#69- 16 Phrasal Verbs, Slang Words & Idioms for Photography

Welcome to episode #69 of The Real Life English with Gabby. In this episode, you're learning about photography language! You'll walk away from this episode with 16 popular phrasal verbs, slang words and idioms, such as photobomb, a candid, snap a pic and more!

You’ll also hear real-life examples, clear explanations, and tips on how to use these expressions in everyday conversations. This episode is perfect for English learners who want to expand their vocabulary, boost their confidence, and sound more natural in English.

This episode also includes a free Study Guide that will help you practice what you learn in this episode! It includes:

• Definitions and example sentences
• The full transcript
• Practice exercises that will challenge you

and more!

Click >> HERE << For the Study Guide

Get more English Lessons here:
Visit me on Instagram
Visit me on TikTok
Visit me on YouTube

Get the FREE Study Guide:

>> CLICK HERE <<

Transcript

[00:00:00] On this episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast, I'll be teaching you 16 phrasal verbs, slang words, and idioms all about photography.
 You'll be learning vocabulary like photobomb, a Kodak moment, pan out, strike a pose, and more. Let's get to it.
 Hey there! Welcome to the Real Life English with Gabby podcast. I'm your host, Gabby — your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City. My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.
 Are you ready to improve your English skills? Let's jump right in.

Hey, hey, hey! Greetings from the one and only New York City. I hope that you're doing well wherever you are in the world. Here in New York [00:01:00] City, things are doing okay. The weather's changing. We have beautiful fall colors, as I've talked about in previous episodes, and my family and I are adjusting to life with a newborn.
 In today's episode, we are talking about something that is a big part of everyday life — photography. We take photos almost every day, whether we take pictures of ourselves, pictures with friends or family, maybe we're on vacation taking pictures, or maybe we're even taking pictures of things that we love in our own cities.
 We even take shots of things on our screen, which are called screenshots. Photography is not really just about art anymore. Photography is how we communicate. Photos are part of who we are now and part [00:02:00] of how we remember the best moments in our lives. In English, we have a ton of slang, phrasal verbs, and idioms. We have a lot from the world of photography, and that is what inspired today's episode.

I've noticed throughout the years with my students that a lot of photo vocabulary, or even the grammar surrounding photography, is confusing.
 Let's talk about a few of those things.
 So one of the most common mistakes that I hear from students in class, especially when it's the student's last day, they'll say, “Gabby, can we make a photo? Gabby, can we have a photo?”
 So I just want to correct this at the start of the episode. When you are talking about this, you use the verb take. “Can we take a photo?” So don't say [00:03:00] “make a photo,” especially for my Germans out there who love using the verb make. Do not say “make a photo.” We're not making a photo; we are taking a photo. That's the first thing.

Another thing I want you to understand is that a lot of native speakers say picture, so we'll say “take a picture” or “take a photo.” We mean those two things interchangeably.
Another thing I want to talk about is when you look good in photos. Now, I love photography. My husband is actually a really good photographer. He doesn't do it professionally — he just likes to take photos. Even just with his iPhone, he can take a photo and it looks amazing. I take a photo and it looks, eh, mediocre — not that good. But I still love taking them. I prefer taking pictures of myself, like me and friends with my camera — more posed photos I don't prefer — but we have an [00:04:00] expression: to be photogenic.

To be photogenic is when you come out very good in pictures. You are someone that the camera loves, and you always look good in photos. I am not photogenic. I've just never really been someone who comes out great in pictures. Sometimes with an iPhone, you know, I can get photos that I'm happy with, but do you have a friend who is like super photogenic? Who looks good in every photo? I have so many friends like that — so many friends and even family members. One of my cousins always looks good in photos. That is such a gift. If you are someone who is photogenic and you look good in photos, appreciate what you have. You are so lucky, you are so blessed, because I wish I had that.

I am not photogenic, but you know, I still like photos. I love photography.
 I don't know about in your [00:05:00] culture — I'm sure this is true — but in American culture, photos in your house are a very big deal. You usually walk into someone's house, you see their wedding photo, photos of their kids all around the walls, family photos. This is something that makes your home a beautiful place.

So for those of you who are maybe professional photographers, or maybe those of you who just like photography as a hobby, or maybe even those of you who just like taking photos when you are experiencing something really amazing — this episode is for you.

In this episode, we're going to learn photography language and expressions that you can use in daily conversation, on social media, in business, and in relationships. In this episode, I'm going to walk you through some of the most common photography phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang. And you know that the goal [00:06:00] for every episode is that you walk away feeling confident in this topic. Whether you're watching an episode of Friends, or whether you're watching a Marvel movie and they talk about photography and taking pictures, or whether you are reading it in a book or in conversation — I want you to walk away with confidence about this topic.

Before we get into all of the vocabulary that you are going to learn in this episode, I'd like to remind you that I create a study guide just for you every single episode. In this free study guide, you can help remember all of the things that you learn in the podcast episode because you have all the words and definitions, example sentences, the story, the transcript, and the best part — practice activities. This will help you reinforce what you learn so that you can speak English naturally and with [00:07:00] confidence.

In order to get the study guide, click the link in the episode description. If you're already on my email list, you'll get it in your inbox. In fact, you should already have an email from me by now — and if not, it's in the folder with all of the other study guides that you can access anytime.

Alright, now let's take a look at all of the vocabulary that you are going to learn in this episode: a photo op, a selfie, photobomb, snap a pic, a snapshot, picture perfect, a Kodak moment, a candid, throwback pic, pan out, crop out, blow up, strike a pose, say cheese, caught on camera, and develop film.

Now you are going to hear [00:08:00] all of the vocabulary in real-life context in this story that I created. While I read the story, listen for the vocabulary and see if you can guess the meaning based on the context. Alright, here we go.

Last weekend, Mia and her friends went on a trip to the mountains. Mia was an aspiring photographer, and her goal was to get amazing photos with her new camera. She had recently had one of her photos go viral on Instagram from a photo op she had with the mayor.
 She was an amazing photographer who always wanted to capture the perfect picture. The mountain setting where they were was amazing for photos, as was the picture-perfect weather, with a bright blue sky, yellow sun, and snow [00:09:00] still covering the peaks. As soon as they arrived at the lookout point, there was a group of tourists taking a photo. Mia offered to snap a pic for them, and then her friend Leo said, “Okay, our turn! Let's take a selfie.”
 “Alright, everyone, say cheese!” Leo said, and they all struck a pose with the mountains behind them. The photo turned out amazing. It was a true Kodak moment. Later, Mia wanted a candid shot of everyone relaxing, so she quietly took a snapshot of her friends chatting and laughing. Everyone looked so natural.

Back at home, Mia was in her darkroom developing her film from the weekend. Even though she had the option for digital photos, she had decided on traditional film for that weekend.
 Once they were developed, Mia looked through [00:10:00] her photos and was really happy with what she saw. After a few minutes, she found one that was her favorite.
 It showed all of them in front of a beautiful mountain view. However, when she looked closer, she saw that there was a random guy who had photobombed them, so she decided to crop him out. Once she did that, the photo was perfect, and so she decided to blow it up and print it out for her wall. A few days later, Mia shared a throwback pic on Instagram with the caption “Best weekend ever.” The post got tons of likes, and people commented about how beautiful it was.
 When she checked her photo album again, Mia realized that there was something crazy she had caught on camera. When she looked in the background, she saw that there was a mountain lion. [00:11:00] Even though it wasn’t planned, it looked magical. She smiled, thinking about how lucky she was to have captured such beautiful pictures.

The end.

Alright, now let’s get to the definitions and example sentences. First, in the story, we hear that Mia had one of her photos go viral from a photo op she had with the mayor. “Photo op” is short for “photo opportunity,” and we use this expression when it’s a specifically good opportunity to take a picture, usually for some kind of publicity. It’s a good opportunity that doesn’t happen often. So, if I’m a photographer and I have a really great photo op, it means that this is going to be very good for my business. For example, “The mayor stopped for a quick photo op with the kids at the park.” [00:12:00]
 We often hear “photo op” used for politics or even for celebrities. For politicians, a photo op will make you look good to the people who voted for you, or the people who you want to vote for you, while celebrities’ photo ops are also great for their public image.

Next up, we have a slang word that I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with, and that is “a selfie.” This is a photo that someone takes of themselves with a phone or a camera. We all do selfies. For example, “We took a selfie in front of the Eiffel Tower.”

Next up, we have the word “photobomb.”
 “Photobomb” is a slang word, and this is when someone unexpectedly appears in your picture. For example, “My friend photobombed our family picture by jumping in at the last second.” So you’re taking a picture, and then someone who you didn’t [00:13:00] expect to be in it appears in it. Sometimes it’s accidental — like you’re taking a beautiful photo at a touristy place on vacation, and someone walks behind you. That’s a photobomb. Sometimes it’s intentional — someone either is playing a joke, they’re trying to be funny, or someone does it on purpose where they ruin your photo by appearing in it. So imagine you’re taking a beautiful photo, and then someone makes a funny face behind you. We would say, “Oh, you photobombed us!” or “Oh, look, someone’s photobombing my picture.”

Next up, we have the expression “to snap a pic.” So, the word “snap” we use a lot for photos. You know, snapping is when you click your fingers together and it makes a sound.
 But in the context of photography, the word “snap” means the sound of a camera clicking — that’s where it comes from. And so, “to snap a picture” means to take a quick photo.
 For example, “Can you snap a pic of me with this amazing sunset?”

Then we also have a [00:14:00] “snapshot.” Again, we have the word “snap.” A snapshot is a quick, informal photo. It means quick when it has to do with photography. So “to snap a picture,” snap here is a verb, and we use this as an expression: “Can you snap a picture of me?” as you just heard. A snapshot is the noun form of this — a snapshot, a quick, informal photo. For example, “That snapshot of us laughing is my favorite picture.”
 Now, we actually also use this in a different context. We also say it’s a brief look at something. So I might say, “Hey, can you give me a snapshot of the situation?” meaning, “Give me a brief summary of a situation.”

Next up, we have the expression “develop film.” To develop film is to process film so that the photos appear. But this is the old-school way of taking pictures [00:15:00] with actual film. You have to develop it. You’d have to either send it to someone or develop it yourself in a special liquid, in a darkroom. So in the story, we see that she has her own darkroom because she’s a photographer, and she develops film there — she processes the film. For example, “She learned how to develop film in her photography class.”

Next up, we have the expression “picture perfect.” “Picture perfect” is something that looks perfect — it looks flawless, no mistakes. This is ideal. It’s so beautiful that we should take a picture. So if I’m looking at my sister who’s getting married, and I see her in her wedding dress, I say, “Oh my gosh, you look picture perfect.” It’s so flawless, it’s so beautiful, I want to take a picture of it. For example, “The view from the top of the hill was picture perfect.”

Next up, we have the expression “a Kodak [00:16:00] moment.” Now, let’s pause on this for a second. It’s very important to know that Kodak is a very famous company in the United States, and this has been a famous camera and film company for many, many years.
 They create cameras, they make film, and they used to have a slogan — they would say, “A Kodak moment.” And even though we don’t really use physical cameras as much anymore, we still use this expression, especially people 30 and over. Maybe kids under 30 don’t really know Kodak that much anymore, even though they still make cameras. But “a Kodak moment” is a special or memorable time that is worth photographing. So, “Wow, that was such a Kodak moment!” or “This is a Kodak moment.” For example, “Their wedding kiss was such a [00:17:00] Kodak moment.” We use this expression a lot for things that are photo-worthy or worth photographing.

Next, we have what we call “a candid.” In the story, it says that Mia wanted a candid shot. So, a candid is a natural, unposed photo. People aren’t posed, they’re not looking at the camera, they’re not expecting it. A candid is just natural — someone teaching, someone working, someone with their family in a very natural way that is not posed. For example, “He took a candid shot of his friends together at the restaurant.”

Next up, we have the expression “a throwback picture.” So we’ve talked about the word “throwback” before when we’ve talked about the past — memories. “Throwback” is something from the past. We [00:18:00] use this very often for pictures. So we say “a throwback pic” or “a throwback photo.” This is an old photo that helps us remember a past time. “Throwback Thursday” is a popular social media hashtag — it’s very popular, where we post old photos of ourselves. For example, “She posted a throwback pic from her college graduation.”

Next up, we have the phrasal verb “pan out.” This one, I guarantee, you’ll never learn in a classroom unless you’re in a media class. To pan out is to move the camera that you have across a wider area. So you are taking a picture, but it doesn’t get everything that you want, so you have to pan out — you have to move the camera so that it includes a wider area. “We have to pan out because we can’t catch everyone in the photo.”
 Now, we also [00:19:00] use this in another way that doesn’t have to do with photography, and that is when something has a good result — something turns out well. Like, “Wow, that situation panned out.”

Next up, we have the phrasal verb “crop out.” “Crop out” — I’m sure you’ve seen this in your settings on the iPhone or something like that. Anything you are using in English. “Crop out” means to trim or remove something that is unwanted from a photo. For example, “She cropped out the stranger who walked into the picture.” When someone photobombs you, you can simply crop them out.

Next, we have the phrasal verb “blow up.” “Blow up” is to enlarge a photo so that it’s bigger or so that it’s easier to see. Now, “blow up,” I know, has a bunch of different meanings in English — it means to get angry, it means to explode. “The bomb blew [00:20:00] up.” “He blew up at his coworker.” But in this context, it’s to enlarge a photo, make it bigger. For example, “He blew up his favorite travel photo and hung it on his wall.”

Next up, we have the expression “to strike a pose.” “Strike a pose” is when you put yourself in a specific position because you know that a photo or video is going to be taken of you. For example, “Everyone struck a pose in front of the fountain.”

Next up, we have “say cheese.” This is a really common expression — I know many of you know this. “Say cheese” is an expression that we say before taking a photo because when you say the word “cheese,” it forces you to smile, which is perfect for a photo. For example, “The photographer told everyone to say cheese.”

And lastly, we have the expression “to be caught on camera.” This is pretty self-explanatory, but [00:21:00] I wanted to teach you the actual expression so that you know what to say. “Caught on camera” is when something is recorded or photographed unexpectedly. They didn’t plan it, but they were recording or taking a picture, and they just so happened to get it. For example, “The surprise proposal was caught on camera by a tourist.”

Well, guess what — you just learned 16 phrasal verbs, slang words, and idioms all about photography! But now I want you to truly take additional steps so that you can remember these words, commit them to your memory, and use them with confidence. So I’m going to give you some homework. It’s completely optional, of course, but I want to challenge you to take your English learning journey one step further. Step number one is to download the study guide if you have not already. The study guide has everything you need [00:22:00] to improve your English — to take your English to the next level by practicing what you learned. But after that, I want you to pick about five to seven of the vocabulary words from the episode and try to use them this week.

There are a lot of different ways that you can do this, so pick a method that works best for you. Firstly, the best way is to find a partner who’s also learning English and talk to them. But you can also record yourself creating sentences and using these — maybe on your phone in the voice notes app. You can also write sentences in a journal. You can write a journal entry, you can write an email — there are a lot of different ways that you can practice with these words. In fact, if you know someone who’s learning English but they’re below your level, you can teach them these words. Teaching is an amazing way to learn English. In fact, teaching someone else is [00:23:00] one of the most effective methods you can use to truly remember this vocabulary. So find someone who wants to learn English and teach them what you learned. However you do it, definitely take words and try as best as you can to use them in your English this week.

Well, that’s a wrap for today’s episode of The Real Life English with Gabby podcast. Be sure to download today’s study guide so that you can learn how to use this vocabulary confidently. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe for more weekly adventures in English learning. Also, I’d love to hear from you, so please leave me a review.
Thanks so much for tuning in.