A PHOTOGRAPHIC GLOSSARY

A DICTIONARY O. PHOTOGRAPHY AND DIGITAL IMAGING TERMINOLOGY INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE O. MEDIA STUDIES WWW.ICMSTUDIES.COM

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Glossary
aberration An optical defect in a lens which causes unsharp or distorted images. While a lens with an aberration may still make sharp images, the defect might be in the way it renders colour due to what is called chromatic distortion. abrasion marks on lens coatings These can be caused by the careless polishing of the front or back elements of a lens abrasion marks on negatives or transparencies These can be caused by poor storage, grit in the camera or a damaged camera pressure plate. They are difficult to remove but can sometimes be reduced in printing by using a diffusion enlarger, by using nose grease or by digitally retouching the image in a computer and making the print on an inkjet printer. acutance a measure of image sharpness agitation The movement of a solution in developing to ensure that fresh chemistry remains in touch with the emulsion of a film. Regular, but not too violent agitation ensures even development. angle of view Simply put, this is the angle which a lens on a camera sees. The angle of view of a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera is approximately 45 degrees and as this is considered to be close to the angle of view over which the human eye sees a sharply defined image, this lens is referred to as a normal lens. Actually the human eyes peripheral vision can take in a much greater angle than this. However, the greater the film size, the greater the angle of view. So for instance on a 6x7cm film a 50mm lens is actually a wide-angle lens. anamorphic scaling disproportionate scaling of a digital image which is caused by uneven enlargement of one or other axis of a picture in relation to another. The result is distortion of the image. anti-aliasing smoothes out the jagged lines which can sometimes occur in a digital image by surrounding the jaggies with shaded pixels. See jaggies anti-halation backing This is the coating on film which on exposure prevents light from passing through the emulsion in the camera. Without it light would be reflected back onto the film after passing through it, by the pressure plate, and cause fogging or halation and a resulting lack of contrast and unsharpness. The anti-halation backing dissolves from the film during developing. aperture The opening in the lens which is used to regulate the amount of light which reaches the film. The amount of light reaching the film is controlled by the iris. The actual aperture is expressed as an f number. The smaller the number, the larger the aperture. This number is arrived at by dividing the diameter of the aperture into the focal length of the lens. Therefore an aperture of F2 on a 50mm lens has a diameter of 25mm. You do not have to know this but it helps if you understand the relationship of aperture to light transmission. Each larger aperture number represents a halving of the amount of light to the proceeding number. That is f11 lets in half the light of F8, F16 lets in half the light of F11 and so on. aperture priority is where the automatic function of a modern 35mm camera is set so that when you set the camera by taking control of the aperture, the camera automatically sets the shutter speed. Archival scan a unmanipulated high resolution scan usually in TIFF format used as the basis for storing an image for later processing.



Glossary
artifact any non-image related inclusion in a digital picture file such as dust, scratches or digital noise artificial light This is the term used to describe any light other than light from the sun. Artificial light also includes flash lighting but because this is daylight balanced this presents no problems in the rendition of colour. Other types of artificial light such as tungsten lighting, fluorescent light, quartz halogen lighting present special situations that either require special films or filtration in order to render an accurate colour rendition. ASA The now superseded measure of sensitivity of a film. ASA stands for American Standards Association but has been replaced by the Internationals Standards Organisation (ISO) rating. To all intents and purpose both are the same. automatic exposure The exposure system in cameras where the camera is designed to automatically set the appropriate aperture or shutter speed to provide correct exposure of the film. automatic focussing A system using internal servo-motors whereby a lens automatically focuses itself to the correct distance required for a picture. autowinder The detachable or inbuilt motor which winds and rewinds the film in most modern cameras. As opposed to a motor-drive which can make multiple exposures when the shutter is released an autowind usually only makes a single exposure with each pressure of the shutter. B setting Standing for Bulb, the B setting enables a photographer to hold the shutter open for as long as he or she holds down the shutter button or cable release. back focus Actual distance between the rear lens element and the film when the lens is focused at infinity. back lighting Light coming from behind the main subject to produce a light fringe or halo effect. Additional exposure is usually required for such a scene, and some automatic cameras have a "backlight" button to include this compensation automatically. back projection Projection of a picture onto a translucent screen behind the main subject to give the illusion of a location shot in the studio. bag bellows Soft flexible sleeve used on large-format cameras in place of standard bellows when using wide angle lenses. bare bulb The use of a flash tube without a reflector so that the light is dispersed in all directions. barn doors Hinged panels on either side of a light to control the direction of the light barrel distortion A common lens aberration causing the corners of the picture to appear to bend inwards. batch numbers The manufacturers number used to identify a single batch of film made from the same emulsion. batch scanning The ability of a scanner to scan a number of images at one time. Most scanners will handle between four to six pictures at a time, but some makes have attachments that will allow automatic scanning of up to 50 pictures bayonet mount The type of lens mount most commonly in use today in which an interchangeable lens is inserted into a camera body and then locked into place with a partial turn.

Formerly called ASA, the sensitivity rating of a film is now described as ISO.



Glossary
bellows Collapsible light-tight sleeve fitted between the lens and the film holder. Used with nearly all largeformat and some medium format cameras, the use of bellows with 35mm cameras is normally to permit extremely close focusing with standard lenses. between the lens shutter Shutter normally consisting of a number of blades or leaves, placed within the elements of a lens blur Blur can be as much an asset as a fault. Blur in a photograph can be caused by using too low a shutter speed so that you get camera or subject movement. However, the creative photographer can often make use of this to show movement or speed. bounced flash If using portable flash always avoid direct flash if you can. It is much better to bounce the light from a light ceiling or other surface so that you get a soft, even diffused light that approximates natural lighting. With colour though, you must avoid coloured ceilings as the film will end up with a colour cast, from the reflected light. Good flash bounce in a white or light coloured room can be achieved by bouncing the light over your shoulder and back into the ceiling corner. bracketing When you are doubtful about exposure it pays to bracket your shots. That is to make exposures either side of the indicated exposure, usually in half stop increments. That way you will ensure that you have a transparency of optimum density. bromide paper A term used to describe photo-sensitive paper such as standard black and white printing papers which rely on silver-bromide for their light sensitivity. bulk loader A light-tight device into which a 30 metre bulk roll of film can be loaded, for the daylight spooling of individual cassettes. If you are careful, bulk-loading of film can be a good way to cut costs. The average 36 exposure length of film is about 1.8 metres so you could expect to get around 16 rolls from a 30 metre length of film. burning in Method, in printing, of giving extra localised exposure to areas of a print which would otherwise appear too light. cable release Flexible cable used for releasing the camera shutter without touching the camera itself. When used with a sturdy tripod this minimises the possibility of camera shake. camera movements A system of adjustments, generally in largeformat cameras, which allow the film and lens planes to be moved independently of one another. This has the effect of moving the image plane (see Sheimpflug principle) enabling a more creative use of selective focus and the elimination (or exaggeration) of distortions caused by viewing angles. camera shake Movement of the camera during slow shutter speeds which will introduce blur into your pictures. To prevent it you need to use either a faster shutter speed, a tripod and a cable release. cassette The standard 35mm film cartridge, usually loaded with film in lengths of either 36, or 20 exposures though some amateur emulsions are available in loads of 24 or 12 exposures. catadioptric lens Lens generally of long focal length constructed with the use of internal mirrors enabling the light path to be "folded", so that the physical size of the lens is much less than its focal length would

35mm film cassette



Glossary
suggest. This system of lens construction is also widely used in astronomical telescopes. Also known as a mirror lens (q.v.). catch light A small highlight in an eye created by the reflection of a bright light source. Portraits without such catch-lights can look lifeless and dull. CC filters Colour compensating filters used both in colour photography and colour printing. These filters are available in a range of densities in the three primary colours (red, green and blue) and the three complementary colours (cyan, magenta and yellow). Thus a CC30M filter is a magenta filter with a density of 0.3 to green light, and is commonly used to counteract the overall green cast associated with pictures taken under fluorescent lighting. CCD Charged Coupled Device is a type of electronic solid-state semiconductor device that is extremely sensitive to light. Basically the CCD is what replaces the film in the camera. The higher the number of sensors on the CCD the higher the resolution of the images. centre-weighted exposure meter A through-the-lens exposure meter designed to give more importance to the centre of the picture than to the edges when determining the correct exposure. changing bag A black lightweight cloth bag designed to permit the reloading of dark slides or handling of film in daylight conditions. A changing bag is like a miniature cloth darkroom, with sleeves so that the arms can be inserted. Film, dark slides or cameras can be inserted into the changing bag via a lighttight zippered opening. chemical fog A veil of metallic silver deposited over the negative. Excessive fogging is usually caused by overactive or prolonged development, but a certain amount of fogging always takes place during development. chromatic aberration The inability of a lens to resolve different colours in the same plane, resulting in colour fringing, particularly with white objects close to the edges of the frame. Cibachrome A positive-to-positive colour printing process. In a Cibachrome print Azo dyes are incorporated into the silver halide emulsion coated onto a plastic base. A slide enlarged onto this print material creates a negative latent image. This is developed and then bleached to remove the processed silver and the accompanying dyes. What is left after this dye destruction is the positive image of dyes which were unaffected by the light. These Azo dyes are particularly noted for their stability. circles of confusion Because the average human eye is unable to distinguish between a true point of light and a disc of light, as long as the diameter of the disc is very small, areas in front of and behind the plane of sharp focus in a picture will also appear sharp. Once the circles of light begin to appear as circles, they will be perceived as being unsharp. See depth of field. CMYK The four process colors used in printing: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Why K? Well the originators of this acronym thought that B might be confused with blue. coated lens The surfaces of modern lenses are nearly always coated with a thin layer of a transparent material

Kodak gelatin color correction filers. The filter shown is a CC20G(reen)



Glossary
such as magnesium fluoride. The purpose of this coating is to reduce light loss caused by the reflection of light moving from air to glass or glass to air within a lens. This light loss occurs at every glass-air interface, and if uncorrected can cause overall fogging of the film, thereby reducing contrast. cold cathode enlarger Enlarger using a fluorescent light source which is particularly suitable for the purpose by virtue of its low temperature operation and its even illumination. Because it can be used without condensers, this form of illumination is particularly suited to 5x4 or bigger enlargers. collage Composition made out of pieces of paper, cloth, photographs or other miscellaneous materials juxtaposed and pasted onto paper or fabric, often combined with original artwork. colour conversion filters Filters used to alter the colour temperature of light for different films. These filters are available in a variety of strengths designated by letter: thus 80A, B C etc or 85 series. Transparency films are balanced for different light sources, mainly daylight or tungsten light. To obtain a more accurate colour balance with tungsten film in daylight, for example, an 85 series filter would be used. colour head The head or light source of an enlarger fitted with the range of colour filters for colour printing. colour temperature In theory, the temperature to which an inert body would have to be heated to glow at a particular colour. This is expressed in degrees Kelvin. The lower the colour temperature of the source, the richer it is in the red and yellow rays of the spectrum, the higher the temperature the richer in the bluegreen end of the spectrum. In practice every light source has a colour temperature, and colour films are balanced to take this into account. Daylight film is balanced for a colour temperature of 5500 K, which is considered to be the mean temperature of the noon sun. Tungsten film is balanced at 3200 K. It is possible to use a film other than in its designated setting to give a desired effect, so using daylight film under tungsten light will give a pleasing "warmth" to the picture. Conversely using Tungstenbalanced film under daylight will result in predominantly "cool" blue tones. colour temperature meter A meter designed to measure colour temperature. Some of these will measure only colour temperature, which is in the amber-blue spectrum, while the best meters will also measure in the magenta-green spectrum. This is particularly useful when photographing under light sources such as fluorescents which have a so-called discontinuous spectrum. compact camera A small easilyportable and self-contained camera, usually 35mm Compact Flash cards a type of removable memory card used for storing digital images in cameras. See Memory cards complementary colours A colour is said to be the complementary of another when the light of the two added together makes white light. The term is usually applied to the colours cyan, magenta and yellow as they are the complementary colours to the three primaries red, green and blue. Compression ratio the ratio a digital picture file is compressed expressed

Complementary colours



Glossary
in relation to the original raw file size. E.g. a file of 2mb compressed from a 20mb file would be compressed at a ration of 10:1 compression the packing of a digital image to create a smaller file compression, lossless file compression that makes a file smaller without degrading the image compression, lossy this refers to any compression of a picture file that reduces the size of the file by discarding data. JPEG compression does this, replacing pixels on an approximate basis when the file is re-opened. Lossy compressions usually result in a loss of quality and some image degradation. contact print A print made on photographic paper by exposing the paper to light with the negatives in contact with the print. Naturally these images are same-size. contrast The difference in brightness or density between adjacent areas of tone. The control of contrast is an important part of photography and is affected by a number of different factors. The inherent subject contrast, the use of lighting, type of material and processing can all be used to control the end result. covering power Term used to describe the optical coverage of lenses. A lens may be thought of as projecting a circular image backwards towards the film plane. As long as this circle is larger than the film size used, the lens may be said to have sufficient coverage. However if the lens is moved off axis as with a perspective control lens or a large format camera the lens needs to be designed with a greater circle of coverage. It is seldom possible to use lenses designed for one format on a larger format, as they do not normally have the covering power required for the bigger film size. cropping The exclusion of unwanted picture areas in printing to improve composition. cut film A term used to distinguish sheet film from roll film. For example 5x4 cut film is in sheet format 5 inches by 4 inches and is loaded into large format cameras using dark slides. cyan Blue-green colour complementary to red. dark slide A light tight device for the handling of cut film. Dark slides containing two sheets of cut film are loaded into the back of large format cameras whereby the slide is withdrawn allowing the film to be exposed. data back An interchangeable back for a camera (mainly 35mm) which allows the imprinting of information onto the film. daylight film Colour film intended for use with a light source with a colour temperature of 5500K. This is considered to be a mean average daylight colour temperature, although in practice wide variances can be expected from daylight. A late evening light can be closer to that of tungsten (3200K) while the light of the Australian sky can be as blue as 15000K dedicated flash A flash-gun designed specifically for use with a particular camera or range of cameras, Such a flash will link automatically to the electronics of the camera to control exposure and shutter speed. definition Term used to indicate the fineness of detail in a photographic print or transparency. Definition is a result both of the resolving power of the lens and the ability of the material used to render fine detail.

A contact print. The unenlarged images are used as reference for selection and editing.



Glossary
density The light-absorbing power of a processed photographic image. The amount of silver deposited after a film has been processed can be measured quantitatively by a densitometer. 100% transparency is expressed as a density of 0 while .01% transparency is a density of 4.0 depth of field This term defines the extent of acceptable sharpness behind and in front of the point of focus of the lens. While a lens may only be truly focused in a single plane, the inability of the eye to differentiate between a point and a disc (see circles of confusion) means that an area on either side of this plane may be rendered acceptably sharp, generally in a ratio of 1/3 in front of the plane and 2/3 behind. This area of apparent sharp focus may be increased by the use of a smaller aperture. diaphragm An arrangement of blades or leaves within a lens used to control the aperture or lens opening. dichroic fog Veil of metallic silver deposits on negatives which looks purplish by transmitted light and greenish by reflected light. Caused by faulty processing, these deposits can often be wiped off while the film is still wet, or can usually be removed with ferricyanide reducer. diffraction The bending and scattering of light rays around an opaque object, particularly one with a sharp edge. In a photograph this may be seen as the blurring of a sharp edge of shadow, while in the camera it may adversely affect image quality when a lens is stopped down below its optimum aperture. diffusion The scattering of light in all directions when passed through a translucent (but not transparent ) material. This has the effect of softening the light source. So-called diffusion filters may also be used on the front of a camera lens to soften the image. digital zoom the ability of a digital camera to zoom an image by cropping the picture in the camera. It offers a much lower image quality than a true optical zoom. Unlike an optical zoom, the digital zoom takes the central portion of the camera sensor's image to achieve the effect of a zoom. The existing data is not enhanced or added to, only displayed at a lower resolution, thereby giving an illusion of an enlarged image. DIN Deutsche Industrie Normen (German Industrial Standards). A method of expressing film speed, now superseded by ISO (International Standards Organisation) rating. diopter Unit used to express the power of a lens. In photography, this unit is generally used to express the strength of an accessory close-up lens, or an eyepiece correction lens. dispersion The breaking up of white light into its component colours by passing it through a material having a refractive index which varies according to the wavelength of the light, or in other words bending the rays of some colours more than others. All lenses will exhibit this property to some extent or another. The better lens designs use different glasses to try to cancel out its effects distortion An alteration in the shape or proportions of an image which may occur at any point in the photographic process. A lens suffering from distortion produces straight lines away from the centre of the image as curves. These may either curve inwards (pin-cushion distortion) or outwards (barrel distortion). Other types of

A diffusion filter has been used here to soften this portrait



Glossary
distortion may be deliberately introduced for effect. dodging Method, when printing, of holding back exposure on localised areas which would otherwise appear too dark. double exposure The superimposition of one exposure onto another in the camera. Modern cameras do not normally allow this to happen accidentally. Dpi dots-per-inch; term used to describe the resolution of a digital picture or the resolution capability of a camera or scanner dye transfer process A process of print making in which the dyes from three separately prepared images are transferred to a single sheet of paper to form the colour print. This method of printing is considered to be the most accurate in terms of colour rendition, the most controllable and the most longlasting. It is also, unfortunately, by a very long way the most expensive. dynamic range the gradations of light and dark that a digital camera or scanner can capture where details are neither washed out by light nor concealed by shadows. The greater the dynamic range of the hardware the greater the range of contrast the camera or scanner can handle. Ektachrome Proprietary name of a range of colour transparency films in a variety of film speeds for both professional and amateur photographers from Kodak. Presentday Ektachrome films are all developed using the E-6 process electronic flash Artificial light source which uses the discharge of a high voltage pulse of electricity through a gas-filled tube. emulsion A stable mass of finely divided particles evenly spread through a liquid in which they remain suspended without dissolving. A photographic emulsion is a suspension of silver halide grains in gelatin endoscopic photography An endoscope is a device for viewing and photographing in small and inaccessible places, normally within the human body. It usually consists of a tube of fibre optics with a lens at one end, together with some form of light source, and a camera attachment at the other end. enlarger A device for the production of photographic prints from negatives or transparencies, by projecting them onto sensitised paper or other materials. Generally the prints produced are larger than the original negative or transparency, although most enlargers have the facility to make a print smaller than the original. existing light Term used to describe photography in generally poor lighting conditions without the aid of artificial lights. Also referred to as available light photography expiry date Date printed on most film cartons before which the material should be processed. The

Durst M670 enlarger

dry mounting Method of attaching prints to a mount with shellac tissue (or similar), using a hot iron or a press. dupe A colloquial term used to describe either a duplicate negative or transparency i.e. a duplicate of the original. While they can be of very high quality they will almost never match the original image, there being a loss of quality in the copying process. DX coding Coding placed by the film manufacturer on the outside of the film cassette which can be read by the camera, enabling the film speed to be set automatically.



Glossary
manufacturer's guarantee will not normally extend beyond the expiry date, but in practice storage conditions can have a great effect on the useful life of sensitised materials. exposure Exposure is a measure of the quantity of light reaching a film or printing paper, controlled by the aperture through which the light passes and the length of time for which it travels, controlled by the shutter speed or enlarger timer. exposure factor Number by which the exposure of a scene must be multiplied to compensate for the absorption of light by the use of extension bellows or extension rings. In practice most through-thelens metering systems will automatically make this adjustment but a painstaking photographer should still be aware of the fact that compensation is required.. exposure latitude The amount by which a negative or transparency may be over- or under-exposed and still yield an acceptable result with normal processing exposure meter An instrument for measuring light intensity and translating it into a range of exposure settings for a camera. This measurement may occur in a number of ways. Most common is the measurement of reflected light from the subject, which is the method used by in-camera exposure meters. Also available are incident light meters that measure the amount of light falling on the subject. Such meters are potentially more accurate as they do not take into account the tones of the subject, but rather base their readings on an 18% grey. Other meters commonly used are spot-meters, which measure the light reflected from a 1 spot on the subject. These allow the building up of an extremely accurate picture of an exposure before ever taking a photograph, and are often used in large-format photography. extension tubes Metal tubes inserted between the lens and the camera, thus increasing lens-to-film distance and enabling close-up photography. Performing a similar function to extension bellows, extension tubes are in practice much easier to use in the field, but with a trade-off in terms of flexibility. f number A numerical expression of the relative aperture of a lens at its different stops. The f-number of a lens is equal to its focal length divided by its effective aperture - in other words a 50mm lens with a maximum aperture of f 2 will have an aperture of diameter 25mm. Each higher f-number halves the size of the effective aperture. fast film A film with an extreme sensitivity to light. Such films have high ISO numbers. fast lens A lens with a large maximum aperture. Such lenses have low fnumbers. field camera A large-format camera, often of wooden construction, which can be folded flat for easy transport on location. fill-flash The use of flash to lighten shadow areas created by a strong main light source (often the sun outdoors). A means of reducing overall contrast in a photograph, the flash is often set to give 1/2 to 1 stop less than the main light so that the overall effect remains close to the original. fill-light Any light used to fill in shadow areas in a photograph. film Photographic material consisting of a flexible acetate base coated with a light-sensitive emulsion.

A Gossen exposure meter



Glossary
film base The flexible base onto which the film emulsion is coated. Two kinds of base are in normal use cellulose tri-acetate for the more flexible films such as 35mm or roll film, and polyethylene teraphthalate or polyester for sheet film which requires a greater stiffness. film speed The speed of a film is a measure of its sensitivity to light. This is normally expressed as an ISO rating - the higher the number the faster the film, or the greater the sensitivity. filter Transparent material attached to a camera lens or a light source with the intention of changing the way in which the light reaches the film. Camera filters are normally made out of glass, plastic or gelatin, and are available in a vast range of colours and styles. filter factor Number by which the exposure of an unfiltered scene must be multiplied to compensate for the absorption of light by a filter. In practice most through-the-lens metering systems will automatically make this compensation, but a painstaking photographer should still be aware of the reactions of different metering systems to light from different parts of the spectrum. fixed focus lens Lens set at a fixed distance from the film plane, offering no adjustment. Such lenses are generally found on cheaper cameras, where they are combined with a small aperture, typically around f11, to render everything from approximately 2m to infinity acceptably sharp. fixer Chemical solution which removes undeveloped silver halides from processed film or paper and renders the images contained on the material permanent under white light flare Reflections inside the lens or the camera causing image degradation, often caused by the inclusion of a light source in the picture. Flare can be minimised by the use of coated (particularly multi-coated) lenses and the use of a lens hood flash The use of artificial light sources is as old as the history of photography itself. The forerunner of today's electronic flash unit was the use of burning magnesium, either in the form of ribbon, foil or powder. Magnesium powder was used in a glass bulb for the first time in 1925, giving rise to the disposable flash bulb, which still has a place in photography today. "Portable" electronic flash units weighing around 14-18 kg began to make their appearance in the 1940s. All of these have one aim in common to produce a brief burst of intense light for the purpose of illuminating a photographic subject. Flash card a non-volatile memory card used to store pictures in a digital camera for later transfer to a computer. Non-volatile means that the picture data remains stored on the card when the camera power is switched off. flashing Method of giving a brief burst of even light to sensitised material in order to reduce the contrast floodlight Artificial light source with a large shallow reflector giving a soft, even light fluorescent light Type of vapour discharge lamp in which ultra-violet light is converted into visible light. The inside of a mercury vapour tube is coated with substances that fluoresce, or convert some parts of the spectrum to a longer wavelength. By a suitable choice of coating materials a number of different "daylight" colours can be produced. However, as a

A modern tilt head flash unit with secondary fill flash below the main head.



Glossary
fluorescent light source does not contain all the colours of the spectrum, filtration is normally required to create a correct colour balance. focal length An optical term for the distance between the rear nodal point of a lens and the focal plane, when the lens is set at infinity. In photographic terms, the focal length of a lens determines the degree of image magnification - a longer focal length lens will have a greater degree of magnification and a smaller angle of view focal plane The plane in which a lens brings an image to sharp focus, when correctly focused. focusing cloth Opaque cloth, often lined with black velvet, which is draped over the viewfinder of a large-format camera and the head and shoulders of the photographer to shield the focusing screen from extraneous light focusing hood Folding metal hood used mainly with medium format reflex cameras to shield the focusing screen from extraneous light. Most focusing hoods also incorporate a fold-away magnifying lens to aid focusing focusing screen Ground glass or plastic screen on which an image can be accurately focused fog Any visible deposit or density in the negative or print not forming part of the photographic image. Fogging may be caused by light, by development causing excess silver deposits, or by other chemical means. format Size and shape of a negative, transparency or print or the camera used to produce them. The most common use of the term is to define cameras as being small or miniature (35mm), medium format (6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x8, or 6x9) or large format (5x4in or 10x8 in). frame counter Built in mechanism to determine the number of frames taken on a film. gel Commonly used term for photographic filters made from gelatin. These filters are manufactured by dissolving suitable dyes in gelatin, which is then coated on glass, allowed to dry and then stripped off. Optically flat and accurately coloured, these filters are easily marked and must be handled with great care to prolong their lives gelatin A naturally occurring protein which is used as the medium for holding silver halide crystals in suspension to form the most common photographic emulsions. ghost image Unwanted image of a bright light source caused by a double reflection within the lens. A type of flare producing an actual image, generally distorted. GIF Graphic InterFace: a digital image format devised by Compuserve for using pictures online. GIF images are the most commonly used image format on websites. glossy paper Printing paper with a smooth shiny finish to maximise detail and tonal range. Because the

The focal plane shutter of a Nikon F4s. The focal plane shutter is so called because it is located just in front of the focal plane of the lens.

focal plane shutter Shutter consisting of one or more curtains of either fabric or metal with a variable slit to pass light, located just in front of the film plane. The length of the exposure is determined by the size of the slit. focal point The point in a lens at which all the rays of light transmitted by an object intersect. focusing Adjusting the distance between the lens and the film plane to bring the image in front of the camera into sharp focus.



Glossary
glossy surface has no surface texture it is invisible like the surface of a mirror. It is therefore able to show up all the detail in the photograph. Because the smooth surface does not scatter light, it is also able to reproduce much deeper blacks, and so can show a greater brightness range than a matt print, or one on a textured surface. gradation Term referring to the tonal scale or contrast range found throughout an image. An image that shows a large range of grey tones between extreme white and extreme black is said to have a soft gradation. An image showing a restricted range of tones is said to have a hard gradation. grade Classification of the contrast inherent in black and white printing papers. Lower numbers (0-1) are soft, higher numbers (4-5) very hard. grain When a photographic image is developed, silver halide crystals within the emulsion are converted to metallic silver, which then appears black. The density of these silver deposits determines the lightness or darkness of the tones in a negative. However, because the silver is not absolutely evenly distributed throughout the image some of these silver deposits will clump together to form visible grain. In general faster films are more susceptible to this phenomenon, as the larger the silver halide crystals the more sensitive to light, and the greater the tendency to clumping. grey card A card with the equivalent of an 18% grey tone, which may be used for taking accurate reflected light meter readings, by reading the light reflected from it. An 18% grey has been determined as an average reading from an average scene, when reduced to black and white. grey scale Print or transparency consisting of a series of grey tones of regular increasing depth from white to black. Such a scale is used in sensitometry, and for determining accurate colour balance when making three colour separation negatives. Greyscale image Term used to describe a black and white picture consisting of up to 256 levels or grey, with 8 bits of colour data per pixel ground glass Sheet of glass which has been etched on one side to create a translucent , light-arresting surface on which a visible image is formed. It is used to make focusing screens for large format and reflex cameras. guide number An indication of the power of a flash unit, by which the appropriate aperture may be determined. A guide number is normally specified in both feet and meters, and is given for a specific film speed. The guide number of the flash unit is divided by the flash-tosubject distance to give the aperture. halation A bright light source in a photograph may often be surrounded by a diffuse ring. This so-called halation is caused by the light from the subject penetrating the emulsion and being reflected back from the film base. This phenomenon has largely been eliminated by the use of antihalation dyes between emulsion and film base. hardener Chemical used to harden the gelatin emulsion and make it less susceptible to scratching or rubbing. Normally such hardeners are now incorporated into the fixer, particularly for fixing negatives. high-key Photograph in which the lighter tones predominate.

This is a greyscale, showing a range from pure white through to a solid black



Glossary
Histogram this is a graph of the brightness range of a digital image. By adjusting the histogram one is able to influence the exposure of a picture. Most professional cameras have built-in histogram displays and most image editing software programs use a histogram for adjusting pictures in the computer. hot shoe Accessory shoe built into the camera with the electrical contacts necessary to trigger a flash-gun. Most modern 35mm cameras which are part of a larger system will also have flash guns available with a variety of different functions linked through the hot shoe, such as setting the appropriate shutter speed on the camera when the flash is to be used, setting the flash output for a particular aperture or even determining when the flash is required for daylight fill-in. hue The quality that distinguishes one colour from another. Each hue can vary over a continuous range of saturation, thus determining the apparent vividness of the colour. hyperfocal distance A lens focused at infinity has a depth of field which reaches significantly closer to the camera. When the lens is then focused at this closer point, known as the hyperfocal point, the depth of field will reach from half the distance to the point, to infinity on the other side. Obviously this will change according to the aperture employed. The distance from the camera to the hyperfocal point is the hyperfocal distance. hypo Colloquial term for fixer, derived from hyposulphite of soda, a name incorrectly given to sodium thiosulphate. hypo eliminator Solution for the removal of small traces of "hypo" from negatives and prints, thereby drastically reducing washing times. image fall-off The failure of a lens to resolve satisfactorily to the outer corners of a negative, transparency or print. All lenses project a circular image onto the film, but only the centre of this circle is actually used. However some lenses have insufficient covering power when used wide open to cover the frame properly, causing a fall-off of both light intensity and image quality at the corners of the frame. This can generally be improved by stopping the lens down. incident light Incident light is the light falling on a subject, as opposed to the light reflected from it. It can be measured with an incident light meter. infinity Mathematical term for a dimension or quantity of sufficient size to be unaffected by finite variations. In practice a position marked "" on the lens which brings the lens to its rearmost position and into focus on very distant objects, 1000 meters or so from the camera. infra-red Infra-red is the band of invisible rays beyond the red end of the visible spectrum. Some of these rays may be used to record on suitably sensitised film. inspection development Technique now largely superseded of developing orthochromatic film by inspection under an appropriate safelight. Orthochromatic films have now mainly been replaced by panchromatic film which is sensitive to light throughout the visible spectrum. interchangeable backs The more popular medium format SLRs feature removable backs which may be changed without the removal of the film, enabling greater versatility when shooting.

Usually positioned on top of the reflex prism of an SLR, the hot shoe is used for mounting a flash unit



Glossary
internegative Negative, generally made on a special film, for producing colour prints from colour transparencies. Interpolation is the process where the software calculates the new value of a pixel based on an examination of the surrounding pixels. JPEG compressions work in this way with the software stripping out inessential information to compress a file, then replacing it with pixels matched to those nearby when the file is decompressed. Because the software can only make an educated guess on the colour of the pixels that were there before, there is a loss of image quality. inverse square law In practical terms the inverse square law refers to the relationship of light to the subject and the distance between them. If the distance from a light source is doubled, the light falling on the subject is reduced to a quarter. At three times the distance the light is reduced to one-ninth. IrfanView a superb little freeware program for simple picture manipulation. Especially useful for batch processing of large numbers of images where they may require resizing, renaming or converting from one format to another. Available from: www.irfanview. com ISO Initials of the International Standards Organisation. Normally used to indicate the speed of photographic materials. Jaggies the stair-like lines that appear in a digital image where there should be smooth straight lines or curves. Jaggies can occur for a variety of reasons; the most common being that the output device (display monitor or printer) does not have enough resolution to portray a smooth line. In addition, jaggies often occur when a bitmapped image is converted to a different resolution. The effect of jaggies can be reduced somewhat by a graphics technique known as antialiasing. Antialiasing smoothes out jagged lines by surrounding the jaggies with shaded pixels. Some inkjet printers jaggies with a technique known as smoothing. Joule Unit of energy equal to 1 wattsecond. The joule is used to measure the energy provided by electronic flash, particularly studio units. JPEG popular digital camera file format that uses lossy compression (see Compression, lossy) to reduce file sizes. The file algorithm was developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group, hence the name Kelvin Scale Units of the absolute scale of measurement, which uses the same increments as the Celsius scale but has as its zero point -273 C, or absolute zero. Used to indicate colour temperature. key A photograph does not have to include a full range of tones to be acceptable. An image which uses either the lighter or the darker range of tones is said to be in either a high or a low key. key light The dominant or principal light illuminating the subject. Kodachrome For many years the standard by which all other colour film was judged, Kodachrome uses a system which put simply adds the colour in the processing rather than having it integral in the film lamphouse Light -tight container of a light source in either a projector or an enlarger.

Jaggies. The pixel pattern that occurs when a digital image is enlarged too much.



Glossary
large format camera Term for a camera using sheet film of 5x4in or larger latent image Exposure to light in a camera does not normally bring about visible changes in a sensitised material. It does, however, cause invisible changes which can be revealed by development. The image waiting for development is the latent image. designed by Oskar Barnack in 1913 to use the standard film for movie photography. Production of the LEItz CAmera began in 1924. lens Optical device capable of bending light to form an image.. A lens is simply a glass or plastic disc through which light passes, and as it does so it is bent in such a manner as either to converge at a point or to diverge as though coming from a point closer than the subject. Nearly all lenses used for photographic purposes consist of more than one element, or piece of glass, all of which work together to bring an image into sharp focus at a plane ( the film plane). While lens design and construction has improved enormously with the advent of the computer and the use of special glasses, many modern lenses can trace their design back to the beginning of 35mm photography lens hood Device, normally a metal or rubber tube, fitted to prevent extraneous light from falling on the lens. While light from just off-axis may not directly fall upon the film, it may set up internal reflections within the lens causing flare lens mount The metal housing within which the glass elements of a lens are held. A lens mount may also incorporate a between-the-lens shutter and/or an iris diaphragm. Lens mount is also the term used to describe the way in which interchangeable lenses are attached to the camera body. light The visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Visible light has a range of wavelengths from approximately 400 to 720 nanometers, a tiny part of the whole spectrum. light box A box with an internal source of illumination and a translucent side for the viewing of transparencies and negatives line film Film of such high contrast that it is only capable of rendering black and white without intermediate tones. Used for copying line drawings. Lossless compression see Compresssion, lossless Lossy Compression see Compression, lossy LZW Compression a non-lossy compression used in conjunction with TIFF images to produce a smaller file size. While nowhere

A 5x4 large format Toyoview studio camera

latitude The amount by which a negative or transparency may be over- or under-exposed and still yield an acceptable result with normal processing LCD screen Liquid Crystal Display screen used on most digital cameras to allow previewing or reviewing of images. The screen also often serves as a display for the camera controls. leaf shutter Shutter consisting of a number of leaves or blades which open and close to expose the film. Leaf shutters are normally mounted within the lens. LED Light-emitting diode, commonly used for in-camera display of information concerning exposure, focus etc Leica The first modern 35mm camera,



Glossary
near as efficient as JPEG compression in redicing files, it does not discard data and therefore retains the integrity of the original image. macro lens Lens designed for use in macrophotography without any additional attachments or supplementary lenses. In practice a name given to any lens with a closefocusing facility allowing photographs with a reproduction ratio of about 1:4, or a quarter lifesize. Most specifically-designed focusing macro lenses will allow focusing to a ratio of at least 1:2 while a true macro lens must be used with an extension bellows, but will allow focusing to a ratio as great as 20:1. macro-photography Macrophotography is normally considered to be photography of subjects from life-size (1:1) down to ten times lifesize (10:1) In practice any form of close-up photography is often referred to as macro-photography. magazine Light-tight container for film which can be attached or detached from the camera body, allowing instant interchangeability of film. Normally used with medium format SLR cameras, but bulk magazines containing up to 250 exposures are available for some 35mm cameras. magenta Purplish-red colour, the complementary colour to green. magnification Relationship between the size of the subject and the size of the image. masking Method, when printing, of reducing the quantity or quality of the light forming an image. In monochrome masking this is normally done to control the contrast range of a negative, while in colour the technique is more often used to alter the relative colour saturation of the different colours. masking frame Adjustable holder for printing paper, used to keep the paper in position on the enlarger easel. matte Term used for a non-reflective surface without a visible texture. Also used to describe the cardboard mount used to frame a print Megapixel a digital image or image sensor (CCD) made up of over a million pixels Memory cards the removable storage card in a digital camera that acts as the film. When the card is full it can be removed and another card inserted. The memory on these cards is non-volatile- that is, the images remain on the card when it is removed from the camera. The images can be later downloaded from the card, either direct from the camera or by using a card reader. When the images are erased from the card it is ready to be reused. There are four types of memory cards at this time: Compact Flash, Smart Media, Intel Miniature mercury vapour lamp Arc lamp in which the glowing arc is contained in a tube of vaporised mercury, giving a bluish light. microphotography The production of very small photographs, to be viewed with special equipment such as a microfilm reader. The term should not be, but often is, confused with photomicrography which is taking photographs of very small objects through a microscope. mirror lens Lens generally of long focal length constructed with the use of internal mirrors enabling the light path to be "folded", so that the physical size of the lens is much less than its focal length would suggest. This system of lens construction is

Digital memory card. The film used for the storage of images in digital cameras.



Glossary
also widely used in astronomical telescopes. Also known as a catadioptric lens mirror lock Many modern SLR cameras have the facility for locking the instant-return mirror up out of the light path by means of a mirror lock. This technique is often used to minimise vibration with slow shutter speeds or extreme close-ups. monochromatic Literally, singlecoloured. The term is most often used to define black and white photography, but may also be applied to photographs taken with an absence of strong colours. Monochromatic illumination is the use of a light source containing only a single wavelength, in order to eliminate chromatic aberration , mainly in scientific photography monopod An extendable tube used as a camera support. While never as stable as a tripod, a monopod is often useful in situations requiring maximum possible stability with extreme portability. monorail camera A large format camera based around a long rail, to which standards to hold lens and film are attached and linked with a bellows. The standards consist of a front or lens standard and a rear standard in which the film holder is mounted. A monorail camera is normally capable of extension by the inclusion of intermediate standards and additional bellows, or of wide-angle photography using a bag bellows. montage Technique of combining a number of photographs on a common base, often for the purpose of panorama or aerial survey photographs. motor-drive Device, usually batterypowered, for automatically advancing film through a camera. Unlike an autowinder, which is normally only capable of making a single exposure each time the shutter release is pressed, a motordrive is normally able to make continuous exposures. MPEG A digital video format developed by the Motion Pictures Expert Group multigrade paper Paper used for black and white printing which has a variable contrast range controlled by the use of coloured filters, instead of the more traditional single grades of paper contrast. multiple exposure Technique of making more than one exposure on a single frame. Most modern SLR cameras have a facility for allowing multiple exposures. negative Processed photographic image with reversed tones, so that light becomes dark and dark light . In colour negative, colours are represented by their complementaries, although this is not always as easy to see because of the overall orange masking of most colour negative film. negative carrier Metal or plastic frame used to hold the negative flat in an enlarger between the light source and the lens. Newton's rings Rings of coloured light often seen when two or more transparent surfaces are not quite in contact. Newton's rings are often seen in glass negative carriers and glass slide mounts, where the sandwich of glass and film in not tightly squashed together. Special glass, lightly etched with acid, may be used to get rid of these rings. NiCad (batteries) rechargeable nickel cadmium batteries. NiCad batteries are useful, but suffer from a memory problem. If recharged before they are fully discharged,

A colour print film negative

A black and white negative

Positive print from the black and white negative



Glossary
they will no longer accept a full charge. NiMH (batteries) rechargeable Nickel metal-hydride batteries excellent for use in digital cameras or other equipment with high-energy demand nodal point The nodal point of a lens is the point at which all the rays of light passing through it converge for the rear nodal point, or from which all the rays of light appear to come for the front nodal point. Although each individual element of a lens will have its own nodal point, in practice the nodal point is treated as the combined points of all the different elements. noise any unwanted data that occurs in a digital image whether caused by exposure problems, aliasing or signal problems. Noise can be likened to static in a radio signal. notches Sheet film for large format cameras needs to be handled in complete darkness. Because it is difficult to tell the front of the film from the back simply by feel, notches are cut into one corner of the film. These notches are coded with different shapes to differentiate one film from another. When the notch of the film is in the right hand top corner, the emulsion is face up. opacity A measure of the lighttransmitting characteristics of a material. The greater the opacity, the less light is transmitted. open flash A technique of firing the flash while the shutter is held open. This technique allows the use of repeated firing of the flash to "paint" the subject with light. optical glass Modern lens design demands the use of extremely pure glasses of different characteristics. The main reason for this is the reduction of aberrations, mainly chromatic aberration, which is achieved by using glasses of different refractive indexes and different dispersion characteristics. optical resolution the actual resolution of a digital imageas opposed to interpolated resolution orthochromatic Orthochromatic film is sensitised to all the colours of the visible spectrum except for deep orange and red. Before the introduction of modern panchromatic black and white films, which have a balanced sensitivity to all colours, "ortho" was the standard. The characteristic look of this film is to show reds as blacks. overdevelopment Processing fault which increases density and contrast in a negative, caused either by processing for too long, at too high a temperature, or by too much agitation. For a print overdevelopment is seldom a serious problem overexposure The result of giving a sensitised material too much exposure to light. An overexposed negative will be excessively dense in the highlight areas, and a print from such a negative will be generally flat and lacking in contrast. oxidation Chemical reaction which increases the proportion of oxygen or similar electro-negative components of a chemical compound. Photographic developers are prone to oxidation, which reduces their effective working life, and should therefore be stored in sealed bottles. pan and tilt head Tripod attachment which allows the camera to be rotated through 360 and tilted vertically up and down, or in the case of a 3-way pan-and-tilt head from side to side about its axis as well . The camera may then be

A pan & tilt tripod head



Glossary
locked in any position. panchromatic Sensitised materials that respond equally to all colours of the visible spectrum. panning Technique of swinging the camera with a moving subject, in order to record a sharp image of the subject but a blurred background. panorama camera Special type of camera designed to take pictures over a wider than normal horizon. The lens rotates around its rear nodal point while the film is transported past a slit, the size of which determines the exposure. In some versions of panorama camera the whole camera moves around the axis, while the film is transported in the opposite direction. a hypo clearing agent should be used, and washing should be as extensive as time and water will allow. The removal of all silver compounds may be tested for with a sodium sulphide solution. photoflood Tungsten light source designed to run at a higher voltage than normal in order to burn brighter. Thus the lamp is over-run when used on the normal household current. The extra brightness is obtained at the expense of longevity - a photoflood will normally only work for a few hours before burning out. photogram Word used to describe a photographic image made without the use of a camera. Normally photograms are made by placing opaque or semi-opaque objects directly onto printing paper which is then exposed to light and processed. PhotoShop the industry standard photo manipulation software program created by Adobe. There are a number of programs that come close to the capabilities of Photoshop, but it is considered the best and the price reflects that. pinhole camera Camera without a lens, but with a very small hole which projects an image. The quality of the image will largely be determined by the size of the hole, and within the limits of its sharpness, depth of field runs from the front of the camera to infinity. Pixel an abbreviation of picture element; a single dot within the display of a computer monitor or in a digital image Pixelation, pixelisation the blocky effect which occurs when an image is enlarged to a size where the pixels become obvious plate camera Camera designed to take pictures on sensitised glass plates. Nowadays the term is used to describe any large-format camera taking single sheet film. polarised light Light is considered to be a wave form vibrating in all directions about its axis. If the light can be made to vibrate in one direction only it is said to be polarised. Most reflective surfaces will polarise light to some extent. polarising filter A polarising filter is designed to reduce the reflection of polarised light from reflective surfaces. Used outdoors they may also darken sky, which is polarised

PhotoShop tool menus

parallax error The inability of a twinlens or rangefinder camera to line up the viewfinder exactly with the taking lens. Parallax error does not exist with single-lens reflex cameras because you are viewing directly through the taking lens. permanence Film or paper after developing and fixing contain a number of chemicals which must be removed by washing, otherwise the image will deteriorate very quickly. For maximum archival permanence



Glossary
with the sun at a certain angle, and may generally enhance the richness of other colours Ppi abbreviation for pixels-per-inch Prescan initial low-resolution digital scan performed by a scanner to provide a thumbnail image to which the scanner operator can adjust and crop the final scan beforehand primary colours The primary colours of light are red, green and blue, which when mixed together in equal quantities will form white. prime lens Lenses of fixed focal length are referred to as prime lenses, as opposed to zoom lenses (variable focal length). While zoom lenses have the advantage of flexibility, many photographers prefer to use prime lenses as they believe them to be optically superior. Prime lenses also normally have greater maximum apertures than zoom lenses. prism Transparent glass or plastic block with plane polished surfaces which are not parallel to one another. These can be used to reflect, refract or diffuse light. The most common use in photography is as a reflecting prism in the viewfinder of a single-lens reflex camera, where a prism is much more efficient than a mirror in that it loses virtually no light. push-processing or pushing Pushing is the intentional extending of the development of a film to increase its speed and contrast. Pushing is often a useful technique in dim flat lighting conditions rangefinder Device for determining the distance of a camera from its subject, utilising two reference points at the camera. The accuracy of such a system depends largely on the base length of the rangefinder, or the distance between the two reference points, and becomes increasingly less accurate as the subject moves further away. Many single-lens reflex cameras incorporate a variation on this system within their focusing screens, with a split image which lines up only when the subject is accurately focused. Raw data the uninterpolated digital data collected by a scanner or cameras CCD before any processing occurs RAW image format digital image data as it comes from the CCD sensor without any processing interference. reciprocity law Reciprocity law states than photographic exposure is a result of allowing light of a certain intensity to fall on sensitised material for a specific time. Thus if the intensity is halved the time must be doubled for the same exposure. reciprocity failure The failure of film to respond to reciprocity law. In practice film subjected to extremes of shutter speed (either very short or very long exposures) will require an adjustment of exposure. With colour materials this failure may differ for the different colour layers, resulting in a colour shift. red-eye The reflection of a flash from the blood vessels at the back of the retina of the subject's eyes. Red-eye may be avoided by getting the subject to look at a bright light source just before you shoot, by moving the flash off axis, or by giving a brief preliminary flash causing the subject's pupils to contract. reflector Any surface from which light can be reflected. A reflector used with a light source may completely alter the characteristics of the light, making it harder or softer as required. Alternatively folding reflectors are often used to reduce

Red-eye is caused by flash reflecting back from the blood cells on the back of then eyeball, when the pupils are dilated under low light conditions.



Glossary
harsh shadows from sunlight on location. reflex camera Camera using a mirror system to produce an upright image in the viewfinder. In the single-lens reflex this is combined with the use of a prism to give an image which is correctly oriented from side to side. refraction The change of direction of light rays as they pass from one transparent medium to another of different density resample to change the resolution of a digital image. Resampling down discards pixel information in an image; resampling up adds pixel information through interpolation. measured in pixels, or dots per inch. A picture taken with a 6 megapixel camera at its highest setting is far more detailed than a picture taken with a 1.0-megapixel camera and can be enlarged much more than the smaller file. reticulation Formation of minute cracks on the surface of an emulsion, usually caused by extremes of temperature in processing. Modern film bases are usually very resistant to reticulation. retouching Retouching is work carried out on a print or negative after processing. Most prints contain tiny flaws caused by dust or other marks on the negative, and these can often be improved by careful spotting with coloured dyes. Even better results are sometimes possible by working on the negative, but 35mm negatives are generally too small for the precision necessary. reversal film Reversal materials are those designed to produce a positive image after processing, without the use of an intermediate stage such as a negative. RGB Red, green, blue. The standard colour system used for display on computer monitors. rim lighting A lighting set-up which places a light source directly behind the subject, giving the effect of outlining it with a rim of light. rising front Mechanism found in most large format cameras allowing the front of the camera to be raised or lowered from the normal position. Some medium format cameras have a similar mechanism and a few specialised lenses to achieve the same result are available in 35mm. The main use for this technique is to prevent converging verticals when photographing buildings, or to give a better apparent perspective when photographing objects from above. roll film Refers to 120/220 film, which is used in medium format cameras, or, with the use of a suitable holder, in large format cameras. In spite of the popularity of 35mm, rollfilm is still very popular with professionals because of the larger size of the image produced. safelight Darkroom light of a particular wavelength to which the sensitised material being used is not sensitive. In the case of black and white printing the appropriate safelight is an orange or olive green. sandwiching Combination of two or

120 roll-film

resin-coated paper Modern printing paper is often made with a waterresistant base. This allows it to be processed faster, being particularly effective in cutting down washing times compared to more traditional fibre-based paper. Purists still insist, however, that the quality obtained from traditional papers is superior to that of so-called "plastic" paper. resolution the resolving power of a lens or film in terms of sharpness. In digital imaging this refers to the picture detail or sharpness,



Glossary
more negatives when printing, or two or more transparencies within the same mount. saturated colour A colour at its most intense, without any white or grey dilution, is said to be saturated. scanner a device to digitally scan transparency negatives or prints so that they can be stored, transmitted and manipulated on a computer. Flatbed scanners are used to scan prints and film scanners to scan negatives or transparencies. Film scanners offer the highest resolution and are the most common way to scan pictures for the professional photographer. Scanner, drum high-end scanner that depends on the rotation of the transparency to produce the highest quality scans available. With a drum scanner the print or transparency is rotated past the sensor attached to a drum Scanner, film specialised highresolution scanner designed to scan from direct from film (negatives or transparencies) Scanner, flatbed a scanner designed to scan flat art such as photos or other paper-based images. Some flatbed scanners can also scan film but usually not with as high a resolution as a film scanner Screen resolution this refers to the resolution of a standard computer monitor, it is usually considered to be 72 dpi secondary colours An alternative name for the complementary colours, cyan, magenta and yellow. selenium cell Type of cell used in many older-style exposure meters. The selenium cell differs from most other cells in that it generates electricity in proportion to its exposure to light, and therefore does not need a battery, unlike other meter cells which alter their resistance to an existing current according to the amount of light falling on them. self-timer A delayed action mechanism to trigger the shutter. A self-timer is often used to include oneself in a photograph, but is also very useful for exposures with the camera on a tripod where camera shake may otherwise be a problem separation film It is possible to produce a full colour print by photographing a colour original through filters of the three primary colours in black and white, and then printing them in register in a process such as the dye transfer method. While it is possible to use this method with a still life subject, the excellence of modern materials means that it is seldom used in such a manner, but more often for the production of dye transfer prints from transparencies. sheet film Film for large format cameras cut into individual sheets rather than in roll form. Sheet film has a stiffer base than rollfilm, and is available in a very wide range of emulsions shutter Mechanical device to control the amount of time during which the film is exposed to light. shutter priority Feature of some cameras offering automatic exposure, whereby the photographer selects the shutter speed and the camera automatically selects the exposure. Signal to noise ratio the ratio of the usable digital data to unusable noise in any image. In imaging, this represents the quality of the scan. skylight filter Filter, usually a very pale pink in colour, which is used in colour photography to correct for

A Nikon film scanner



Glossary
the blue cast of the sky. In practice a skylight filter is often left in place on a lens for protection of the front element slave unit A slave unit is a device connected to an auxiliary flash unit which is triggered by the firing of the main unit. snoot Cone-shaped device fitted over an artificial light source in order to direct the light in a particular direction. soft box Lighting attachment in a box shape consisting of a reflective material stretched over a metal frame, with a diffusing panel at one end and a mounting bracket at the other to enable it to be mounted on a studio flash head. Such boxes may vary in size up to a meter square or more, and in shape from squares to oblong strips. soft focus The deliberate diffusion of an image, often in portraits to disguise minor blemishes. A large number of supplementary lens attachments, and even some lenses specifically designed for the purpose, are available to achieve soft focus of an image. Solarisation Technically speaking, solarisation is the reversal or partial reversal of an image caused by extreme overexposure. For practical purposes, however it is the term used to describe the Sabattier effect, which is the partial image reversal caused by the exposure of a negative to light during development, and then allowed to continue to develop in the normal way. spectrum Term normally applied to the visible spectrum separated into its component colours. specular reflection Reflection of light from a glossy or shiny surface, where the light rays reflected retain their direction relative to one another. speed The term given to indicate the relative sensitivity of photographic emulsions. Speeds are now normally given in ISO numbers (formally ASA) where the higher the number the greater the sensitivity. spot meter Meter designed to read reflected light from a small portion of the subject (typically a one degree spot). A spot meter correctly used allows a very accurate assessment of a picture to be made before any film has been exposed. spotlight Artificial light source, normally using a reflector, a lens and some sort of focusing mechanism to produce a bright controllable ring of light. spotting The use of coloured dyes to remove pinholes, dust spots and other blemishes from a print, using a fine brush. sprocket holes Regular perforations along the edges of 35mm film which engage with the film advance mechanism. standard lens Lens which approximates the "normal" angle of view, about 45. The common method of determining the normal lens for a particular format is to use the length of the diagonal of the film; thus for 35mm film the "true" normal would be a lens of approximately 45mm focal length. step ring A step ring or stepping ring allows the use of a filter of a certain thread size to be used on a lens of a different thread size. It is normally advisable to use a larger filter on a smaller lens rather than the other way around, to avoid image cut-off. stop bath Chemical bath used in processing to arrest the action of the developer.

A flash slave unit used to trigger a flash without cabling to the camera.



Glossary
stopping down The use of a smaller aperture, or stop, to reduce the amount of exposure and to increase the depth of field. Storage cards see Memory cards strobe light Low-powered flash pulsing at regular intervals. Colloquial term also used for any flash unit. camera around their vertical axis in order to control perspective and focus. synchronisation This refers to the need of the flash to fire at the same time as the shutter is open. In normal practice the shutter is used to trigger the flash either through a synch cord or through a hot shoe. It is important in the case of a focal plane shutter that a speed is selected at which the slit which governs the exposure time is fully open across the film plane, otherwise a portion of the negative or transparency may be unexposed by the flash. T setting Stands for "time", on the T setting the shutter is opened and remains open until the shutter release is pressed a second time. teleconverter An optical device which is fitted between the prime lens and the camera body to increase the focal length. The most used teleconverter is the 2x, which doubles the focal length of the lens in use. The disadvantage is the loss of light, which with a 2x teleconverter is 2 f-stops. telephoto lens Lens of long focal length, giving a bigger image of a subject than the standard lens without a change in viewpoint. The construction of a telephoto lens is such that the physical length is smaller than the focal length, by virtue of having a short rear focus. test strip A test strip is a strip of printing paper on which a number of different exposures are made from the same negative for comparison purposes when printing. Thumbnail a term used to describe a small low-resolution digital image (often as big as the average thumbnail) used for reference much in the way a contact print is used in conventional photography. thyristor A thyristor is an electronic device used in the construction of automatic flash units. Its function is to quench the flash when sufficient exposure has been given to the subject and to save the energy remaining, in order to speed up the recycling time TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) a popular file format for digital images. The advantage over other formats such as JPEGs are that TIFF files are lossless. However, they can be subjected to minor compression (LZW) only

Telephoto lens. A fast Nikkor 300mm F2.8 telephoto on a Nikon F2. The wide maximum aperture makes this type of telephoto lens ideal for sports photography and other work in low light conditions.

stroboscopic flash Electronic flash unit designed to fire repeatedly at high frequencies, often up to thousands of times per second. The main applications of this type of flash are for analysing motion or for stopping high-speed action. studio camera While the term studio camera may be applied to any camera used in the studio, it is most normally taken to mean a large format monorail camera mounted on a heavy-duty tripod or a camera stand. supplementary lens A supplementary lens is a lens added to the front of the prime lens to provide a special effect. The most common supplementary lenses are close-up lenses. swing back/front The movement of the front or rear panels of a large format



Glossary
tilt back/front The movement of the front or rear panels of a large format camera around their horizontal axis in order to control perspective and focus time and temperature development The fundamentals of processing exposed sensitised materials. The exposed material is immersed in a chemical bath of a specific strength, at a specific temperature and for a specific time, and given a specific amount of agitation. Under these conditions the resulting processed material will be the same every time. Once consistency can be obtained with time and temperature development, variations may be included to suit the subject matter or the particular requirements of the photographer. TLR The twin-lens reflex camera, with one lens for viewing and a matching lens for taking. Viewing is normally through a focusing hood, giving an image which is the right way up but laterally reversed. Most twin-lens reflex cameras use roll film, either in 120 or 220 format, and represent a comparatively inexpensive way of moving from 35mm to a larger format. toner Chemicals used to change the colour of the black silver image in a print. The original image is first bleached than redyed. Sepia toning is perhaps the best known form of toning, but blue, gold, copper and other colours may be used depending on the result required. transparency Positive image produced on transparent film in colour or black and white, normally intended to be viewed by transmitted light or projected on a screen. Transparency scanner see, Scanner, film, and scanner, drum tripod Three-legged support for a camera. Tripods come in a range of sizes and weights, normally with individually extendable legs for precise adjustment, and often with an additional centre column for extra height. TTL Through-the-lens metering, a method which uses light-sensitive cells within the camera body to take readings of the reflected light falling on the subject, exactly as seen by the taking lens. In automatic cameras these readings are translated directly into apertures and/or shutter speeds. tungsten film a film designed to give natural colour when exposed under tungsten lighting. tungsten lighting Artificial light source using lamps with a tungsten filament, which glows with the passage of electric current. Then ordinary household lamp is a tungsten filament lamp. The colour balance of this type of bulb is towards the red end of the spectrum, which is why tungsten balanced films are biased to blue to compensate. TWAIN an image acquisition interface developed by a consortium of software developers as a standard for communications between scanners, imaging devices and now digital cameras and the computer software. It is the TWAIN interface that lets your computer talk to your scanner and vice-versa. type A film Type of colour transparency film, now no longer available, balanced for Photolamps at a colour temperature of 3400 K. type B film Colour transparency film balanced for tungsten light at a colour temperature of 3200 K. ultraviolet light Invisible rays from beyond the blue end of the

A 35mm colour transparency, also referred to as a colour slide



Glossary
spectrum, from around 400nm down to 1nm . Most photographic materials are sensitive to UV light within the range 400-300nm, and this may cause increased haze in distant views or at high altitudes. A UV or skylight filter may be used to reduce this haze. umbrella An umbrella with a white or silver inside surface is often used as a reflector for an electronic flash unit. The purpose of this is to increase the size of the light source, which has the effect of softening the light. An alternative type of umbrella is the "shoot-through", which is translucent, but has a similar effect. A variety of different sizes and shapes of umbrella are available. underdevelopment Fault in which the developer did not act for long enough on the material being processed, or the temperature was not maintained correctly. An underdeveloped negative lacks both density and contrast. underexposure Fault caused by inadequate exposure, either from the selection of an incorrect aperture or an incorrect shutter speed. While the effects are similar to those of an underdeveloped negative, an underexposed negative will normally be totally lacking in shadow detail. Of course underexposure may be partly remedied by push-processing Unsharp masking is a process where by the perceived sharpness of an image is enhanced by increasing the contrast along the edges where different tones meet, or between pixels up-rating A technique where the recommended film speed is exceeded, giving deliberate underexposure which is then compensated for by overdevelopment or pushing, in order to increase both speed and contrast. USM unsharp masking variable contrast paper Black and white printing paper in which the contrast grade is controlled by the use of filters of different colours. viewfinder Device for viewing an image before photographing, for composition and/or focusing. Types of viewfinder include direct vision, optical, ground glass screen or reflex. vignette Printing technique in which the edges of the print are gradually faded out to leave a soft white border. Vignetting may also occur on film when using a lens of insufficient covering power or a lens shade of an inappropriate shape. The latter will appear as a darkening of the corners of the picture wetting agent Chemical used in very small amounts to reduce the surface tension of water when washing negatives. This has the effect of improving the drainage, speeding up the drying time and reducing the risk of streaking. White balance the setting of the highlight tone on a camera so that it records as a true white under varying lighting conditions. wide-angle camera Camera built specifically for wide-angle photography using either optical or mechanical means to achieve this. While all panorama cameras are wide-angle cameras, not all wideangle cameras are panorama cameras. wide-angle lens A wide-angle lens is one which takes in an angular field of 60 or more across the diagonal of the film. A wide-angle lens gives

Flash umbrellas are used to bounce and soften the light from an electronic flash or other light source.



Glossary
a wide angle of coverage and a greater-than-normal depth of field zone focussing A technique, when photographing fast-moving subjects, of pre-focusing the camera, having set a specific aperture, in order that the depth of field might cover the zone within which one expects the action to occur. Zone system A method of combining exposure and development to maximise the range of tones in black and white photography. The Zone system is based upon a range of nine grey tones, or zones, which are previsualised by accurate metering. The subject may then be over- or under-exposed by a predetermined amount, and the film over- or underdeveloped by a similarly predetermined amount, in order to adjust the contrast and density of the negative precisely. Obviously such a system is designed for single-sheet photography, where each sheet can be processed individually, but in practice a working knowledge of the Zone system can be helpful in difficult lighting situations. zoom lens A lens which allows a continuously variable focal length, within a specific range, without altering its focus or aperture.

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