User:Sbb/Glossary of photography terms


The following is a list of terms related to photography.

0–9 edit

120 film

Main article: 120 film

135 film

Main article: 135 film

More commonly known as 35 mm format or 35 mm film, it is the most popular film format. The term '135' was introduced by Kodak as a designation for the 35 mm photographic film, which is the film gauge of the format, 35 millimeters (1.4 in). The image frame is 36 mm wide by 24 mm high, with a diagonal measurement of 43.27 mm. Sometimes used interchangeably with full format (which is more specifically a sensor format in digital cameras).
18% gray American English
18% grey British English

Same as middle gray.

4×5
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35 mm

See 135 film.

35 mm equivalent

Main article: 35 mm equivalent focal length

A lens with a focal length mounted on a camera body with a film format or sensor size different than 35 mm format will frame the same subjects at the same distance from the camera (or said alternately, will have the same angle of view) as a 35 mm camera mounted with a lens using the 35 mm equivalent focal length. For example, a 50 mm lens mounted on a Micro Four Thirds camera, with a crop factor of 2 (compared to 35 mm format) will produce an image with a similar framing, from the same distance, as a 100 mm lens on a 35 mm camera.
3CCD

Also three CCD, three-CCD sensor.

A color digital sensor format that uses a dichroic prism to split the incoming light into three narrower spectra centered on red, green, and blue wavelengths. Each color-separated spectrum is imaged by a dedicated CCD sensor.
3D photography

See stereoscopy.

A edit

aberration

Main article: Optical aberration

A property of a lens or other optical system that causes light to spread out into a blur spot, rather focus to a point. The two general types of aberration are monochromatic and chromatic aberrations. Monochromatic aberrations are due to the geometry of the lens, independent of the wavelength of light traveling through the system. The effect of chromatic aberrations is dependent upon the wavelength, or color, of the light in the lens.[1]
abstract photography

Also conceptual photography.

A means of depicting an image that does not have an immediate association with the object world. Abstract photographs are often created through non-traditional uses of photographic equipment, processes, or materials.
achromat
achromatic lens
A lens that is designed to correct for spherical or chromatic aberration. The correction is usually achieved by a achromatic doublet, combining two lens elements of different refractive indices such that the aberration of one is counteracted by an opposite aberration in the other. Achromatic lenses, unless otherwise specified, correct for aberrations at two different wavelengths. Apochromatic lenses correct three wavelengths, and superachromatic lenses correct four wavelengths.
active-pixel sensor

Same as CMOS sensor.

Adobe RGB

Main article: Adobe RGB color space

A color space developed by Adobe Systems in 1998. Covers approximately 50% of the colors in the CIELAB color space, with a wider gamut than sRGB.
aerial photography

Main article: Aerial photography

Taking images from an airborne platform, such as airplane, helicopter, or drone. Kite aerial photography is a specific type of aerial photography.
AF

See autofocus.

afocal photography

Main article: Afocal photography

Also afocal imaging, afocal projection.

A type of photography where a camera with attached lens is mounted over the eyepiece of another image-forming lens system, such as a telescope, spotting scope, or microscope, with the camera lens taking the place of the human eye.
alias, aliasing
ambrotype

Main article: Ambrotype

A positive photograph on glass made by a variant of the wet plate collodion process. Viewed using reflected light. Often mistaken for daguerreotype images.
analog photography

Main article: Analog photography

Non-digital photography. Usually refers to film photography, but also includes any photography that uses chemical processes to capture images on paper, glass, or plates.
anamorphic format

Main article: Anamorphic format

Primarily used in cinematography, a form of optical lateral compression that is used to capture a wide view of a scene onto a film frame with a narrower aspect ratio. This allowed filming wide-screen movies onto 35&mm film or other formats that had narrower fields of view than typical movie screen formats. The optical lateral compression is achieved through the use of a cylindrical lens element. The lateral compression resulted in characteristic artifacts such as prominent horizontal lens flare and vertically-oblong blur spots.
angle of view
AoV

Main article: Angle of view

The angular extent of a scene imaged by a camera. The angle of view is determined by the film or sensor dimensions, the focal length of the lens, and the projection type of the lens.
apochromatic lens
apochromat

Main article: Apochromat

A lens that corrects for spherical and chromatic aberrations for three wavelengths of light, as opposed to the more common achromatic lens, which only corrects for two wavelengths.
aperture

Main article: Aperture

The hole or opening through which light travels in a lens or optical system. The amount of light from a constant source traveling through a lens is proportional to the area of the aperture. But most calculations for characteristics such as exposure and depth of field are based on the 1-dimensional measure of the aperture (diameter). While most apertures are rotationally-symmetric about the lens's optical axis (i.e., circular, or regular polygonal shaped), some apertures exhibit only lateral symmetry (such as anamorphic lenses), or no symmetry.
aperture control ring
aperture ring
On a lens, usually the closest control ring to the user, to control the lens's aperture setting. Most modern electronically-controlled aperture lenses do not have an aperture ring; they are controlled from the camera body itself via dial or setting.
APEX system

Main article: APEX system

Stands for Additive System of Photographic Exposure, designed as a means to simplify exposure computation. The system uses a base-2 logarithmic scale to convert multiplication and division in the camera exposure equation to addition and subtraction of exposure steps.
architectural photography

Main article: Architectural photography

A photography sub-genre that emphasizes capturing buildings or other architectural structures in an aesthetically pleasing way. Often requires use of specialized techniques or tools, such as shift movements on view cameras or perspective control lenses, to capture large subjects at often short distances while reducing or controlling perspective distortion. Problems arising in architectural photography include: capturing the three-dimensional aspect of the subject; light of the subject; rendering of substance and texture; the concept of the architecture; and the environment in which the subject is located.[2][3]
asphere
aspheric lens

Main article: Aspheric lens

A lens element whose surface profiles are not sections of a sphere or cylinder. The more complex surface profile of the lens element is designed to reduce or eliminate spherical aberration and reduce other optical aberrations such as astigmatism, as compared to a simple spherical-profile lens.[4]
astigmatism

Main article: Astigmatism (optical systems)

A type aberration where rays that propagate through the lens in two perpendicular planes converge on different foci.

astrophotography

Also astronomical photography.

Main article: Astrophotography

Photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial event, and areas of the night sky. Often involves specialized techniques and equipment to compensate for difficulties and limitations such as atmospheric distortion, low light levels, and the rotation of the earth. Astrophotography usually describes a sub-discipline of amateur astronomy, using cameras and telescopes available to, or made, individuals rather than institutions.[5][6]
Autochrome Lumière

Main article: Autochrome Lumière

An early color photography process patented in 1903 by Auguste and Louis Lumière. Autochrome was an additive color mosaic screen plate process.
autofocus

Also AF

Main article: Autofocus

A mode of modern cameras that automatically focused the camera's lens on a selected point or area.
available light
Photography using only the light that is present in the scene and environment. It specifically excludes light added by the photographer with flash or strobe lighting; however, controlling light via bounce lighting is usually considered part of 'available light' techniques. 'Available light' photography is usually understood not to include bright outdoor lighting conditions. But any other scenes with natural or artificial lighting, such as indoors with window spill light, lamp fixtures, candle lights; outdoor scenes lit by marquee signs, moonlight, rocket launches, etc.[7]

B edit

backscatter

Main article: Backscatter

Also near-camera reflection.

The appearance of bright, typically circular unfocused spots in an image, due to camera flash or light directly behind the camera reflecting off of small aerosol particles in the air (such as small water droplets, dust, and smoke particles) back to the lens, between the camera and subject.[8] Backscatter 'orbs' are often the explanation for supposed photographic evidence of paranormal activity.
ball head

Also ballhead.

barrel distortion

Main article: Barrel distortion

Bayer filter

Main article: Bayer filter

bayonet mount

Main article: Bayonet mount

beauty dish

Main article: Beauty dish

bellows
An accordion-like flexible folding portion of a camera, or element between camera and lens, to allow the lens to move relative to the camera. In older camera designs, the bellows allowed for focusing the lens. In modern camera designs, bellows are typically used for close focusing (macro photography) purposes.[9]
bellows factor
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black and white

Also B&W, BW.
Not to be confused with B+W (B+W Filterfabrik), a brand of photographic filters.

bleach process
A method to create line drawings from photographs. The drawing is made on the surface of a photographic print. When the silver image is bleached away, only the line drawing is left.[10]
blimp
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body cap
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bokeh

Main article: Bokeh

bracketing

Main article: Bracketing

bramping

See bulb ramping.

breech-lock
breech mount

Main article: Breech-lock

Brenizer method

Main article: Brenizer Method

bridge camera

Main article: Bridge camera

box camera

Main article: Box camera

bulb

Main article: Bulb (photography)

bulb ramping
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burst mode

Main article: Burst mode (photography)

C edit

C-41 process

Main article: C-41 process

calotype

Main article: Calotype

camera obscura

Main article: camera obscura

lit.'dark chamber', an optical device that captures an external scene inside a dark, light-tight box. The principle of imaging inside a dark chamber dates at least as early as Aristotle.[11]
camera

Main article: camera

A device to capture images on photographic film or imaging sensor.
cardinal point

Main article: Cardinal point (optics)

CCD sensor
charge-coupled device sensor

Main article: Charge-coupled device

chromatic aberration

Main article: Chromatic aberration

chromaticity diagram

Main article: Chromaticity

chromogenic print

Main article: Chromogenic print

CIELAB

Main article: CIELAB color space

circle of confusion

Also CoC or COC

The diameter of the area of highest precision or resolution in image space (i.e., on the film or camera sensor) due to refractive properties of light through the optical system. The light rays emanating or reflecting from a point on the focused object can converge to an area of confusion of a certain size. It is the goal of precision optics, and good photographic techniques, to minimize size of the circle of confusion.[12] The circle of confusion is not directly tied to or a result of lens quality, but is most important in determining depth of focus capability, and therefore depth of field.[13]
circular polarising filter British English
circular polarizing filter American English

Also circular polarizer (American spelling), circular polariser (British spelling), CP.

CLA
Acronym for "cleaning, lubrication, and adjustment" maintenance service by a camera or lens repair technician.
close-up filter
close-up lens

Main article: Close-up lens

CMOS sensor

Main article: Active-pixel sensor

CMYK

Main article: CMYK color model

CoC

See circle of confusion.

cold shoe
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collodion process

Main article: Collodion process

A negative process that required a photographic plate (i.e., glass) had to be coated, sensitized, and exposed while still wet. Thus this process was also known as the wet-plate process. Invented by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851, it was widely used, such as by American Civil War photographer Matthew Brady. Ambrotype was a sub-type wet collodion plate process.[14]
color balance

British spelling colour balance also used.

color filter

British spelling colour filter also used.
Not to be confused with color filter array.

color filter array

British spelling colour filter array also used.
Not to be confused with color filter.

color fringing

British spelling colour fringing also used.

color management

British spelling colour fringing also used.

color space

British spelling colour space also used.

color temperature

British spelling colour temperature also used.

Related: warm-up filter

A property of radiative light, whereby the color of related light is related to the temperature of the black-body radiator. Lower-temperatures correspond to red and orange color of the light. Higher color temperatures correspond to blueish or whitish color of light. The color temperature should not be confused with the perceptual sense of the light: so-called "warm tones" (reds and oranges) are colder color temperatures than "cool tones" or hues, which are relatively high color temperatures.[15]

coma

Main article: Coma (optics)

composition
The combination of decisions made prior to capturing an image that allows the photographer to convey their artistic intent. Decisions include camera position and direction (i.e., perspective; subject-to-camera distance; relative subject-background separation; depth of field; subject compression; framing; color and polarization filtering; and lighting.[16] Sometimes approached and evaluated based on geometric divisions of the scene and framing, usually from simple ratios, such as the golden ratio, or correspondence to geometrical shapes.[17]
constant aperture
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contre-jour
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CP
CPOL

See circular polorizer.

crop
Removal of unnecessary or undesirable portions along one or more edges of an image in order to improve the composition, such as straightening a horizon in the image.[18]
crop factor

Main article: Crop factor

crop format
crop sensor
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cross processing

Main article: Cross processing

cucoloris

Main article: Cuculoris

cyanotype

Main article: Cyanotype

D

daguerrotype

Main article: Daguerrotype

darkroom

Also dark room.

Main article: Darkroom

definition
[19]
defocus blur

Main article: Defocus aberration

demosaicing

Main article: Demosaicing

depth of field

Not to be confused with depth of focus.

Also DoF.

Main article: Depth of field

[20]
depth of focus

Not to be confused with depth of field.

Main article: Depth of focus

[13]
developer

Main article: Photographic developer

dichroic prism

Main article: Dichroic prism

diffraction

Main article: Diffraction

digiscoping

Main article: Digiscoping

digital back

Main article: Digital camera back

digital SLR

Main article: Digital single-lens reflex camera

diopter (American English)
dioptre (British English)

Main article: Diopter

dispersion

Main article: Dispersion (optics)

DoF

See depth of field.

drop-in filter
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DSLR
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See Template:Digital SLR.

Dufaycolor

Main article: Dufaycolor

dye coupler

Main article: Dye coupler

E

E-6 process
E-6 process
emulsion layer
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enlarger

Main article: enlarger

enlarging lens
entocentric lens

Main article: Entocentric lens

equivalence
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ETTR
expose to the right

Main article: Exposing to the right

exposure

Main article: Exposure (photography)

exposure compensation

Main article: Exposure compensation

exposure value
EV

Main article: Exposure value

extension ring

Main article: Extension ring

F edit

fashion photography

Main article: Fashion photography

fast lens

See lens speed.

field
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field camera

Main article: Field camera

field curvature

Also Petzval field curvature.

field of view

Also FoV or FOV

Main article: Angle of view

film

Main article: Photographic film

film base

Main article: Film base

film bag
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film format

Main article: Film format

film gauge

Main article: Film gauge

film holder

Main article: Film holder

film plane

Main article: Film plane

film scanner

Main article: Film scanner

film speed

Main article: Film speed

film stock

Main article: Film stock

fill flash

Main article: Fill flash

filter
1.  

See also: optical filter, photographic filter, astronomical filter.

2.  

See Bayer filter.

3.  

Main article: Filter (social media)

filter factor

Main article: Filter factor

filter power
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filter thread

Main article: Photographic filter#Filter sizes and mounting

fill factor

Main article: Fill factor (image sensor)

film grain

Main article: Film grain

[21]

fine-art photography

Main article: Fine-art photography

first-curtain shutter
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fisheye lens

Main article: Fisheye lens

fixed-aperture lens
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fixed-focus lens

See prime lens.

fixer

Main article: Photographic fixer

flange focal distance

Also register or registration distance.

Main article: flange focal distance

flash

Main article: Flash (photography)

flash shoe

See hot shoe.

flash sync speed

Main article: Flash synchronization

f-number
f/#

Main article: F-number

Usually denoted N, defined at the ratio of the focal length of the lens, f, to the diameter of the aperture or entrance pupil: N = f/D. Thus a larger f-number N corresponds to a smaller relative aperture, whereas a smaller f-number corresponds to a larger relative aperture. Lenses with a larger maximum aperture (and thus a small f-number N, say, f/2) are called fast lenses; conversely lenses with a smaller maximum aperture, say N = 6.3 (f/6.3), are called slow lenses.[22]
focal length

Main article: Focal length

A measure of how strongly a lens converges or diverges light; it is the inverse of the lens's optical power. Usually denoted with a hooked or script f, focal length is loosely (and imprecisely) defined as the distance from the lens to the film or imaging sensor when the lens is focused at infinity. Conceptually, this is found from solving the thin lens equation for f when the object distance is set to infinity (∞).[23]
focal plane

Main article: Cardinal point (optics)#Focal points and planes

focal-plane shutter

Main article: Focal-plane shutter

focal point

Main article: Cardinal point (optics)#Focal points and planes

focus distance

Main article: Focus (optics)

focus ring

See manual focus.

focusing group
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focusing screen

Main article: Focusing screen

forensic photography

Main article: Forensic photography

FoV, FOV

See field of view.

Foveon X3 sensor

Main article: Foveon X3 sensor

framing
The collection of compositional decisions that give direction and emphasis to the subject. Framing is related to not only what is included in a composition, but also what is excluded, in addition to the placement and apparent relative distances of objects in the scene.[24]
freelens
freelensing

Main article: Freelensing

f-stop

See f-number.

full frame

Main article: Full-frame DSLR

G edit

gamma

Main article: Gamma correction

Denoted by the Greek letter γ, gamma is a nonlinear relation describing degree of contrast to which an image is developed or produced. It can be considered to be an optical compression (and corresponding decompression, or expansion) factor in the encoding and decoding of an image.[25]
gamut

Main article: Gamut

geared head
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gelatin silver process

Main article: Gelatin silver process

gimbal
gimbal head
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glamour photography

Main article: Glamour photography

A type of photography that draws from portraiture, fashion, pin-up, and figure photography, historically primarily capturing women. It usually accentuates and emphasizes the sexual or gender forms of the subject.[26]
GND

See graduated neutral-density filter.

gobo

Main article: Gobo (lighting)#Use in studio photography

graduated filter
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graduated neutral-density filter
GND

Also GND, ND grad.

Main article: Graduated neutral-density filter

gray card American English
grey card British English
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gray scale American English
grey scale British English

Main article: Grayscale

1.   An image which displays the amount of light, irrespective of color information; only shades of gray are represented.
2.   A paper, print, or transparency with a series of increasingly darker gray rectangles; or a graduated continuously darker range of gray tones. Used to test sensitometry to produce known exposures, especially for plate or film photography. A specially graded scale for use in the zone system of pre-visualization, developed by Ansel Adams.[27]
ground glass

Main article: Ground glass#Photography

Group f/64

Main article: Group f/64

guide number

Main article: Guide number

gum printing

Main article: Gum printing

H edit

Harris shutter

Main article: Harris shutter

hard-graduated filter

Also hard-graduated neutral-density filter, hard grad, hard GND.

headroom
head room
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helical focuser
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heliography

Main article: Heliography

high dynamic range
HDR

Also high dynamic range imaging, HDRI.

Main article: High dynamic range#Imaging

high-key

Main article: High key

high-speed photography

Main article: High-speed photography

The science and practice of capturing fast-moving subjects, especially so as to appear to freeze the motion of the subject, or of taking images at a high sampling or frame rate. High-speed photography requires sensitive imaging media, fast shuttering mechanisms and timing, and fast and/or powerful lighting sources.[28]
holography

Main article: Holography

hot mirror

Main article: Hot mirror

hot shoe

Main article: Hot shoe

hypercentric lens

Also pericentric lens.

Main article: Hypercentric lens

hyperfocal distance

Main article: Hyperfocal distance

Usually denoted H, the focus distance that maximizes the depth of field, from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity, for a given aperture number N, acceptable circle of confusion c, and focal length f, so that  .[29][30]

I edit

ILC

See interchangeable lens camera.

illuminance

Main article: Illuminance

image format
1.  

See film format.

2.  

See sensor format.

3.  

Main article: Image file format

image plane
image stabilization

Main article: Image stabilization

incident light meter

Main article: Light meter

A device used to measure the amount of light falling on a subject from the scene. The incident light meter takes its reading from the position of the subject, next to or in front of. Incident light measurement helps the photographer correctly expose a scene because it does not measure or is fooled by the reflectances of objects, or the subject itself, in the scene.[31]
infrared filter

Main article: Infrared filter

infrared photography

Main article: Infrared photography

Photography with films or sensors whose spectral sensitivities extend into the near-infrared spectrum, from around 700 nm to 900 nm for common subjects (including portraits, landscape, and architecture), up to 1300 nm for scientific imaging. There is no fundamental difference between typical visible-spectrum color or black-and-white photography and infrared photography, and as such is easily accessible to photographers wanting to expand their creative tools and techniques. In the digital era, a camera with the infrared hot mirror removed is necessary in order to capture the infrared spectrum. Additionally, a so-called infrared filter is used to block some or all of the visible light spectrum.[32]
instant camera

Main article: Instant camera

instant film

Main article: Instant film

interchangeable lens camera
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internal focus lens

Main article: Internal focus lens

K edit

K-14 process

Main article: K-14 process

The most recent version of the Kodak Kodachrome transparency film before its discontinuation.
kallitype

Main article: Kallitype

An early form of printing whereby the image is formed from metallic silver, but the actual sensitive medium is iron salt.[33]
key light

Main article: Key light

Kirlian photography

Main article: Kirlian photography

Also electrophotography, corona discharge photography, bioelectrography, gas discharge visualization, electrophotonic imaging.

A collection of techniques used to capture the phenomenon of electrical coronal discharge.
kite aerial photography
A type of aerial photography using a kite to lift the camera. The camera is usually mounted to an adjustable rig that is suspended from the kite string at a distance from the kite, reducing movement being transmitted from the kite to the camera.[34]

L edit

landscape
1.  {{{content}}}
2.  

Main article: Landscape

landscape photography

Main article: Landscape photography

A form of photography that draws from the traditions of landscape art, developed from the landscape as a backdrop to frame and contextualize the subject, into a style that emphasized the landscape itself as the subject of the art.[35]
lantern slide

See slide photography.

large format

Main article: Large format

A camera (typically view camera) using 4×5 film size or larger, including 5×7 (5 in × 7 in [13 cm × 18 cm]), 8×10 (8 in × 10 in [20 cm × 25 cm]), and other.[36]
last-curtain shutter
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latent image

Main article: Latent image

[37]
lead room

Main article: Lead room

leaf shutter
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lens axis

See optical axis.

lens board

Main article: Lens board

lens cap

Main article: Lens cap

lens element
An individual piece of glass in a compound lens. Real-world lenses consist of multiple lens elements that are sized, shaped, and chosen for their optical properties (such as index of refraction), to work together such that when combined, the compound lens performs better than a single-element lens of equivalent focal length could perform.[38]
lens hood

Main article: Lens hood

lens flare

Main article: Lens flare

lens mount

Main article: Lens mount

lens plane
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lens power

See optical power.

lens speed

Main article: Lens speed

A synonym for describing a lens's aperture. A fast lens has a comparatively wide maximum aperture, corresponding to a lower f-number, therefore allowing more light through it, enabling a faster shutter speed to achieve the same exposure value. Conversely, a slow lens has a comparatively narrower maximum aperture and larger f-number, thus requiring a slower shutter speed to achieve the same exposure value.[39][40]
lidar

Main article: Lidar

light meter

Main article: Light meter

light field camera

Main article: Light field camera

live view

Main article: Live view

lomography

Main article: Lomography

long exposure

Main article: Long-exposure photography

low key

Main article: Low key

lumen

Main article: Lumen (unit)

luminance

Main article: Luminance

lux

Main article: Lux

M edit

macro filter

See close-up lens.

macro lens
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macro photography

Main article: Macro photography

manual focus

Main article: Manual focus

medium format

Main article: Medium format

A camera using a film or sensor size larger than 35 mm format (24 mm × 36 mm [0.94 in × 1.42 in]) and smaller than 4×5 format (10 cm × 13 cm [4 in × 5 in]) or larger view cameras.[41]
metering mode

Main article: Metering mode

microlens

Main article: Microlens

microprism
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middle gray American English
middle gray British English

Main article: Middle gray

mirrorless camera

Main article: Mirrorless camera

modulation transfer function
MTF

Main article: Modulation transfer function

moiré

Main article: Moiré pattern

monochromatic abberation
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monolight

Main article: Monolight

monopod

Main article: Monopod

mordançage

Main article: Mordançage

motion blur

Main article: Motion blur

movement
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movie projector

Main article: Movie projector

multiple exposure

Main article: Multiple exposure

mustache distortion
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N edit

nature photography

Main article: Nature photography

A broadly-defined field of photography that overlaps or encompasses genres such as bird photography, flower photography, insect photography, wildlife photography, mountain photography, underwater photography, and techniques such as portraiture and macrophotography. Nature photography is often distinguished from other forms, such as fashion photography, as an appreciation of how things are, rather than posing and staging the subject for a more appealing aesthetic.[42]

ND filter
ND filter

See neutral-density filter.

ND grad

See graduated neutral-density filter.

near-camera reflection

See backscatter.

Neues Sehen

Main article: Neues Sehen

neutral-density filter

Also ND filter.

Main article: Neutral-density filter

night photography

Main article: Night photography

The techniques and art of photographing outdoors between dusk and dawn. Night scenes are typically characterized by the lack of general lighting, and the high contrast between subjects and background that may not be as apparent during daylight. Often surfaces such as bright walls, wet surfaces and puddles, and other reflective areas are used as fill light to provide the otherwise lacking light in a scene.[43]
no-parallax point
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nodal point

Main article: Cardinal point (optics)#Nodal points

nude photography

Main article: Nude photography

The creation and art of photographing the nude human form or any part that would be considered nude or semi-nude. Photographing the nude body may be for artistic and creative purposes, or for commercial purposes. The display, presentation, and distribution of nude photographs can be controversial, and can overlap with pornography and the laws governing it.[44]

O edit

objective lens

Main article: Objective (optics)

optical axis

Main article: Optical axis

optical density

Main article: Optical density

optical image stabilization

Main article: Optical image stabilization

optical power

Main article: Optical power

optical transmission
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P edit

pan head
pan-tilt head

Main article: Tripod head#Pan heads

Also pan and tilt head, panning head

panning

Main article: Panning (camera)

panorama

Main article: Panoramic photography

A scene with a wide field of view, typically accomplished with a (usually cropped wide angle lens, special-purpose panoramic camera, or by stitching together several shots that cover the scene. When stitching individual shots together, best results are achieved when the camera is rotated about its no-parallax point, in order to minimize parallax / perspective shift.[45]
paper negative

Main article: Paper negative

A photographic process where a negative image is created on a paper, to create the final print of a photograph, rather than from film base. Paper negative process is relatively simple and accessible process for amateur photographers.[46]
parallax

Main article: Parallax#Photography

1.   The difference in the relationship between objects or planes in a scene due to differences in viewpoints. Cameras such as rangefinder cameras, those with viewfinders, and twin-lens reflex cameras have different points of view between the taking lens and the photographer's viewfinder or eyepiece.[47]
2.   Similar to above, but due to taking multiple images of the same scene, but from a slightly different perspective, such as when stitching panoramas but not rotating the camera about its no-parallax point. Three-dimensional photography, called stereoscopy, relies on the parallax from images taken a lateral distance apart and presented separately to each eye, in order to produce a three-dimensional spatial effect.
paraxial approximation

Main article: Paraxial approximation

parfocal lens

Main article: Parfocal lens

PC connector

Main article: Prontor-Compur

pellicle mirror

Main article: Pellicle mirror

pentamirror

Main article: Pentamirror

pentaprism

Main article: Pentaprism

pericentric lens

Same as hypercentric lens.

perspective
The basis of the appearance of three-dimensionality in the two-dimensional plane of a photograph. Perspective is the basis for mapping space to planes, and controlling distortion of the scene of view based on the position of the viewer.[48]
perspective control
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perspective distortion

Main article: Perspective distortion

petzval curvature

Main article: Petzval field curvature

[49]

photodiode

Main article: Photodiode

photo finish

Not to be confused with photofinishing.

1.   Main article: Photo finish. In sports races, when two or more contestants cross the finish line at nearly the same time. Named after the photo finish photography technique.
2.  Especially photo finish photography, the tools and techniques developed to capture finish-line photographs to identify the order in which contestants crossed the finishing line. Developed for, and primarily associated with horse racing.[50]
photofinishing

Not to be confused with photo finish.

See photographic processing.

photogram

Also called shadowgraph, photogenic drawing, or Rayograph.

Main article: Photogram

A photograph created without a camera, by placing objects directly onto photosensitive paper and exposing it to light. The term 'Rayograph' is named after one of the earliest and most prolific proponents of photograms, Man Ray.[51]
photogrammetry

Main article: Photogrammetry

photographic processing

Also photofinishing or photo processing.

Main article: Photographic processing

The commercial or at-scale development of film, using development machines or process equipment.[52]

photographic plate

Also wet plate.

Main article: Photographic plate

photogravure

Main article: Photogravure

photojournalism

Main article: Photojournalism

photolithography

Main article: Photolithography

photometric exposure

Same as exposure.

Picavet suspension

Main article: Kite aerial photography#Picavet suspension

A self-leveling cross-shaped camera mount suspended via several loops on a single line or string, used in kite aerial photography.
pictorialism

Main article: Pictorialism

pincushion distortion
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pinhole camera

Main article: Pinhole camera

A basic camera, without converging or diverging optical elements, such that light entering a small hole in an opaque thin sheet will produce an inverted and reversed on a plane a distance beyond the pinhole. A larger pinhole (i.e., aperture) lets in more light, resulting in a brighter image, but also less sharp. A smaller pinhole will result in a darker but sharper image. Pinholes cannot be made arbitrarily small, as the light passing through the pinhole interferes with itself, diffracting due to the light interacting with the edges of the pinhole.[53]
pinhole projection

Main article: Pinhole camera model

pixel

Main article: Pixel

polarising filter British English
polarizing filter American English

polariser (British spelling), polarizer (American spelling) also used.

Main article: Polarizing filter (photography)

A type of filter placed in front of the lens (or for some lenses, in a drop-in filter slot) in order to darken skies, manage reflections, or suppress glare from the surface of water. Because reflections and sky light tend to be partially linearly polarized, a polarizing filter can be used to change the balance of light in the photograph. A polarizing filter can also enhance the appearance of vegetation by reducing reflected light, and can make water appear more transparent by removing reflections of the sky.
pornography

Main article: Pornography

portrait

Main article: Portrait

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portrait photography
portraiture

Main article: Portrait photography

post-mortem photography

Main article: Post-mortem photography

press camera

Main article: Press camera

prime lens

Main article: Prime lens

principal plane
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principal point
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print

Main article: Photographic printing

Main article: Print permanence

Main article: Photographic print toning

process lens
A lens used in the reproduction of graphic arts, to create color-separated negatives. They are usually used around 1:1 reproduction ratio, at low apertures (f/10 and smaller), with focal lengths in the range of 12–24 inches (300–610 mm). Process lenses are corrected for very flat field of view (see field curvature), and with apochromatic elements to correct for for lateral chromatic aberration.[54][55]
projection
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pseudo-solarization

British spelling pseudo-solarisation also used.

See Sabattier effect.

pull
pull processing
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pupil magnification
pupil ratio

Also pupillary magnification.

Main article: Pupil magnification

push
push processing

Main article: Push processing

Q edit

quantum efficiency

Main article: Quantum efficiency

quick-release
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R edit

rangefinder camera

Main article: Rangefinder camera

reciprocity

Main article: Reciprocity (photography)

reciprocity failure

Main article: Reciprocity (photography)#Reciprocity failure

rectilinear lens

Main article: Rectilinear lens

[56]

rectilinear projection
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red eye

Main article: Red eye effect

redscale

Main article: Redscale

reflective light meter

Main article: Light meter

reflector

Main article: Reflector (photography)

refraction

Main article: Refraction

register
registration distance

See flange focal distance.

Rembrandt lighting

Main article: Rembrandt lighting

rephotography

Main article: Rephotography

resolution
1.   Main article: angular resolution.
2.   Main article: display resolution.
3.   Main article: image resolution.
4.   Main article: optical resolution.
4.   Main article: printing resolution.
5.   Main article: sensor resolution.
6.   Main article: spatial resolution.
resolving power (of lens)
A characteristic of a lens, describing the minimal distance two points can be focused on and still separately identifiable in the image plane. This is dependent solely upon the wavelength of the light entering the lens, the diameter of the aperture, and the focal length of the lens. Even a so-called "perfect" lens, without imperfections or distortions, can only reproduce a point source of light as bright blurry spot with concentric blurry circles, known as the airy disk. The minimal distance two airy disks are separated and still identifiable as distinct objects is the resolving power of the lens, roughly proportional to the wavelength λ and the focal length f, and inversely proportional to the aperture diameter D:[57]
 
retrofocus

Also retrofocal lens, retrofocal group.

reversal film

Main article: Reversal film

reverse GND
reverse graduated neutral-density filter
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RGB

Main article: RGB color model

RGBG

See Bayer filter.

rollout

Main article: Rollout photography

rule of thirds

Main article: rule of thirds

S edit

Sabattier effect

Main article: Sabattier effect

safelight

Main article: Safelight

scanning back

Main article: Digital scan back

scanography

Main article: Scanography

Scheimpflug principle

Main article: Scheimpflug principle

schlieren photography

Main article: Schlieren photography

selfie

Main article: Selfie

sensor

Main article: Image sensor

sensor format

Main article: Image sensor format

sensor plane
sensor-shift image stabilization

Main article: Image stabilization#Sensor-shift

sensor site

Also photosite, sensel.

shift movement

Main article: Tilt-shift photography#Shift

shutter

Main article: Shutter (photography)

shutter advance
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shutter curtain

See also focal-plane shutter.

single-lens reflex

Main article: Single-lens reflex camera

single-lens translucent
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slide photography
Also historically referred to as "lantern slides" or "magic lantern",[58] during the consumer photography film era, slide photography was a common way to capture and share photos with friends and family. Images were usually captured directly on reversal film, so that when it was developed and framed onto slide film carriers, could be displayed by a slide projector onto a screen or wall, usually in a darkened room, so that groups of people could enjoy the same image at the same time.
slide projector

Main article: Slide projector

slit-scan

Main article: Slit-scan photography

slow lens

See lens speed.

slow motion

Main article: Slow motion

SLR

See single-lens reflex.

SLT

See single-lens translucent.

snoot

Main article: Snoot

softbox

Main article: Softbox

soft-graduated filter

Also soft-graduated neutral-density filter, soft grad, soft GND.

solarization

British spelling solarisation also used.

Main article: Solarization (photography)

speedlight
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spherical aberration

Main article: Spherical aberration

split prism

See focusing screen.

sports photography

Main article: Sports photography

sRGB

Main article: sRGB

stereoscopy

Main article: Stereoscopy

still camera
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still-life photography

Main article: Still life photography

stock photography

Main article: Stock photography

stop

See also exposure value.

a
stop bath

Main article: Stop bath

stop-down metering

See also through-the-lens metering.

stopping down

Main article: Stopping down

straight photography

Main article: Straight photography

street photography

Main article: Street photography

strip photography

Main article: Strip photography

strobe
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subject distance
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sun printing

Main article: Sun printing

superachromat

Main article: Superachromat

swing

Main article: Tilt-shift photography#Tilt

sync

See flash sync speed.

T edit

taking lens

Same as objective lens.

telecentric lens

Main article: Telecentric lens

telephoto lens

Main article: Telephoto lens

A lens that is shorter from the front of the lens to the image plane than its own focal length. This is achieved with a telephoto group at the front of the lens consisting of a positive lens element followed by a negative lens element. A telephoto lens cannot be made as fast or as well-corrected for aberrations as an ordinary lens of the same focal length.[54]
telephoto group
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thin lens formula

Main article: Thin lens

[54]
throat diameter
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through-the-lens metering

Main article: Through-the-lens metering

tilt–shift

Main article: Tilt-shift photography

time-lapse

Main article: Time-lapse photography

TLR

See twin-lens reflex camera.

toy camera

Main article: Toy camera

tripod

Main article: Tripod

Latin: tripodus lit.'three-footed'; a three-legged stand to support a camera or other equipment. Tripods come in a wide range of materials and sizes, depending on height, supported weight, or stability requirements.[59] Small, inexpensive, or consumer-oriented tripods usually have a captive 1/4-20 UNC bolt to mount a camera directly. Heavier, professional-oriented tripods usually have a 3/8-16 UNC stud (or sometimes a 3/8-16 UNC threaded insert to screw in a compatible stud), to mount a tripod head such as a gimbal or ball head, which the camera can mount to.
tripod head

Main article: Tripod head

T-stop

Main article: F-number#T-stop

A transmission-corrected f-number. Light is reflected, scattered, and absorbed by every interaction with lens elements and parts, resulting in less light transmitted through the lens than its f-number indicates. The T-stop T of a lens is given by the f-number N divided by the square root of the lens's transmittance:

 
For an ideal lens with perfect transmittance, T = N. For real lenses, the transmittance will be less than 1 (i.e., less than 100%), and therefore T > N.[60] T-stops are very important in color-separation process photography, as well as in movie and video production.
twin-lens reflex camera

Main article: Twin-lens reflex camera

U edit

ultrawide-angle lens

Main article: Ultra wide angle lens

ultraviolet filter

Main article: UV filter

ultraviolet photography

Main article: Ultraviolet photography

[61]
underwater photography

Main article: Underwater photography

[62]
UV filter

See ultraviolet filter.

V edit

variable ND
variable neutral-density filter

Also vari ND.

A type of neutral-density filter attached to a lens that provides controllable amounts of light reduction through the lens. This is achieved by using two linear polarizing filters at different polarization axes to partially block light transmission. Variable neutral-density filters are mostly used in videography, instead of using a matte box with a variety of large dedicated neutral density filters.
varifocal lens

Main article: Varifocal lens

veiling glare

Main article: Veiling glare

vernacular photography

Main article: Vernacular photography

video head

Main article: Tripod head#Video and film

view camera

Main article: View camera

A camera with a ground glass focusing screen that allows the photographer to see through the lens to adjust focus and composition. View cameras are mounted on tripods, and focus by moving the lens closer to or away from the focusing screen, with a bellows blocking light not entering the lens. View cameras are noted for having movements such as lens tilt or swing; front rise, fall, or lateral shift; rear tilt or swing; and rear rise, fall or lateral shift.[63]
viewfinder

Main article: Viewfinder

vignetting

Main article: Vignetting

W edit

warm-up filter

Also warming filter.

Waterhouse stop
wedding photography

Main article: Wedding photography

wet plate process

Same as collodion process.

wide-angle lens

Main article: Wide-angle lens

[54]

wildlife photography

Main article: Wildlife photography

Woodburytype

Main article: Woodburytype

1.   A photomechanical process patented by Walter B. Woodbury in 1866. It used an alum-hardened photorelief to produce non-photochemical print reproductions from a metal printing plate. The resulting print was essentially a shallow bas-relief of the plate's image. The process was used extensively for about 10 years, until it was replaced by more convenient photochemical processes.[64]
2.   A print that is produced as a result of the Woodbury process.
working distance
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X edit

Xerox art

Also copy art.

Main article: Xerox art

An art form that began in the 1960s, created by putting objects on the glass, or platen of a photocopier and by pressing "start" to produce an image. Similar to scanography.

Z edit

zebra patterning
zebra stripes

Main article: Zebra patterning

Primarily videography. A feature found on some consumer and most professional video cameras to aid in correct exposure. When the feature is enabled, areas of the image over a certain threshold are filled with a striped or cross-hatch pattern to dramatically highlight areas where too much light is falling on the image sensor.

zone plate
 
Example of an image taken with zone plate optics.

Main article: Zone plate

A plate with concentric rings alternating between opaque and transparent, used to focus light by diffraction instead of the more common refractive optics used in most lenses. A zone plate is used in place of a pinhole for a soft-focus image. The transparent area of a zone plate is much larger than the area of a pinhole, thus the effective f-number of a zone plate is lower than for a corresponding pinhole, allowing for decreased exposure time.
zone system

Main article: Zone System

A technique for determining optimal film exposure and development, formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer. Provides photographers with a systematic method of precisely defining the relationship between the way they visualize the subject and the final results. There are 10 zones, with black corresponding to Zone 1, and white corresponding to Zone 10.[65]
zoom lens

Main article: Zoom lens

A type of lens for which the focal length (and thus the angle of view) can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length, or prime, lens. Developed in the 1930s by Dr. Frank Back,[60] zoom lenses are usually denoted by their focal length range, for example, 100–400 mm. Cameras such as point-and-shoot and bridge cameras, which do not have interchangeable lenses often describe their zoom lenses by the ratio of the longest to shortest focal lengths. The previous 100–400 mm example would be described as a 4:1 or "4×" zoom. A true zoom lens, also called a parfocal lens, maintains focus when its focal length changes. A lens that does not maintain focus as it zooms is called a varifocal lens.[66]
zoom ring
Ring on zoom lenses to control the focal length of the lens. Some older zoom lenses did not have a dedicated zoom ring; instead, the zoom function was controlled by pulling or pushing the focus ring towards or away from the camera body, causing the lens to contract or extend as necessary to move the lens elements.

References edit

  1. ^ Sherman 1963k, pp. 2071–2072.
  2. ^ Adams 1967b, p. 234.
  3. ^ Kidder Smith 1967b, p. 245.
  4. ^ Sherman 1963k, pp. 2079–2080.
  5. ^ Rice 1967b, p. 281.
  6. ^ Cuevas 1967b, p. 294.
  7. ^ Goldsmith 1967b, p. 341.
  8. ^ Robinson 2016, p. 558.
  9. ^ Morgan 1967c, p. 415, "Bellows".
  10. ^ Morgan 1967c, p. 445, "Bleach-out Process".
  11. ^ Morgan 1967c, p. 513, "Camera Obscura".
  12. ^ Ziegler 1963d, p. 674.
  13. ^ a b Sherman 1963k, pp. 2076–2077.
  14. ^ Morgan 1963d, p. 712, "Collodion Process".
  15. ^ Colton 1963e, pp. 844–845.
  16. ^ Cramer 1963e, pp. 890–900.
  17. ^ Adams 1967i, pp. 1632–1634.
  18. ^ Brown 1967f, p. 998.
  19. ^ Sherman 1963k, pp. 2087–2088.
  20. ^ Sherman 1963k, p. 2077.
  21. ^ Sweet 1967i, p. 1657–1665.
  22. ^ Jones 1967i, pp. 1550–1552.
  23. ^ Morgan 1967i, pp. 1552–1553, "Focal Length".
  24. ^ Morgan 1967i, pp. 1599–1600, "Framing the Scene".
  25. ^ Harman 1967i, pp. 1618–1627.
  26. ^ Gowland 1967i, pp. 1635–1643.
  27. ^ Morgan 1967i, p. 1668, "Gray Scale".
  28. ^ Waddell 1967i, pp. 1700–1706.
  29. ^ Morgan 1967j, pp. 1793–1794.
  30. ^ Sherman 1963k, pp. 2077–2078.
  31. ^ Anderson 1967j, pp. 1803–1805.
  32. ^ Clark 1967j.
  33. ^ Morgan 1967j, p. 1906, "Kallitype".
  34. ^ Slawson 1963k, p. 1925.
  35. ^ Lyons 1963k, p. 1935.
  36. ^ Adams 1980, p. 29.
  37. ^ Carroll 1963k.
  38. ^ Sherman 1963k, pp. 2072–2073.
  39. ^ Adams 1980, p. 57.
  40. ^ Kingslake 1963k, p. 2045–2046.
  41. ^ Adams 1980, p. 21.
  42. ^ Linton 1967m, p. 2488–2489.
  43. ^ Deschin 1964n, p. 2539–2540.
  44. ^ Outerbridge & Andrews 1964n, p. 2557.
  45. ^ Morgan 1964n, p. 2598, "Panoramic Views".
  46. ^ Gibbs 1964n, p. 2601.
  47. ^ Morgan 1964n, p. 2605, "Parallax".
  48. ^ Feininger 1964n, p. 2617.
  49. ^ Kingslake 1963k, pp. 2040–2042.
  50. ^ Gilbert 1964n, p. 2647.
  51. ^ Andrews 1964n, p. 2658.
  52. ^ Carhart 1964n, p. 2638.
  53. ^ Sherman 1963k, p. 2070.
  54. ^ a b c d Kingslake 1963k, p. 2055.
  55. ^ Sherman 1963k, p. 2074.
  56. ^ Kingslake 1963k, p. 2042.
  57. ^ Sherman 1963k, pp. 2085–2087.
  58. ^ Morgan 1963k, pp. 1953–1971, "Lantern Slides".
  59. ^ Morgan 1964t, pp. 3666–3667.
  60. ^ a b Sherman 1963k, p. 2075.
  61. ^ Clark 1964t.
  62. ^ Stackpole 1964t.
  63. ^ Abbott 1964t, pp. 3689–3694.
  64. ^ Marshall 1964t, pp. 3725–3727.
  65. ^ "Glossary of Photography Terms: Zone System". The Ansel Adams Gallery. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  66. ^ Carroll 1964t, pp. 3731–3735.

Citations edit