Digital Photography Glossary

Struggling with a word or phrase? You're not alone. Photography has long had its own
language, and digital photography adds many new terms. This glossary defines
commonly used words and phrases in digital photography.
Ambient light The natural light in a scene.
Archival The ability of a material, including some printing papers and compact discs,
to last for many years.
Aperture A small, circular opening inside the lens that can change in diameter to
control the amount of light reaching the camera's sensor as a picture is taen. The
aperture diameter is e!pressed in f"stops# the lower the number, the larger the aperture.
$or instance, the aperture opening when set to f%&.' is larger than at f%'. The aperture and
shutter speed together control the total amount of light reaching the sensor. A larger
aperture passes more light through to the sensor. (any cameras ha)e an aperture priority
mode that allows you to ad*ust the aperture to your own liing. See also shutter speed.
Application A computer program, such as an image editor or image browser.
Buffer (emory in the camera that stores digital photos before they are written to the
memory card.
Burning Selecti)ely darening part of a photo with an image editing program.
CCD +harge +oupled ,e)ice- one of the two main types of image sensors used in
digital cameras. .hen a picture is taen, the ++, is struc by light coming through the
camera's lens. /ach of the thousands or millions of tiny pi!els that mae up the ++,
con)ert this light into electrons. The number of electrons, usually described as the pi!el's
accumulated charge, is measured, then con)erted to a digital )alue. This last step occurs
outside the ++,, in a camera component called an analog"to"digital con)erter.
CD-R +,"0ecordable- a compact disc that holds either 123 or 433 (5 of digital
information, including digital photos. +reating one is commonly referred to as burning a
CD. A +,"0 disc can only be written to once, and is an ideal storage medium for original
digital photos.
CD-RW +,"0ewritable- similar in )irtually all respects to a +,"0, e!cept that a +,"
0. disc can be written and erased many times. This maes them best suited to many
bacup tass, but not for long term storage of original digital photos.
CMO +omplementary (etal"6!ide Semiconductor- one of the two main types of
image sensors used in digital cameras. 7ts basic function is the same as that of a ++,.
+(6S sensors are currently found in only a handful of digital cameras.
CM!" +yan, (agenta, Yellow, 5lac. The four colors in the insets of many photo"
8uality printers. Some printers use si! in colors to achie)e smoother, more photographic
prints. The two additional colors are often lighter shades of cyan and magenta.
Compact#lash9 A common type of digital camera memory card, about the si:e of a
matchboo. There are two types of cards, Type 7 and Type 77. They )ary only in their
thicness, with Type 7 being slightly thinner. A +ompact$lash memory card can contain
either flash memory or a miniature hard dri)e. The flash memory type is more pre)alent.
Contrast The difference between the darest and lightest areas in a photo. The greater
the difference, the higher the contrast.
Digital camera A camera that captures the photo not on film, but in an electronic
imaging sensor that taes the place of film.
Do$ging Selecti)ely lightening part of a photo with an image editing program.
Do%nloa$& $o%nloa$ing The process of mo)ing computer data from one location to
another. Though the term is normally used to describe the transfer, or downloading, of
data from the 7nternet, it is also used to describe the transfer of photos from a camera
memory card to the computer. Example: I downloaded photos to my PC.
DP' ,ots per inch- A measurement of the resolution of a digital photo or digital de)ice,
including digital cameras and printers. The higher the number, the greater the resolution.
()'# /!changeable 7mage $ile- the file format used by most digital cameras. $or
e!ample, when a typical camera is set to record a ;P/<, it's actually recording an /=7$
file that uses ;P/< compression to compress the photo data within the file.
(*ternal flash A supplementary flash unit that connects to the camera with a cable, or
is triggered by the light from the camera's internal flash. (any fun and creati)e effects
can be created with e!ternal flash.
#ile A computer document.
#ill flash A flash techni8ue used to brighten deep shadow areas, typically outdoors on
sunny days. Some digital cameras include a fill flash mode that forces the flash to fire,
e)en in bright light.
#ire Slang for shooting a picture. Example: I pressed the shutter button to fire.
#ireWire A type of cabling technology for transferring data to and from digital de)ices
at high speed. Some professional digital cameras and memory card readers connect to the
computer o)er $ire.ire. $ire.ire card readers are typically faster than those that
connect )ia >S5. Also nown as 7/// ?@AB, $ire.ire was in)ented by Apple +omputer
but is now commonly used with .indows"based P+s as well.
Grayscale A photo made up of )arying tones of blac and white. <rayscale is
synonymous with blac and white.
+ighlights The brightest parts of a photo.
+istogram A graphic representation of the range of tones from dar to light in a photo.
Some digital cameras include a histogram feature that enables a precise chec on the
e!posure of the photo.
'mage bro%ser An application that enables you to )iew digital photos. Some browsers
also allow you to rename files, con)ert photos from one file format to another, add te!t
descriptions, and more.
'mage e$itor A computer program that enables you to ad*ust a photo to impro)e its
appearance. .ith image editing software, you can daren or lighten a photo, rotate it,
ad*ust its contrast, crop out e!traneous detail, remo)e red"eye and more.
'mage resolution " The number of pi!els in a digital photo is commonly referred to as its
image resolution.
'n,-et A printer that places in on the paper by spraying droplets through tiny no::les.
'O spee$ A rating of a film's sensiti)ity to light. Though digital cameras don't use
film, they ha)e adopted the same rating system for describing the sensiti)ity of the
camera's imaging sensor. ,igital cameras often include a control for ad*usting the 7S6
speed# some will ad*ust it automatically depending on the lighting conditions, ad*usting it
upwards as the a)ailable light dims. <enerally, as 7S6 speed climbs, image 8uality drops.
.P(G A standard for compressing image data de)eloped by the ;oint Photographic
/!perts <roup, hence the name ;P/<. Strictly speaing, ;P/< is not a file format, it's a
compression method that is used within a file format, such as the /=7$";P/< format
common to digital cameras. 7t is referred to as a lossy format, which means some 8uality
is lost in achie)ing ;P/<'s high compression rates. >sually, if a high"8uality, low"
compression ;P/< setting is chosen on a digital camera, the loss of 8uality is not
detectable to the eye.
/CD Ci8uid +rystal ,isplay- a low"power monitor often used on the top and%or rear of
a digital camera to display settings or the photo itself.
Me$ia (aterial that information is written to and stored on. ,igital photography
storage media includes +ompact$lash cards and +,s.
Megabyte 0MB1 A measurement of data storage e8ual to ?3&B ilobytes DE5F.
Megapi*el /8ual to one million pi!els.
Memory tic,GHA memory card slightly smaller than a single stic of chewing gum.
Cie +ompact$lash and Smart(edia, it is flash"based storage for your photos.
2iM+ Iicel (etal"Jydride- a type of rechargeable battery that can be recharged
many times. Ii(J batteries pro)ide sufficient power to run digital cameras and flashes.
Online photo printer A company that recei)es digital photos uploaded to its .eb site,
prints them, then sends the prints bac by mail or courier.
Panning A photography techni8ue in which the camera follows a mo)ing sub*ect.
,one correctly, the sub*ect is sharp and clear, while the bacground is blurred, gi)ing a
sense of motion to the photo.
Pi*el Picture /lement- digital photographs are comprised of thousands or millions of
them# they are the building blocs of a digital photo.
RAW The 0A. image format is the data as it comes directly off the ++,, with no in"
camera processing is performed.
Re$-eye The red glow from a sub*ect's eyes caused by light from a flash reflecting off
the blood )essels behind the retina in the eye. The effect is most common when light
le)els are low, outdoor at night, or indoor in a dimly"lit room.
RGB 0ed, <reen, 5lue- the three colors to which the human )isual system, digital
cameras and many other de)ices are sensiti)e.
aturation Jow rich the colors are in a photo.
ensitivity See ISO speed.
erial A method for connecting an e!ternal de)ice such as a printer, scanner, or
camera, to a computer. 7t has been all but replaced by >S5 and $ire.ire in modern
computers.
harpness The clarity of detail in a photo.
hutter spee$ The camera's shutter speed is a measurement of how long its shutter
remains open as the picture is taen. The slower the shutter speed, the longer the
e!posure time. .hen the shutter speed is set to ?%?&2 or simply ?&2, this means that the
shutter will be open for e!actly ?%?&2th of one second. The shutter speed and aperture
together control the total amount of light reaching the sensor. Some digital cameras ha)e
a shutter priority mode that allows you to set the shutter speed to your liing. See also
aperture.
martMe$ia9Ha wafer"thin, matchboo si:e memory card. This is also a flash"
memory based storage medium.
3humbnail A small )ersion of a photo. 7mage browsers commonly display thumbnails
of photos se)eral or e)en do:ens at a time. 7n .indows =P's (y Pictures, you can )iew
thumbnails of photos in both the Thumbnails and $ilmstrip )iew modes.
4B >ni)ersal Serial 5us- a protocol for transferring data to and from digital de)ices.
(any digital cameras and memory card readers connect to the >S5 port on a computer.
>S5 card readers are typically faster than cameras or readers that connect to the serial
port, but slower than those that connect )ia $ire.ire.
White balance A function on the camera to compensate for different colors of light
being emitted by different light sources.