What does telephotography mean?
Telephotography is the practice of taking photographs of distant subjects, usually with a telephoto or other long-focus lens. Such lenses allow a photographer to narrow the field of view and enlarge distant objects, making the technique useful in wildlife, sport, astronomy, surveillance, and news photography. The word also has a historical sense involving the transmission of photographic images over a distance, reflecting early experiments in sending pictures through telephone, radio, and other electrical systems. Although telephotography remains precise and intelligible, modern photographers often prefer terms such as telephoto photography or long-lens photography. The word is especially notable because its components express its original idea almost literally: the Greek combining form tele- refers to distance, while photography comes from roots meaning light and the recording or drawing of images. Its combination of scientific description and historical technological development makes it a useful example of how vocabulary records changes in how people see and communicate across distance.
nounTelephotography is photography at a distance, typically using a telephoto or other long-focus lens. In an older technical sense, it also refers to the transmission of photographic images over a distance.
- Photography of distant subjects, usually with a telephoto or other long-focus lens.
- The transmission of photographic images over a distance, historically by telephone, radio, or other electrical means.
"Her telephotography captured the distant birds with remarkable clarity and detail."
"The telephotography in the documentary brought startlingly clear images of wildlife from hundreds of metres away."
"Early experiments in telephotography attempted to transmit photographic images over long distances."
Rare; telephotography is normally treated as an uncountable field or activity.
"The two telephotographies reveal how the technique developed between the wars."
Its name is almost a definition: tele- means “at a distance,” while photography means “writing with light.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does telephotography come from?
Telephotography combines the Greek combining form tele-, meaning at a distance, with photography, a word derived from Greek roots associated with light and writing or recording. The compound was developed for the practice of photographing subjects too distant to be recorded effectively by ordinary means. Historically, its scope also included systems for transmitting photographs over a distance, a meaning now largely obsolete.
Related word forms
How telephotography is actually used
The word is formal and technical. In contemporary photography, telephoto photography or long-lens photography is often more natural, while the transmission sense is chiefly historical.
Easily confused with telephotography
Telephotography concerns making or transmitting photographs over a distance, whereas telegraphy is the transmission of coded messages using electrical signals.