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The Lens
Before the image makes it to the film or digital sensor in your camera, it has to travel through the lens. Digital technology has given anyone with computer skills the ability to learn how to edit and fix pictures. However, the better the lens, the better the quality of the image. There are many different lens options for cameras, from the widest fish-eye lenses to the super-telephoto ones that can record an image from a mile away. One example of a super-telephoto is Canon's 1200mm telephoto lens.
The Shutter
A properly exposed picture results from successfully controlling the amount of light that reaches the film or digital sensor. While the lens aperture will control how much light transfers through the lens by changing the size of its opening, the cameras shutter controls how long that light contacts the film or digital sensor. The shutter also gives the photographer control of the type of image he wants to shoot. A slower shutter speed and the technique known as "panning" will create an image that displays movement. And a fast shutter speed, with some cameras--like Canon's 1D professional camera--having the ability to record images a 1/16,000th of second, photographers can make a water droplet appear to be suspended in air.
The Sensor or Film
Once the image travels through the lens and the shutter, it eventually arrives at the film plane or a digital sensor. Film is still used today, although not nearly as much as previously. Film is a material that is specially designed to be sensitive to light. When it is properly exposed, it records what it views. Through the developing process, it is converted to negative that a print can be printed. Digital sensors are also sensitive to light when power is sent through them. They, along with an internal image processor, turn the image into binary digital data that is later assembled to resemble the picture the photographer shot.