LCD screen immediately after capture. Some photographers use this term to refer to amateur photographers who constantly check, and often show off the images on their LCD to others while shooting. However, others point out that checking images simply takes advantage of the power of the digital camera, and leads to more creative shooting.