Requirement
2. Seven terms that decide whether a picture works
Required Often forgotten
All seven are compulsory and there is nothing to choose. Four of them come back in requirement 4, where you have to demonstrate them with a camera, so this is not vocabulary to be recited and forgotten.
Notes and warnings
Note. THESE SEVEN TERMS ARE NOT VOCABULARY TO BE RECITED. Four of them come back two requirements later, where you have to demonstrate them with a camera: angle of view becomes 4(a), light becomes 4(b), depth of field becomes 4(c), and composition becomes 4(d). The badge never points this out. The other three are exposure, stop action and blur motion, and the decisive moment. The last two get their outing in requirement 5(c), the action shot, and exposure comes back from the editing side in requirement 6(b). Understanding these properly makes requirement 4 a straightforward afternoon, and skimming them makes it guesswork.
What this is made of
Where this step comes from
- Photography Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2026-07-22), Requirement 2