Dictionary of Photography

Welcome to…
The Complete
Dicti nary
of Photography
The Complete Dictionary of Photography
explains the meanings of dozens of
photographic terms, from aberration to
zoom ratio. Like any hobby or specialist
field, photography has built up its own rich
language of distinctive words, like chimping,
photobomb and snoot. Our A-Z addresses
them all, providing easy-to-understand
definitions and helpful cross-referencing.
You’ll find this dictionary useful in all sorts of situations.
Buying a new lens and want to know what all the letters in its
name actually mean? Maybe you’re aware that moiré patterns
are something you want to avoid in your photos, but don’t
actually know what they are? It’s all here.
Whether you’re well-versed in photographic jargon and
history or are just starting to explore the language that helps
to shape this brilliant artform, we hope you’ll find browsing
through The Complete Dictionary of Photography informative,
enlightening and entertaining.
Ben Brain, Editor

ben.brain@futurenet.com
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- The Complete Dictionary of Photography -
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A also automatically created, so that

the effect can be applied to a lesser
Aberration extent (or not at all) in particular
An optical fault in a lens that areas of the image.
creates a less-than-perfect image.
Adobe Camera Raw
Abstract A free plugin used by Photoshop
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In photography, this term refers to and Elements to process and edit

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images that concentrate on aspects raw files. Adobe Camera Raw is

of a subject such as shape, form, frequently updated to support the
colour and texture, instead of a newest camera models.
straightforward representation
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of a subject. AE
An abbreviation for automatic
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Adams, Ansel exposure. This camera feature

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Adams (1902-1984) was an enables the user to determine the

influential American photographer, shutter speed and aperture for an
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acclaimed for his black-and-white image, usually via a TTL (through-

landscapes of the American West, the-lens) exposure meter.
and particularly Yosemite National
Park. Together with Fred Archer, he AEL
formulated the Zone System as a Automatic exposure lock. This is a
way to determine the optimum push-button control that enables
exposure for a negative. you to select the part of the scene
from which the camera takes its
Adjustment layer meter reading, and then lock this
This is a layer containing an image setting while the image is
adjustment or effect instead of re-framed for better composition.
image content. Like a red
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Cellophane overlay on a print, an AF

adjustment layer will alter the Stands for autofocus, a function
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appearance of layers below it, but first introduced on cameras in the

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not actually alter their content, late 1970s, in which the lens is
making adjustment layers a adjusted automatically to bring the
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cornerstone of reversible, designated part of the image into

‘non-destructive’ editing. The sharp focus. Almost all modern
adjustment can be altered, hidden lenses for digital SLRs have AF,
or removed at any point. When you which is achieved via one or more
add an adjustment layer, a mask is sensors and a motor either
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integrated in the lens itself or 20th century, which devotees
the camera body. continue to use for their unique
qualities. They include the
AF illuminator daguerreotype, gum bichromate,
This is a system used by some cyanotype, salt print, bromoil,
cameras and flashguns to assist platinum and palladian processes.
autofocus in low light. A pattern of
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red light is projected on to the Ambient light
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subject, which aids the contrast- The existing light in a particular
detection autofocus to adjust the scene, which may be sunlight,
lens correctly. moonlight or an artificial light
already providing illumination.
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AF-S It excludes any light source added
This stands for ‘autofocus-silent’, by the photographer, such as flash
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and refers to Nikon lenses that use or studio lighting.
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a silent motor to control the
autofocus system. Angle of view
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A measurement of how much
AL a lens can see of a scene from
See aspherical lens. a particular position, usually
measured in degrees. The longer
Albumen print the focal length of the lens, the
A type of photographic print, narrower the angle of view.
invented in 1850 by Frenchman Zoom lenses have adjustable
Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard angles of view.
(1802-1872). It consists of a sheet
of paper coated in egg white Antialiasing
(albumen) and salt, then dipped in A method of smoothing diagonal
a light-sensitive silver nitrate or curved lines in digital images to
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solution. The paper, when dried, is avoid a ‘staircase’ or ‘stepped’

overlaid with a glass negative and appearance (also called ‘jaggies’),
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exposed to the sun. The albumen caused by the fact that the pixels
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print was widely used until the late making up an image are discrete
19th century. blocks of colour.
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Alternative processes Aperture

This term refers to a range of The opening in the lens that
photographic processes, mostly restricts how much light reaches
dating from the late 19th and early the image sensor. In all but the
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most basic cameras, the size of the APS (Advanced Photo System) film
aperture is adjustable. The aperture format, used in its Classic (C)
setting used has an important role aspect ratio.
to play in both exposure and depth
of field. Artefacts
Flaws in an image caused by
Aperture priority limitations in the recording or
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Semi-automatic exposure system, manipulation process. Examples

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where the aperture is set by the include colour and tonal banding,
photographer. The shutter speed is random blotches or a mottled,
then set by the camera to suit the grainy appearance.
light level reading taken by the
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camera’s own meter. ASA

A method of measuring and
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APO specifying film speed, or a film’s

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Abbreviation of apochromatic. sensitivity to light, as devised by

This is used to describe Sigma the American Standards
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lenses that use super-low Association in 1943. It was

dispersion (SLD) lens elements to replaced by the ISO (International
reduce chromatic aberration. Organisation for Standardisation)
film speed system in the 1980s.
APS Also, see ISO.
The initials of the Advanced Photo
System, a short-lived film AS and Asp
photography format introduced by Abbreviations for aspherical. See
Kodak and other manufacturers in aspherical lens.
1996. The 24mm film was housed
in a drop-in cartridge, and could be Aspect ratio
shot in three different formats. The relationship between the
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It was mainly used in compact width and height of a picture,

cameras, but also a small number which describe the proportions of
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of SLRs. an image format or a photograph.

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The aspect ratio of most D-SLRs is

APS-C 3:2, while on most other digital
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This refers to the size of sensor cameras, it’s 4:3.

used in some digital cameras,
measuring around 22.5x15mm, and Aspherical lens
with a 3:2 aspect ratio. It gets its A lens element that has a surface
name and dimensions from the that isn’t perfectly spherical.
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All camera lenses are made up of autobracketing features available
a number of individual lenses or on some cameras include
elements. Many of these elements automatic flash, ISO or white
are spherical, as if cut from a balance bracketing.
sphere. Aspherical elements are
less rounded and are used in Autochrome
wide-angle and wide-apertured The name of the first colour
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lenses to help provide distortion- photography process, invented by
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free images. French brothers Auguste and Louis
Lumière, and patented in 1903.
Astrophotography A glass plate was coated in
Photography achieved by attaching microscopic grains of potato starch,
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a camera to a telescope, and coloured red, green and blue,
concerned with recording images overlaid with a black-and-white
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of astronomical objects in the night silver halide emulsion. The process
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sky such as stars, planets and the was widely used until Kodachrome
moon. Astrophotography can also and Agfacolor films were
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be used to record astronomical introduced in the 1930s.
objects invisible to the human eye
by using long exposures. Autofocus
See AF.
AT-X
Stands for Advanced Technology Available light
Extra – the branding used on all See ambient light.
current Tokina lenses.
Avedon, Richard
Autobracketing Avedon (1923-2004) was one of
A feature on some cameras that America’s most famous fashion
enables you to automatically shoot and portrait photographers. He was
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a sequence of shots of the same the chief photographer for Harper’s

scene at slightly different shutter Bazaar magazine in the 1940s and
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speeds (or aperture settings) from Vogue from the 1960s. His
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the ‘correct exposure’. This feature portraits are famous for their
can be used if there’s some doubt intimacy as well as their stark and
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that the meter reading is accurate minimalist quality.

for a particular subject. It can also
be used to shoot a sequence that’s AWB
combined into one high dynamic Automatic white balance. This is a
range image. See HDR. Other system that automatically adjusts
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the colour balance of an image, tightened using the ball lock knob,
according to the colour it locks the head in place.
temperature of the light source,
to make it look as natural as Barn doors
possible to the human eye. Four hinged doors fixed on the
front of studio lights. The doors are
used to modify the shape and
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B direction of the light.

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B (Bulb) Barnack, Oskar

A shutter speed setting that Barnack (1879-1936), an optical
enables you to keep the shutter engineer and industrial designer,
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open for as long as the shutter is known as ‘the father of 35mm

release is held down, usually with a photography’ for his work as the
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remote release. It’s used for long head of development at the Leitz
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exposures of up to several minutes. camera company. He designed the

first Leica camera, which went on
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Backlighting sale in 1925, and introduced the 24

An image is backlit when the light x36mm format (now known as
source is on the far side of the 35mm) for still photography.
subject in relation to the camera.
It means that there’s more light Barrel distortion
coming from behind the subject Barrel distortion is a lens fault or
than is directly on the subject aberration that causes straight,
itself. It’s often used to separate parallel lines in an image to bow
the subject from the background outward, and is seen when
to make a subject more dramatic, shooting with wide-angle lenses.
or to make a silhouette. The wider the lens, the greater the
distortion. The appearance is
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Backup similar to the effect you’d see if an

A copy of a digital file that’s kept in image was wrapped around a barrel.
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case of damage to, or loss of, the It can be corrected using post-
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original digital image. capture software.

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Ballhead Beauty dish

A type of tripod head in which the A studio lighting device used to
head mount, which holds the give a flattering effect in portrait
camera, is attached to a ball-and- and fashion photography. It
socket joint. When the socket is consists of a large circular
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dish-shaped reflector, usually colours. Many D-SLRs offer higher
around 40-50cm in diameter, bit depths when set to record in
with a light source in the centre. raw mode.
The light usually has an opaque
cover so that only the diffused Black trinity
light reflected from the dish A derogatory name given by
reaches the subject. fashion and portrait photographer
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Norman Parkinson (1913-1990) to
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Bellows three photographers who emerged
A concertinaed tube made of in the late 1950s and early 1960s:
flexible, light-proof material that David Bailey (born 1938), Brian
separates a lens from the camera Duffy (1933-2010), and Terence
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body. Bellows were first used on Donovan (1936-1996). This trio
very early cameras in the mid-19th worked in a more relaxed and
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century, and are still used on spontaneous style, and became the
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large-format equipment (such as leading fashion and portrait
the Ebony view cameras) today. photographers of the period.
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They allow the plane of focus to be
adjusted via a swing and tilt Blending mode
mechanism. Bellows are also used Blending modes determine how
instead of extension rings on SLR the pixels in a layer interact with
cameras for making more finely the underlying pixels on other
adjustable macro images. layers instead of simply covering
them. Some blending modes are
Bit much more useful for photo
The basic unit from which any editing than others. Multiply is
digital piece of data is made. Each used to darken an image, and
bit has a value of either 0 or 1. The Screen to lighten it; Overlay and
sizes of digital files are usually Soft Light boost contrast.
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counted in bytes, which are each

made up of eight bits. Blown out
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Bright areas in a photo that are

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Bit depth over-exposed are said to be blown

The number of bits used to record out. They won’t hold any detail
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the colour of a single pixel. Digital and will be bleached white.

cameras usually use at least eight
bits for each of the red, green, and Bokeh
blue channels, providing a 24-bit Derived from the Japanese word for
depth, and a possible 16,700,000 ‘blur’, this term is used to describe
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the aesthetic quality of the blur in who began his career documenting
out-of-focus areas of a picture, or the British class system in the
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the lens creating them. Smooth, 1930s. He went on to photograph

circular out-of-focus highlights are London in the war years before
a feature of ‘good bokeh.’ bringing his unique style to
landscapes, portraiture and finally
Bounce flash abstract nudes.
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Indirect flash-lighting technique,

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where the flashgun is angled to Bridge camera

bounce off a wall, ceiling, or other A camera that bridges the gap
reflector. This scatters the between compacts and D-SLRs.
illumination, creating a softer They are similar in appearance and
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lighting effect. handling to small D-SLRs, but they

have a fixed, usually ‘superzoom’
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Bounding box lens, with some models offering up

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In Photoshop, a rectangular border to a 50x optical zoom. Instead of a

around a selected part of an image D-SLR’s optical viewfinder, they
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that can be dragged to transform, have an electronic viewfinder.

rotate, scale or move.
Brightness range
Bracketing This is the difference between the
A system for increasing the brightness of the brightest part of
chances of getting the correct the subject and the brightness of
exposure by taking a sequence of the darkest part of the subject.
pictures with a slightly different Also known as Subject Brightness
exposure setting for each. See Range (SBR).
autobracketing.
Bromoil
Brady, Mathew A photographic process in which
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Mathew Brady (1822-1896) was a prints made on silver bromide

pioneering American photographer, paper are chemically bleached and
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famous for his photographs of the hardened before an oil pigment is

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American Civil War and his applied. It was popular among

portraits of prominent Americans, Pictorialist photographers from its
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including Abraham Lincoln. invention in 1907 until the 1930s.
Brandt, Bill Brownie

Bill Brandt (1904-1983) was an The name of a series of simple box
important British photographer cameras made by the Eastman
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Kodak company. The first Brownie down towards the front of the face
went on sale in 1900, and was and creating a distinctive butterfly-
intended to make photography shaped shadow under the nose.
simpler and more affordable for A reflector is used to soften the
everyone. The cameras were named shadow. This technique is also
after the cartoon characters created known as ‘Paramount lighting’ after
by illustrator Palmer Cox. the movie studio’s glamorous
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portraits from the 1930s.
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Buffer
Temporary memory used by a Byte
digital SLR. The size of the buffer The standard unit for measuring
in a camera helps dictate the the memory capacity of digital
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maximum burst rate, and the storage devices. Each byte can have
number of shots per burst. one of 256 different values, and is
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equal to eight bits.
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Burn tool
A tool that can be used to darken
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parts of an image selectively during C
digital image manipulation. The
tool gets its name (and its Cable release
hand-shaped icon) from ‘burning- A mechanical or electronic device
in’, a traditional darkroom process for firing a camera from a short
in which parts of a print could be distance away, without physically
made darker by giving some areas pressing the shutter release. It’s
of a print more exposure than often used as a way to minimise
others. Also, see Dodge tool. vibration when using a slow
shutter speed and a camera
Burst rate support, such as a tripod.
The continuous shooting speed of
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a digital camera, which enables a Calibrator

sequence of images to be taken in A device used to standardise the
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rapid succession, measured in colour and brightness of a

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frames per second (fps). The rate computer monitor so that images
can only be sustained for a certain can be accurately adjusted.
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number of shots.
Calotype
Butterfly lighting One of the earliest photographic
A technique for lighting portraits processes, announced by William
achieved by pointing the flash Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) in
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1841, in which a negative image interpretation, rather than simply

was recorded on a sheet of a mechanical process for recording
translucent paper coated with reality. Her portraits often make a
light-sensitive chemicals. The creative use of soft focus.
earliest surviving example is an
image of a window at Lacock Canvas
Abbey, made in 1835. Using the A Photoshop term for the overall
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process, multiple positive images dimensions of the image file you

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could subsequently be produced by are using. Like the canvas used for
contact-printing the negative. a painting, the Canvas may be the
same size as the actual size of the
Camera shake picture, or it may be larger.
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Blurring of the image caused by

movement of the camera during Canvas Size
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the exposure. Handheld cameras The Canvas Size control enables

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are prone to camera shake, and the you to increase the size of the
fastest available shutter speed canvas without affecting the pixels
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needs to be used to reduce or that make up the image itself. It

eliminate the problem. can be used to add a border to a
photo, for example, or to add a
Camera trap blank area into which more sky
A remotely activated camera used can be cloned.
for documenting the behaviour of
animals in the wild without the Cartier-Bresson, Henri
photographer being present. The Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-
camera’s shutter is usually 2004) is regarded as one of the
triggered when an animal’s most influential reportage and
movement is detected by an street photographers. He was one
infrared or motion sensor. of the co-founders of the Magnum
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Photos agency in 1947. He was one

Cameron, Julia Margaret of the first to exploit the
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Julia Margaret Cameron (1815- advantages of the Leica 35mm

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1879) was a British photographer camera, and used it to capture

who made portraits of some of the brilliantly timed and composed
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major figures of the Victorian images throughout his long career.

period as well as her relatives and
friends. She was one of the first Cartridge film
people to see photography as an A type of photographic film housed
artistic medium open to in a plastic cassette. Because it’s
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light-tight, film can be loaded into and blue channels to increase or
a camera in daylight. 126 cartridge decrease colour saturation, or
film was introduced by Kodak in convert an image to monochrome.
1963, followed by 110 film in 1972.
Two later formats, Disc film and Chiaroscuro
APS film, used their own specially A term that originated in
designed cartridges. Renaissance art. It refers to a style
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of image that features a strong
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Catch light contrast between the light and dark
A white highlight in the eye of the areas of the picture.
subject, which is a reflection of the
light source. The shape, size and Chimping
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intensity of the highlight, as well as This is a short form of ‘checking
the number of highlights, will vary image preview’. It refers to the act
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depending on the lighting setup. of looking too frequently at the
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image on your camera’s LCD
CCD screen, rather than concentrating
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(Charge Coupled Device) on the subject.
A type of imaging sensor
commonly used in digital cameras, Chromatic aberration
and an alternative to the CMOS A lens fault common in telephoto
sensor. See CMOS. lenses in which different colours of
white light are focused at slightly
Centre-weighted different distances, creating ugly
A type of built-in metering system, coloured haloes around the edges
provided as an option on some of a photographic subject. Software
cameras. Centre-weighted meters can remove or reduce the effect.
measure light intensity across the
entire image area, but bias the Chromogenic film
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average in favour of light taken A fine-grain photographic film

toward the centre of the frame. The that produces black-and-white
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system isn’t foolproof; it’s easier to images, but is processed using C41
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predict when it will make an colour chemistry.

inappropriate reading than more
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sophisticated metering systems. Circular polariser

A type of polarising filter. Circular
Channel mixer polarisers can be used with modern
A feature in Photoshop that cameras without interfering with
enables you to adjust the red, green the operation of exposure metering
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and autofocus systems, unlike signal. It’s similar in function to

older and cheaper linear polarisers. the CCD sensor.
Clipping CMYK
Clipping occurs when the dark Cyan, magenta, yellow and black
parts of an image become pure (or ‘key’), the four primary inks
black or the light parts become used in commercial colour
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pure white, so that image detail is printing. CMYK also refers to the
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lost in these areas. On a histogram, printing process itself.

a clipped shadow or highlight is
indicated by the graph being ‘cut Collodion process
off’ on the left-hand (shadows) or This is an early technique for
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right-hand (highlights) side. making photographic prints,

invented by Frederick Scott Archer
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Clone Stamp (1813-1857) in 1851, which used

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An image-editing tool that enables collodion (cellulose nitrate) to stick

you to replace an area of the image light-sensitive chemicals on the
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with pixels taken from elsewhere in surface of a glass plate. The plate
the image (or even another image). was exposed, developed and fixed
It’s commonly used for removing while still wet. The process
blemishes and other unwanted produced good results and was
objects from a picture. used widely until around 1880.
Close-up lens Colour cast

A filter-like accessory that fits on A colour tint in an image, caused
the front of the camera lens to by shooting in a particular kind of
magnify the image. This low-cost light. Tungsten light causes a
macro accessory can be used on yellow cast, while fluorescent light
most types of cameras and lenses. causes a green cast. Casts can be
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Close-up lenses come in a variety corrected using the camera’s white

of different strengths, usually balance feature, or at the post-
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measured in dioptres. capture stage.

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CMOS (Complementary Colour channels

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Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Every colour you see on a screen is

This is a type of imaging sensor created by a specific mix of red,
used in digital cameras. Located at green and blue light, and every
the focal plane, it converts the printed colour by a specific
focused image into an electrical formula of ink colours. In
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Photoshop, the component colours paper, the colours are again
can be represented and seen as reversed to their original hue.
separate colour channels – RGB for Colour negatives have an orange
most digital photos. See Channel tint or mask, which helps to
mixer for more on this. control contrast and improves the
reproduction quality.
Colour filter array (CFA)
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The pattern for red, green, and blue Colour reversal film
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filters used over the photo sites in Film processed to produce a colour
an imaging sensor. Usually, half the positive image on its transparent
photo sites in a digital camera base. Traditionally, images are
(which define pixels) have green mounted in card or plastic mounts.
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filters, a quarter have red filters, Also commonly known as slide or
and quarter have blue filters. transparency film.
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Colour management Colour space
An overall system that tries to The theoretical definition of the
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ensure that the colours of an image range of colours that can be
are displayed and output in exactly displayed by a device.
the same way, whatever the device
being used. Colour temperature
All light sources have a
Colour profile characteristic colour temperature:
Description of how a camera, artificial (tungsten-filament) lights
printer, monitor or other device are warmer (more orange) than
displays or records colour. It daylight, which is warm near dawn,
provides a universal way in which turns cooler (more blue) during the
different devices can produce day, then warms again at nightfall.
similar-looking results. This is Our eyes adjust for colour
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sometimes known as an ICC temperature much of the time

profile, because the standards are without our realising it, so that
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set down by the ICC (International colours look pretty consistent.

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Colour Consortium). Digital cameras can make

electronic adjustments using a
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Colour negative film white balance system to neutralise

Film on which all original colours colours. When they get it wrong
are recorded as their (or you use the wrong white
complementary colours. When the balance setting on your camera),
image is printed on photographic a colour cast results.
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Combination printing Complementary colours

The use of two or more negatives Also known as ‘opposite colours’,
to make one print. The technique these are pairs of colours that
was first used in the mid-19th create a strong contrast. On the
century to overcome exposure traditional colour wheel they are
limitations in early photographic red/green, yellow/violet and blue/
processes, although photographers orange, while the CMYK and RGB
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such as Oscar Gustave Rejlander models use red/cyan, green/

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(1813-1875) could use dozens of magenta and blue/yellow.

images to make one epic scene.
Compression
Compact The process of reducing the sizes
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A type of camera with a shutter of files such as digital images, so

mechanism built into the lens. that they use less storage capacity
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Compacts are generally point-and- and are faster to upload and

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shoot designs that are easy to carry download. See lossless compression
around. Most digital compacts have and lossy compression.
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built-in zoom lenses.

Contact print/sheet
CompactFlash Contact prints are photographic
This is a type of removable images made by laying one or more
memory card commonly used in film negatives on a sheet of
digital SLRs. photographic paper, usually under
a sheet of glass, and exposing it to
Compact System Camera light. In the traditional wet
(CSC) darkroom, a contact sheet is
These are cameras with no mirror usually the first stage of printing
mechanism, and are therefore an image.
smaller and lighter than D-SLRs,
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but still offer similar controls, Continuous autofocus

high-quality images and This is an autofocus setting in
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interchangeable lenses. Depending which the focus is constantly

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on the model, there’s either an adjusted until the shutter is

electronic viewfinder or no actually fired. It’s especially useful
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viewfinder and only the LCD for moving subjects such as in

screen. CSCs are also referred to as wildlife or sports photography,
MILCs (mirrorless interchangeable where it would be unhelpful for the
lens camera) or EVILs (electronic focus distance to be locked as soon
viewfinder, interchangeable lens). as it’s initially found.
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Continuous lighting the actual focal length of a lens to
Lighting that remains on the effective focal length (EFL –
throughout a shoot, as opposed to see below). The crop factor for Four
the brief burst of illumination Thirds and Micro Four Thirds
given by flash or strobe lighting. models is 2x; the crop factor for
most popular D-SLRs is 1.5x or
Contrast-detection 1.6x. Full-frame D-SLRs need no
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autofocus focal length conversion, so they
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See passive autofocus. have a crop factor of 1x.
Contrast range Cross-processing

A measurement of the difference Sometimes called ‘X-Pro’, in film
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in brightness between the very photography this refers to
darkest and lightest parts of an processing colour negative film in
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image. See brightness range. reversal film (E6) chemicals, or
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colour reversal film in negative film
Contre-jour (C41) chemicals. The resulting
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In French, literally ‘against the colour shifts gave images a
light’. See backlighting. distinctive look. The technique was
once especially popular in fashion
Converging verticals photography. A similar appearance
A term used to describe the effect can be created in Photoshop by
of parallel lines getting closer boosting contrast and tweaking
together, particularly the two sides colour channels.
of a building, or a section of a
building, when shooting from a low Curves
angle of view. This powerful Photoshop tool
enables you to adjust the exposure
Crop and contrast of an image. By
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To remove unwanted parts of altering the shape of the curve,

an image. different areas of tone can be
T
lightened or darkened by varying

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Crop factor amounts. By altering the curves for

Sensors of several different sizes each of the different colour
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are used in D-SLRs, and this size channels, the colour balance of the
affects the angle of view offered by image can also be altered to create
a particular lens. The smaller the special effects, or simply to correct
sensor, the narrower the angle of for unwanted colour casts.
view. The ‘crop factor’ is to convert Elements’ version of Curves, called
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Adjust Colour Curves, is more It covers the photographer’s head

limited than Photoshop’s Curves. and the camera, and allows the
relatively dim image on the
Cyanotype ground-glass screen to be seen
A printing process that creates a more clearly when composing and
E
distinctive cyan-blue print, focusing an image.

discovered in 1842 by scientist Sir
F
John Herschel (1792-1871). It was Darkroom

G H
first used in photography by Anna A light-tight room for processing

Atkins (1799-1871), who produced and printing traditional
a book of cyanotype photograms photographs. Negatives are loaded
made using seaweed in 1843. into the processing tank in
I
complete darkness, while a red/

orange safe light can be used at the
J
D printing stage.
K
D Daguerre, Louis
L M N O P Q R
A type of Tokina lens that’s Louis Daguerre (1787-1851) was an

compatible with full-frame SLRs. artist and inventor who devised
one of the earliest photographic
DA processes, the daguerreotype,
Stands for Digital Auto, which announced in 1839. It was made by
features on a range of Pentax lenses coating a silver-plated copper sheet
that (unlike some earlier ranges) with light-sensitive silver iodide,
don’t have a manual aperture ring. and exposing it in a camera to
They have a ‘Quick Shift’ create a positive image.
mechanism that enables you to
override focus manually, even DC
when the lens is set to autofocus. This features on the range of Sigma
S
lenses that are designed specifically

DA* for use with crop-factor SLRs, and
T
The premium lens range from which can’t be used with full-
U
Pentax, which combines frame models.

weatherproofing with the
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advantages of the DA range. Decisive moment

The split-second when all the
Dark cloth elements of a photograph
A sheet of black material, mainly simultaneously come together. The
used in large-format photography. decisive moment is associated with
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Cartier-Bresson, who described the resulting picture will be sharp
photography as “the simultaneous or blurred. This is necessary
recognition, in a fraction of a because the viewfinder normally
second, of the significance of an only shows the image as it would
event as well as of a precise appear if the widest aperture
organization of forms which give available were used.
that event its proper expression.”
F
Depth of field scale
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Dedicated flashgun A scale found on some lens barrels
A type of flashgun that’s designed that can be used to work out the
to provide direct one-way or depth of field for particular
two-way communication with the apertures, and that can be used
I
camera. The amount of dedication for manual focus adjustments to
varies enormously depending on maximise or minimise the depth
J
the flashgun and camera. Increased of field.
K
dedication tends to provide a more
accurate flash metering, as well as Depth program
L M N O P Q R
making the flash system easier to A program exposure mode in which
use successfully. the aperture and shutter speed are
set automatically in order to
Depth of field provide the maximum depth of
A measure of how much of a field, while maintaining a shutter
picture is in focus, from the nearest speed that’s fast enough for
point in the scene to the camera hand-held photography. With
that looks sharp, to the some cameras, the different subject
furthermost point that looks sharp. distances measured by the
Depth of field is dependent on the multipoint autofocus system are
aperture used, the distance that the also taken into account, and the
lens is focused at, and the focal focus is adjusted to suit.
S
length of the lens.

Developer
T
Depth of field preview A mixture of chemicals used to

U
Device found on some digital SLRs convert or amplify a latent image

that enables you to see the on a photographic film or print to
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viewfinder image at the actual make it visible.

aperture you’ll be using for the
exposure. This gives a visual DFA
indication as to how much depth of This features on the range of
field there is, and which parts of Pentax lenses that will work with
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full-frame 35mm film cameras as File>Save As… Those without this,

well as crop-factor digital SLRs. such as File>Save, will work
immediately, with no dialog.
DG
This refers to the Sigma lens range Differential focusing
suitable for full-frame SLRs (but Controlling depth of field to ensure
that can also be used on crop- that one element in the picture is
F
factor models). sharp, while others are as out of

G H
focus as possible.
Di
Tamron’s ‘Digitally Integrated’ Diffraction
lenses have a full-size image circle, Scattering of light caused by
I
so they are suitable for full-frame deflection at the edges of an

and crop-factor SLRs. opaque object. Diffraction causes
J
slight fuzziness in the image when

K
Di II the narrowest apertures are used.

Tamron’s second-generation
L M N O P Q R
Digitally Integrated lenses are Diffuser

designed for use on popular Any material that scatters the light
crop-factor SLRs, and are not as it passes through it, softening
suitable for full-frame models. the illumination and making
shadows less distinct. Diffusers are
Diaphragm commonly used with artificial light
Another term for the aperture. sources. On sunny days, clouds act
These are the adjustable blades as natural diffusers.
that regulate how much light enters
the lens and reaches the sensor. Dioptre
Optical measurement used to
Dialog describe the light-bending power
S
A window that pops open when of a lens. The dioptre value of a

you select certain commands, lens is equal to the number of
T
usually to give you the opportunity times that its focal length will
U
to configure settings or enter divide into 1000mm. Dioptres are

further preferences. In Photoshop used to measure the magnification
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and Elements, menu commands of close-up lenses, and of

that will open a dialog for further viewfinder lenses.
instructions before applying their
effect are usually indicated by an Dioptric correction
ellipsis (…) after the name, such as The facility provided on some
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cameras for adjusting the Dodge tool
viewfinder to suit the user’s A way of lightening selected areas
eyesight. Limited adjustment is of the image during digital
built-in, and some cameras permit manipulation. The tool gets its
further modification with the use name (and its spoon-shaped icon)
of additional dioptre lenses. from the traditional darkroom
technique of ‘dodging’, where parts
F
Disc film of a print are shielded from
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A short-lived format introduced by exposure and therefore given less
Kodak in 1982. The disc-shaped light than other parts. See also
film, housed in a plastic cartridge, Burn tool.
contained 15 negatives measuring
I
11x8 mm. After each exposure, the Doughnuts
disc rotated to the next frame. Poor The name given to the ring-shaped
J
image quality made it unpopular, bokeh created by the unique
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and it was discontinued in 1999. construction of a mirror lens.
L M N O P Q R
DNG (Digital Negative) DPI
DNG is a raw file format invented Dots per inch. Strictly speaking,
by Adobe and used by some camera a measure of the density of dots of
manufacturers. An advantage of ink that a printer lays down on
DNG is that, unlike other raw paper. Compare image resolution
formats, it isn’t specific to just one (density of pixels) of a print or
camera manufacturer or model, and on-screen image at a certain size,
it isn’t just a read-only format – measured in pixels per inch.
you can save your files in DNG
format too. A free DNG converter DPOF
application available from Adobe at (Digital Print Order Format)
www.adobe.com/products/dng A facility available on some digital
S
enables you to convert any raw file cameras that enables users to mark
into a DNG. the images from which they wish
T
to have prints made.

U
DO
Diffractive Optics is used on a D-SLR
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handful of Canon telephoto lenses. (digital single lens reflex)

The technology enables these long See single-lens reflex.
lenses to be made smaller and
lighter than equivalents using DT
conventional optical designs. A Sony lens with a smaller image
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circle, designed for use on first paper negative roll film in

crop-factor cameras. 1884 before establishing Eastman
Kodak in 1892, which went on to
Duotone become one of the world’s largest
A duotone image is one made from photographic companies. The
two inks (usually black and another popular Kodak ‘Brownie’ series was
colour), and is often used in launched in 1900, with the famous
F
printed books to increase the tonal slogan, ‘You push the button, we do
G H
range of an image. It’s also used by the rest’.

some fine-art photographers to add
subtle colour to black-and-white ED
photographs. A similar appearance A lens featuring Extra-low
I
can be achieved in Photoshop by Dispersion glass in one or more of

converting a colour image to its elements, to help correct
J
greyscale, then choosing Image > chromatic aberration. This

K
Mode > Duotone. abbreviation is used by Nikon,

Panasonic, Olympus and others.
L M N O P Q R
DX
Tokina’s and Nikon’s way of Edgerton, Harold Eugene
marking lenses that are only Harold Eugene Edgerton (1903-
suitable for crop-factor (or APS-C) 1990) was a professor of electrical
digital SLRs. engineering at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, who
Dynamic range conducted innovative experiments
A term used to describe the range with high-speed flash photography.
between the lightest and darkest He developed a flash tube that fired
points in a photograph. The range for one-millionth of a second,
that can be recorded by a digital recording for the first time subjects
camera is relatively small compared such as a bullet piercing an apple.
S
with the range that the human eye

can perceive. EF
T
Stands for Electro Focus. This is

U
the name of the lens mount Canon

E introduced on its first autofocus
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SLR cameras in 1987. EF lenses can

Eastman, George be used on all Canon SLRs.
George Eastman (1854-1932) was
an American entrepreneur and Effects filter
philanthropist. He patented the See filter.
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EFL (effective focal length) enlarger head projects the
A measure for comparing the angle magnified image onto a sheet of
of view and magnification of photographic paper on the
different lenses and lens settings, baseboard. When the exposure is
whatever the size of imaging chip complete, the photograph is
being used. The actual focal length developed and fixed.
is converted to the equivalent focal
F
length that would give the same Environmental portrait
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angle of view on a camera using A portrait shot in a subject’s home
35mm. See focal length. or work environment in such a way
that it gives an insight into the
EF-S subject’s character. The American
I
Stands for Electro Focus Short photographer Arnold Newman
back focus, a lens mount (1918-2006) is considered the
J
introduced by Canon in 2003. father of environmental
K
EF-S lenses have a small image portraiture.
circle so they are only suitable
L M N O P Q R
for use on crop-factor SLRs. EV (exposure value)
A modified mount means that The scale used to denote the
they can’t physically be fitted onto exposure required without the
incompatible (i.e. full-frame) need to specify either shutter
Canon models. speed or aperture. A particular EV
setting has its own set pairs of
EX possible shutter speed and
Sigma’s designation for its aperture. Exposure values are
premium lens range. often quoted in combination with
an ISO speed to denote a specific
Element light level.
An individual optical lens. Most
S
photographic lenses are Evaluative metering

constructed using a number of lens A metering system used on many
T
elements, placed parallel to each cameras, in which light readings are

U
other along a single axis. Some are taken from a number of different
placed together in groups. areas, or zones, across the image.
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These readings are then compared

Enlarger to data programmed into the
A projector used in a traditional camera, so it can work out an
wet darkroom. Negatives are placed appropriate exposure setting.
in the carrier, and a light inside the Information from the multipoint
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autofocus system is also used, to exposure mode, exposure

ascertain the likely position of the compensation used and zoom
subject. This ‘intelligent’ metering setting. The information can then
system can avoid many of the subsequently be read by suitable
failings of simpler systems. software. To access this
E
However, it’s impossible to information in Photoshop and

second-guess, so it can be difficult Elements, go to File > File Info.
F G H
to predict the occasions where it

will get the exposure wrong. It’s Exposure
also known as matrix metering. The total amount of light used to
create an image. The term is also
EVF (electronic viewfinder) used to describe a single shutter
I
An eye-level LCD screen, as found cycle, that is, the process of the
on hybrid cameras, bridge cameras camera’s shutter opening, closing
J
and camcorders. The image seen by and resetting.

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the lens is electronically projected

onto the screen. Exposure compensation
L M N O P Q R
A control for manually overriding

EVIL (electronic viewfinder, the built-in exposure meter of a
interchangeable lens) camera to provide more or less
A type of hybrid camera that light to the sensor.
combines features of a traditional
SLR with those of a compact Extension tube
camera. Unlike a digital SLR, this An accessory used in macro and
type of camera has an electronic close-up photography that fits
rather than optical viewfinder. See between the D-SLR body and the
compact system camera. lens. The extra extension between
the lens and sensor enables the
EXIF lens to focus closer and to provide
S
(exchangeable image file) a higher image magnification than

Camera settings recorded by many would otherwise be possible.
T
digital cameras as part of the image Extension tubes are usually sold in
U
file. This data automatically notes a sets of three, and are used singly or
wide range of information about in combination to provide a total of
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the picture, including the date and seven different magnifications.

time it was recorded, aperture,
shutter speed, model of camera, Eyedropper
whether flash was used, number of A Photoshop tool used to sample
pixels used, metering mode, the colour of an area, typically
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changing the foreground colour to f/X.X
the same shade. It can also be used The f-stop number is the size of
in some adjustment tools for the lens’s maximum aperture,
setting exposure or colour balance, measured as a fraction of the focal
by clicking a particular area of tone length of the lens. On some zoom
as a reference point. lenses there may be two apertures
quoted f/4-5.6, for example. This
F
Eye relief means that the maximum aperture
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A measurement of the optimum gets narrower as the lens is zoomed
viewing distance between the in. The maximum aperture on the
photographer’s eye and the lens barrel may also be expressed
camera’s viewfinder. as a ratio, such as 1:4-5.6.
I
Eyepiece correction FA
J
See dioptric correction. A Pentax lens that’s full-frame
K
compatible, and that features an
old-fashioned aperture ring.
L M N O P Q R
F
False colour
F-stop A colour shown in a digital image
The aperture setting on a lens. The that’s different from the actual
number is the focal length of the subject colour, and that often
lens divided by the diameter of the appears together with a moiré
aperture. As a result, larger f-stop pattern. See moiré pattern.
numbers represent narrower
aperture sizes. F-stop numbers are Fast ISO setting
used so that exposure settings for a An ISO setting that makes the
particular scene can be expressed sensor more sensitive to light than
without having to know the focal usual, and thus requires less
S
length of the lens used. The term, exposure than usual. Fast settings
F-stop, comes from the are useful in low-light situations
T
Waterhouse stop (a series of where long shutter speeds are not

U
circular holes in strips of metal suitable. A drawback is that

that ‘stopped’ some of the light grain-like noise within the image
V W X
passing through the lens). The becomes more pronounced as the

system was invented by John ISO speed is increased. See ISO.
Waterhouse (1806-1879) in 1858,
but the hole sizes don’t correspond Fast lens
with modern f-stop numbers. A lens that has a wider maximum
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aperture than is usual for that File format

particular focal length or zoom The way in which a digital image is
range, allowing a shorter shutter stored. When you’ve finished
speed. Fast lenses are not only editing your images, you usually
useful in low light; they can be get a choice of formats to use while
invaluable for throwing saving. Common file types include
backgrounds out of focus to a JPEG, TIFF, and PSD.
F
greater extent than usual.

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Fill-in flash
Fast shutter speed Flash used as a secondary light
Relative term for an exposure that source. A fill-flash feature is an
is shorter than average, usually set option on many cameras with a
I
to avoid the blur that would built-in flash unit. With it you can
otherwise be created by movement soften shadows on foreground
J
of the subject. subjects, helping to avoid problems

K
with backlighting. Fill-in flash can

Feathering also be used to enhance the colours
L M N O P Q R
A way of softening the edges of an and contrast of foreground subjects

area that you’ve selected to work in dull lighting conditions.
on in Photoshop. It adds a
transition zone of transparent Fill light
pixels, which enables any In studio lighting, a fill light is
background to partially show used to give more detail to dark or
through (like with the edges of a shadow areas, and reduce contrast.
feather). It’s used so that the join
between manipulated and Film
non-manipulated areas is rendered In photography, film is a
less obvious. transparent plastic perforated strip
or sheet that acts as a base for
S
Fenton, Roger microscopic, light-sensitive silver

Roger Fenton (1819-1869) was a halide crystals coated on one side
T
British photographic pioneer who with a gelatin emulsion. Black-

U
took some of the earliest war and-white film has a single layer
photographs on the battlefields of of silver salts, while colour film has
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the Crimean War in 1854. He was a minimum of three layers of dye

also the founder and first secretary (blue, green and red), which
of The Photographic Society, sensitise the salts to different
later renamed to The Royal colours, as the scene being
Photographic Society. photographed dictates.
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Filter Flare
A general term used within Stray, non-image-forming light
Photoshop for a wide range of that reaches the sensor, creating
artistic effects and other utilities. unwanted highlights or softening
Many are special effects, such as the image. Lens coatings and hoods
those that add grain and texture to are designed to minimise flare.
an image. Others, such as the However, flare can still prove a
F
sharpening filters, are more problem when shooting towards
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utilitarian. Also, see optical filter. a bright light source.
Fisheye lens Flash

An ultra-wide-angle lens that A burst of artificial light used to
I
distorts the image in order to provide all or some of the
maximise the field of view. On illumination for an image. Most
J
35mm cameras, the term refers cameras have built-in flash units,
K
to lenses with focal lengths of while some allow a separate flash
around 8-15mm. unit to be attached via the hotshoe,
L M N O P Q R
or used off-camera. In studio work,
FireWire large standalone flash units or
A method of transferring data such strobes use mains power, and are
as digital images or video between triggered by a flash sync cable or
devices. FireWire 400 was first radio signal. Flash durations are
introduced by Apple in the 1990s. usually between 1/200 sec -1/1000
The most recent version is sec and have a colour temperature
FireWire 800. A FireWire 400 of around 5,500-6,000k.
cable can be connected to a
FireWire 800 socket using an Flash synchronisation
additional adaptor. Process that ensures that the peak
output from the flash tube
S
Fixed focal length lens coincides with the shutter being

A lens that doesn’t have a variable fully open. On digital SLRs with
T
focal length, and which has a single focal plane shutters, full
U
angle of view. synchronisation is only possible at

certain shutter speeds.
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Fixer
A chemical mixture used in the wet Flattening
darkroom to stabilise negatives and A Photoshop term for merging all
prints after development and make the visible layers to the background
them insensitive to light. layer, reducing the file size.
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Fluorescent light This is the plane where the photo

The lighting produced by strip sites of the CCD or CMOS image
light tubes. The colour balance can sensor are positioned.
vary enormously, depending on the
type of tube, and manual white Focal plane shutter
balance settings therefore often A shutter mechanism that sits just
offer several fluorescent settings. in front of the image sensor, in the
F
Daylight-balanced fluorescent lens’s focal plane. It consists of two

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tubes are used in some studio light-tight curtains that, when

lighting systems. using fast shutter speeds, travel
across the focal plane with a thin
FO slit between them. Light passes
I
Stands for Focus-One-touch through this slit to expose the

mechanism, on Tokina lenses. image sensor or film. Using shutter
J
It enables you to switch between speeds lower than the flash sync
K
autofocus and manual focus by speed, one curtain crosses the focal
snapping the focus ring backwards plane to expose the whole sensor
L M N O P Q R
and forwards. or frame of film, followed

separately by the second curtain.
Focal length This type of shutter is commonly
Optical term describing the used on D-SLR cameras.
distance between the optical centre
of a lens and its focal point. In Focus peaking
practice, the focal length is a An electronic visual aid in which
measure of the magnification and the parts of an image in sharp
angle of view of a given lens or focus are highlighted on a Live
zoom setting. It’s usually measured View screen. This function was
in millimetres. However, its included on Sony’s NEX mirrorless
usefulness as a way of comparing cameras in 2011. It has since been
S
different lenses is diminished by introduced on other companies’

the fact that the exact focal length new camera models, including the
T
required to give a particular angle Leica M (typ 240) and the Olympus
U
of view will depend on the size of OM-D E-M1.

the imaging chip used by the
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camera in question. See EFL. Focusing screen

The surface upon which the
Focal plane viewfinder image of a digital SLR is
The flat surface upon which the projected. Its textured surface is
image is focused in a camera. designed to accentuate the degree
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by which the image is sharp or not, photography, Fox Talbot (1800-
thereby providing assistance when 1877) introduced the calotype or
you’re focusing. talbotype process in 1841. His
book, The Pencil of Nature
4K (published in instalments from
An ultra-high-resolution video 1844-1846) was the first
format that delivers four times the commercially published book to be
F
amount of detail as 1080p full HD. illustrated with photographs. One
G H
It means that individual video of his most famous photographs,
frames, which have eight million made in 1844, showed Nelson’s
pixels, are of a high enough quality Column in Trafalgar Square,
to be printed as still images. London, under construction.
I
Panasonic and Sony have both
announced 4K-capable models, Fps (frames per second)
J
and more manufacturers are due Measurement of the continuous
K
to follow suit. shooting rate of a camera.
L M N O P Q R
Four Thirds system Framing
A standard image sensor format A technique for highlighting a
introduced by Olympus and Kodak subject and giving depth to an
in 2002. It has a 4:3 aspect ratio image by using another feature
(the sensor size is usually 18 x within the image to form a frame
13.5mm), while other D-SLR around it. Examples include
systems use a larger sensor with shooting a church tower through
a 3:2 aspect ratio. an archway, or a portrait of
someone looking through a
Format window frame.
In film photography, ‘format’ refers
to a photographic film size and its Frontal lighting
S
associated camera systems. Lighting directed towards the

Miniature Format is 35mm or subject, and therefore positioned
T
smaller, Medium Format is any behind, or level, with the camera.

U
film size higher than 35mm, but

lower than 4x5, while Large Format Full-frame
V W X
is anything larger than 4x5. For file Used to describe a digital SLR
formats, see image file format. sensor that has a light-sensitive
area the same size as a frame of
Fox Talbot, William Henry 35mm film – around 24x36mm.
An inventor and pioneer of See sensor size.
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FX from ‘gicler’, the French word

A Nikon (or Nikkor) lens that’s meaning ‘to spray or squirt’. The
compatible with its full-frame name originally referred to prints
SLRs, as well as crop-factor ones. made on a prepress Iris printer, but
now also includes those made on
other large-format printers that
G use pigment-based inks and
F
archival paper.
G H
G
Stands for Gold – a designation GIF
found on top-class Sony lenses. (graphic interchange
It’s also used for current Panasonic format)
I
Lumix compact system cameras A digital file format that uses

and lenses. lossless compression. GIFs are
J
sometimes used for graphics and

K
Gain images for use on the web. Its

Amplification of an electronic image palette is limited to 256
L M N O P Q R
circuit. It’s used in digital cameras colours – much fewer than a TIFF,
and camcorders as a way of JPEG or raw file can contain – so
electronically boosting the its use to show photographs isn’t
sensitivity of the imaging chip in recommended.
low light. See ISO.
Gigabyte (GB)
Gamut Unit for measuring computer
The range of colours that can memory, roughly equivalent to
be printed or displayed by a 1,000 megabytes.
particular device.
Guide Number (GN)
Gelatin emulsion A number on a flash unit that
S
A thin coating on one side of a roll measures its capacity to light

of photographic film, which a subject at a particular distance
T
contains microscopic light- and ISO setting. Usually, based

U
sensitive silver halide particles. on a setting of ISO100, the guide

number is determined by
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Giclée multiplying the flash-to-subject

A name for digital prints made on distance by the f-stop setting
high-resolution large format inkjet needed to correctly expose the
printers, coined by the printmaker subject at that distance. A flash
Jack Duganne in 1991. It comes with a lower guide number
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produces a much weaker flash than 18% reflectance, is used as a
one with a higher guide number. standard reference when
determining consistent
Gradient tool photographic exposure. It’s used by
Fills the image or selection with placing it in a scene to be
a colour that fades into another photographed and taking a reading
colour (or into transparency). from it with a reflected light meter.
F
It’s particularly useful for creating This avoids problems of over-
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masks with seamless edges, but exposure and under-exposure.
can also be used to add colour to
a drab sky. Greyscale
A digital image in which all the
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Grad colour information has been
See graduated. removed, leaving only black, white
J
and shades of grey.
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Graduated
A type of optical filter that has a Grip and rip
L M N O P Q R
dark section and a clear section. A slang phrase for setting the
These filters – commonly known camera to its highest continuous
as ND grads – are used to balance drive mode and keeping the shutter
the brightness in high-contrast button held down to shoot as many
scenes, usually landscapes, with frames as possible in a short space
the dark area placed over the bright of time. ‘Spray and pray’ has the
sky and the clear section over the same meaning.
dark foreground.
Ground glass screen
Grain A sheet of glass, ground to a matte
Metallic silver particles, random in finish, which is used to look at
shape and distribution, particularly images on large-format cameras.
S
visible in images made with The image from the lens is

black-and-white photographic film. projected upside-down on the
T
It’s present to a lesser degree in screen. The image is examined and

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colour film. Grain is more focused more easily by blocking

noticeable in higher ISO film, but out all other light with a dark cloth.
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it’s also visible in lower ISO film

when making big enlargements. Group f/64
A group of like-minded San
Grey card Francisco-based photographers,
A neutral grey card, usually with formed in 1932, which was
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dedicated to making clear, sharply H

focused images of landscapes and
other natural forms. The group Haloes
included Ansel Adams, Edward A term used to describe the glow
Weston and Imogen Cunningham. that’s created around the edges of
The group’s name is a reference to objects when they’ve been
its members’ preference for using a over-sharpened in Photoshop or
F G H
very narrow aperture for increased other similar photo-editing

depth of field. software. They are even more
prevalent in HDR images.
Golden hour
Although not necessarily an hour Hand tool
I
long, this is the period of time A tool for moving your image
after sunrise or before sunset in around when you’re zoomed in and
J
which landscape photographers can’t see all the image at once, by

K
particularly enjoy working because dragging on the image. Press the H

of the favourable effect of the light key, or hold down the space bar, to
L M N O P Q R
on their images. The main reason switch to this tool quickly.

for the term is the warm colour of
the sunlight, which, together with HDR (high dynamic range)
its reduced contrast, gives outdoor A digital imaging technique where
scenes an especially attractive a series of identical pictures of
appearance. The low angle of a scene are taken at different
sunlight also creates longer exposures and then combined into
shadows and reveals more texture one image. This brings out detail in
in a landscape. shadow and highlight areas that
usually can’t be captured in a single
GPS exposure, and is particularly useful
Stands for global positioning for high-contrast subjects, such as
S
system. This geotagging feature is brightly-lit landscapes, interiors

built into many more recently and night scenes.
T
introduced camera models. Using

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satellite-based navigation, it Healing Brush tool

records the camera’s position when A retouching tool that lays down
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an image is made. This information copied pixels like the Clone Stamp
can then be embedded in the tool, but in addition it analyses
image’s metadata, allowing some nearby colour and tone and
software to show maps of where attempts to blend the cloned pixels
you took each photo. in with the surrounding area.
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Sometimes it produces better darkest on the left to the brightest
results than the Clone Stamp, but on the right. The scale runs from 0
not always, because its blending (solid black) to 255 (pure white),
effect will tend to blur detail. For and the height of the graph at any
seamless cloning, it’s often a good point represents the relative
option to use both tools. number of pixels in the image with
that brightness level. The overall
F
HID shape of the histogram gives you
G H
Stands for High Index Dispersion, an at-a-glance indication of the
a type of glass used in Tamron tonal range of the image and the
lenses that helps to minimise presence of any clipping. You can
chromatic aberration. use tools such as Levels to adjust
I
the shape of the histogram and
High key thereby improve the contrast and
J
An image in which the bright, exposure of the image.
K
white tones dominate.
Hotshoe
L M N O P Q R
Highlights An accessory shoe with an
The brightest (whitest) areas of electrical contact, for mounting
an image. and connecting a flashgun.
High speed sync (HSS) HSM

Flash feature that allows the use of Sigma’s Hyper Sonic Motor is used
shutter speeds with flash, faster in some of its lenses to provide
than the usual sync speed. The faster and quieter AF operation.
flash pulses at high frequency to
ensure an even exposure, even Hue
though the shutter blinds are never Another term for colour. It tells
fully open during the exposure. you where a colour lies on the
S
The facility is useful for freezing colour wheel without telling you
close-up action in daylight, and for how bright or dark it is.
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allowing the widest apertures even

U
in bright light. Hyperfocal distance

The shortest distance at which a
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Histogram lens can be focused so that depth

A graph that provides an instant of field stretches to infinity for a
guide to the contrast and exposure given aperture and focal length.
of a picture. It maps the When focused at the hyperfocal
distribution of tones, from the length, depth of field will stretch
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from exactly half the hyperfocal (charged coupled device) or CMOS

distance to infinity. (complementary metal-oxide-
semiconductor) sensors.
I Infinity
Optical term to describe objects
Incident light meter that are so far away from the lens
F
A hand-held light meter that that light from them reaches the
G H
measures the amount of light lens as parallel rays. In practice,

falling on a subject. it’s usually used to mean objects
that are on or near the horizon.
IF Represented on lenses by the
I
Stands for internal focusing, and is mathematical symbol, ∞.

found on many lenses from many
J
manufacturers. The lens is Infrared photographs

K
constructed so that it doesn’t Images recorded on an image

change in length as the lens is sensor or photographic film that’s
L
focused. It also means that the only sensitive to infrared (IR) light,
front element doesn’t rotate – beyond the spectrum visible to us.
M N O P Q R
which can help with the use of Black-and-white IR landscapes

some lens attachments, such as have a ‘dreamlike’ quality’; grass
petal-shaped lens hoods and and foliage is recorded as almost
polarising filters. white, while blue skies become
black. Digital cameras can be
Image file format converted to only shoot IR images
A standard way of encoding by removing the IR blocker in front
information for storage in a of the sensor in the camera body
computer file. File formats used in and replacing it with a filter that
photography include JPEG, TIFF, instead blocks visible light.
S
PSD and GIF, all of which are

suitable for particular uses. See the Instamatic
T
separate entries for those formats The name of a hugely popular

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for details of how they differ. series of low-cost, easy-to-use

cameras made by Kodak. First sold
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Image sensor in 1963, Instamatics used Kodak’s

An integrated circuit chip that cartridge-based 126 film. In 1972,
converts an optical image into an the company introduced the Pocket
electronic signal. In current digital Instamatic, which used the smaller
cameras, most are either CCD 110 film.
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Inverse square law J
This law particularly relates to the
use of studio lights or flash, and Jack
says that if an object is twice a A socket into which a plug is
particular distance from a point inserted to make a connection, also
source of light, it will receive a known as a ‘female’ connector.
quarter of the illumination. For A jack on a camera is used for
F
example, if your subject is two connecting an accessory such as
G H
metres away, and you increase it to headphones or a remote shutter
four metres, the resulting fall-off release. A 3.5mm mini-jack is used
means you’ll need four times the for connecting an external stereo
amount of light to keep the same mic or to connect to old TVs.
I
exposure settings. Alternatively,
you’ll have to increase the exposure Jaggies
J
by two stops. See antialiasing.
K
Iris Joiner
L M N O P Q R
Another name for the diaphragm, A term coined by the artist David
or aperture, of a lens. Hockney (born 1937) to describe
his photo-collage work in the
IS 1980s. Hockney’s joiners combined
The abbreviation used for Image overlapping prints, made at slightly
Stabilization – the optical camera different times and from multiple
shake-reduction system found in viewpoints, to make landscapes
a wide range of Canon lenses. and portraits. His most elaborate
joiners used hundreds of individual
ISO prints to make one collage. Other
Stands for International photographers creating joiners (also
Organisation for Standardisation. called ‘panographs’) have followed
S
In photography, it refers to a Hockney’s method of assembling

system for measuring and prints, or have combined digital
T
specifying the sensitivity of digital images on screen using photo-

U
imaging systems and photographic stitching software.

films. The higher the ISO number,
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the greater the sensitivity to light. JPEG (Joint Photographic

Cameras have an ISO range, Experts Group)
enabling you to choose an ISO A file format used for digital
setting that suits the situation in images. A variable amount of
which you’re shooting. compression can be used to vary
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amount of detail stored and the migrant labourers during the

resulting file size. It’s the standard Depression era for the American
format used by digital cameras government’s Farm Security
(although raw or TIFF formats may Administration. Her best-known
also be options). picture, Migrant Mother (1936) has
come to symbolise the era.
F
K Large format
G H
See format.
Kelvin (K)
Unit used for measuring the colour Lasso tool
temperature of light sources, A pencil-like Photoshop tool that
I
named after the 19th century you can use to select an area you
physicist and engineer William want to work on simply by drawing
J
Thomson, first Lord Kelvin around it.

K
(1824-1907). Average noon daylight

usually has a colour temperature of Layer
L M N O P Q R
around 5500K. The digital counterpart of the

cut-out pieces of paper in a collage
Key light or decoupage. Layers containing
The main light on a subject used cut-out objects can be stacked on
in studio photography. top of an original image or
Background layer in order to create
a composite image. Adjustments
L and effects can also be applied in
the form of adjustment layers,
L enabling you to alter the exposure,
Stands for Luxury, and is used to colour, and so on, without actually
designate Canon’s best pro lenses, altering the original. Layers can be
S
which have superior build quality opaque, translucent, or merged

and weatherproofing. with layers in the stack below in a
T
number of ways.
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Lange, Dorothea
Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) was Layers panel
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an American photojournalist and Formerly known as the Layers

documentary photographer. Her palette, this Photoshop feature
most famous image was taken in enables you to manage and
the 1930s, when she recorded the organise the layers in a multi-
plight of sharecroppers and layered image, add new layers or
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adjustment layers, and change the rest becomes increasingly blurred.
way in which layers interact with The point of focus can be moved
each other (such as their opacity by pushing or pulling the lens.
and blending mode).
Lens hood
LCD (liquid crystal display) Attaches to the front of the lens to
Type of display panel used widely prevent stray light from outside the
F
on cameras to provide information image area entering the lens. The
G H
to the user. High-resolution colour lens hood is important for
LCDs are capable of showing preventing flare, and needs to be
detailed images, and are used as designed for a specific lens so as
viewing screens on digital cameras. not to cause image falloff.
I
LD Levels
J
This features on Tamron lenses A tool used in digital image
K
that use one or more Low manipulation to adjust exposure,
Dispersion lens elements to help contrast and colour balance.
L M N O P Q R
reduce chromatic aberration. Histograms are used as a guide
to the corrections that need to
Leaf shutter be made to the image.
Also known as a diaphragm
shutter, it uses overlapping ‘leaves’ Light-field camera
of metal, which open and close to Also known as a plenoptic camera,
allow light to reach the image this device uses microlens-array
sensor or film. It’s usually located technology to record images in a
between lens elements, and is completely different way to a
commonly found on medium- and conventional camera. Uniquely,
large-format cameras. this allows images to be re-focused
after they have been shot. The first
S
LED (light emitting diode) light-field camera was introduced

Coloured indicator lamp used on by Lytro in 2011.
T
many cameras.
U
Light meter
Lensbaby A device used to measure the
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A selective focus lens with a amount of light and determine the

flexible bellows tube section used correct exposure. Most cameras
for creating special effects. It have built-in light meters that
allows the photographer to keep measure the reflected light from a
part of the image in focus while the subject, as do hand-held reflected
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light meters. Incident light meters shutter is open for an extended

measure the light falling on the time period. It may be used at
subject, and readings are taken night to capture movement, such
from the subject’s position with as car lights on a motorway or star
the light meter pointing back trails, or during daylight to blur
towards the camera. water movement in a river running
through a scene. Long exposures in
F
Light modifier daylight are usually made using a

G H
Any one of a number of devices neutral density (ND) filter to

that alters the direction and prevent over-exposure.
intensity of light. See reflector,
softbox, snoot, barn doors and Long-focus lens
I
beauty dish. A lens used to magnify distant

subjects that has a focal length
J
Light trails longer than the diagonal

K
Lines of light recorded in an image measurement of the image sensor

by a moving light source during the or film being used. In 35mm terms,
L M N O P Q R
exposure. Examples are vehicle this is any lens with a focal length
lights on a motorway at night, longer than the ‘normal’ 50mm.
lights on a fairground Ferris
wheel or someone moving a Lossless compression
hand-held torch. They can also A process whereby the size of a
result from shooting images of still digital image file is made smaller
lights and moving the camera without losing information.
during the exposure. Lossless formats include TIFF
and PNG.
Lomography
A photographic style originally Lossy compression
inspired by the images produced A process in which information is
S
using the low-cost Russian-made lost from a digital image file to

35mm Lomo LC-A camera, make the file size smaller. This
T
introduced in the 1980s. reduces the image quality, although

U
Lomography enthusiasts include the result may not be noticeable.

lens blur, light leaks and other JPEG is the most common file
V W X
camera quirks as an important part format to use lossy compression.

of their images.
Low key
Long exposure An image that is dominated by
An exposure in which the camera’s dark tones.
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Lytro Magnification ratio
See light-field camera. The relationship between the size
of the focused image and the size
of the subject. If the image is life-
M size, the magnification ratio is 1:1.
Macro Manual exposure
F
Term generally used to describe An exposure made after the
G H
equipment for taking pictures at a photographer has selected a
closer shooting distance than shutter speed and aperture of their
usual, to provide a bigger image of choice, usually after taking a
the subject. Historically speaking, reading from a built-in or
I
the term ‘macro’ refers to when the hand-held light meter.
recorded image is life-size or larger
J
than life-size, with a magnification Manual focus
K
ratio that is 1:1 or greater. Adjusting the camera’s focus by
turning the focusing ring on the
L M N O P Q R
Maddox, Dr Richard Leach lens barrel by hand. It’s often used
Maddox (1816-1902) was an to choose a particular focus point
English photographer and doctor in macro photography. It can also
who invented the first successful be essential in certain lighting
gelatin dry plate for photography in situations, for example low light or
1871. Until then, photographers mist, when autofocus can struggle
used wet plates, which had to be to lock on to a subject.
coated, exposed and developed in
hazardous chemicals while still Marching ants
wet. Leach’s invention made The dotted lines that flicker around
photography much less dangerous areas that have been selected with
and complicated, and laid the basis a Marquee tool in Photoshop.
S
for early film emulsions.

Marquee
T
Magic Wand tool The Marquee tools enable you to

U
A tool that selects pixels on the make regular-shaped selections

basis of their colour. Click a pixel, such as ellipses or rectangles. The
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and more pixels of a similar colour term ‘marquee’ is also used to refer
or tone will be selected. The to the animated dotted outline that
Tolerance setting will dictate how indicates the border of a selection,
close in colour other pixels must which is also often referred to as
be in order to be included. ‘marching ants’.
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Matrix metering Megapixel

See evaluative metering. A measurement of the resolution
of a digital camera, equal to
Maxwell, James Clerk 1,000,000 pixels.
James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)
was a theoretical physicist who MemoryStick
collaborated with photographer Family of removable memory cards
F
Thomas Sutton (1819-1875) to used by some digital cameras.

G H
create the first colour photographic Pioneered by Sony.

image in 1861. They photographed
a tartan ribbon through red, green Metadata
and blue filters. Then, at a lecture Text information that describes an
I
at The Royal Institution of Great image file, such as EXIF camera

Britain in London, the three settings and user-added captions.
J
negatives were projected together

K
on a screen, using the same Metered manual

coloured filters, and combined to An exposure mode in which
L M N O P Q R
make one colour image. shutter speed and aperture are set
manually by the user, although
Medium-format camera information as to their suitability
Any camera that uses film larger is provided by the camera’s own
than 35mm, but smaller than 4x5 metering system.
(large format) film. In digital
photography, the term refers to Micro Four Thirds system
cameras that use sensors larger A standard for compact system
than a 36 x 24mm image sensor. cameras (CSCs) created by
Current examples include the Olympus and Panasonic in 2008.
Pentax 645Z and Hasselblad It uses the same sensor as Four
H5D-200c (both with a sensor size Thirds system D-SLR cameras, but
S
of 43.8 x 32.8mm) doesn’t use the mirror box or

pentaprism. This allows a smaller,
T
Megabyte (MB) lighter and more compact body and

U
A unit for measuring the size of lens design.

computer memory and storage
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capacity in hard disks. Largely Midtones

outmoded by the larger gigabyte All the areas of an image that
unit (roughly 1,000 megabytes) as aren’t shadows or highlights. These
technology has improved to offer are areas of brightness that, if the
larger sizes. image were converted to black and
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white, would be a shade of grey Monopod
rather than black or white. In a A one-legged camera support. This
histogram, they correspond with doesn’t provide complete stability
the main central parts of the to the camera, but enables slower
histogram graph. shutter speeds to be used than
would otherwise be possible with a
Minimalist handheld camera. Used widely by
F
As with minimalism in art, music sports photographers due to its
G H
and literature, this is a style of manoeuvrability.
photography that uses a small
number of elements to create its Motion blur
effect, and is often calm and Out-of-focus streaking effect
I
contemplative. One contemporary caused by the movement of the
photographer who consistently subject or camera during the
J
uses a minimalist style in his exposure. Examples include a long
K
landscape work is Michael Kenna. exposure of a moving object
passing through a static street
L M N O P Q R
Moiré pattern scene at night, or panning the
In photography, moiré occurs when camera with a moving subject to
a detailed or repetitive pattern in create a background with blur.
the subject is overlaid with the
pattern of pixels on a digital Motor drive (or motorwind)
sensor. The interaction of the two A camera facility for taking a
patterns produces a separate, often number of pictures in rapid
wavy, moiré pattern. The effect is succession. The camera continues
reduced by the camera’s optical low to take pictures as long as your
pass filter. finger keeps the release down, or
until it runs out of memory.
Monochrome
S
Although the term applies to Move tool

images made using only one colour, A tool used for aligning a layer by
T
or shades of one colour, in moving it around the canvas.

U
photography it usually refers to

black-and-white images. The Mugshot
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‘monochrome mode’ on digital Taken from ‘mug’, the established

cameras enables you to record slang word for ‘face’, the term
directly in black and white, instead originally applied to the stark
of converting colour images at the police photographs of criminals,
post-capture stage. taken after arrest. It now refers to
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any simple head-and-shoulders Neutral-density (ND) filter

portrait such as those found on a An optical or electronic filter that
driving licence or passport. reduces the amount of light
reaching the image sensor equally
Multiple exposure across the entire field of view. It
An image created by two or more permits longer shutter speeds or
superimposed images. wider apertures than would
F
otherwise be possible in the

G H
Multizone metering lighting conditions.

See evaluative metering.
NFC
Stands for near-field
I
N communication, a short range

wireless technology that has been
J
Naturalistic photography introduced on many new camera

K
An approach put forward in the models. It enables devices to

1880s by the English photographer communicate by using interacting
L M N O P Q R
Peter Henry Emerson (1856-1936). electromagnetic radio fields.

He said that photographs should be Images can be transferred
direct and simple and reflect wirelessly between a camera and a
nature. He also said they should be smartphone with NFC, simply by
produced from a single negative placing the devices close together.
(as opposed to the use of multiple
negatives in combination printing), Niépce, Joseph Nicéphore
without being staged or retouched. Niépce (1765-1833) was a French
inventor who made the earliest
Negative surviving permanent image from
An image made on a strip or sheet nature in 1826. He used a camera
of film made of transparent plastic. obscura to project an image onto
S
Tones are reversed on black-and- a pewter plate coated with light-

white negative film, while on sensitive Bitumen of Judea.
T
colour negative film, colours are His groundbreaking ‘heliograph’,

U
recorded as their complementary View from a Window at Le Gras,

colours. Negatives are converted to showed a courtyard and buildings
V W X
positive images when printed on at his house.

photographic paper. The first
negative was recorded on paper by Noise
William Henry Fox Talbot in 1835, Unwanted interference in an
using his calotype process. electrical signal, which is seen as a
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grain-like pattern in dark areas of a Optical filter
digital image. Noise increases in A glass or plastic accessory placed
digital photos when a higher ISO in a holder or attached to the front
setting is used. of the camera lens. They are used
to alter the image being recorded
North light by allowing light of particular
The diffuse, reflected light that wavelengths to pass through while
F
comes through a north-facing blocking others. Most of the
G H
window, which is therefore not traditional optical filters are only
directly lit by sunlight. Its soft, used in film photography, because
flattering quality makes it popular their effects can be replicated by
in portrait photography. in-camera digital filters or by using
I
post-processing techniques on a
computer. The types of optical
J
O filters still used widely in digital
K
camera capture include the
OIS polariser, UV filter, ND filter, ND
L M N O P Q R
Optical image stabilisation, the grad and infrared filter.
system used on Panasonic lenses to
reduce camera shake. Optical low-pass filter
A filter built into many digital
OLED cameras and located in front of the
Stands for organic light-emitting image sensor. It reduces the
diode. OLED screens use a thin combined effect of moiré and false
film of organic compound between colour in digital images.
two conductors that emits a bright
light when an electric current is Orientation sensor
applied. These screens make A sensor used in some cameras
flexible, high-quality displays that that detects when you turn the
S
are lighter, thinner and faster to camera to take a vertical shot. It

respond than LCDs. They are stores this information so that it
T
becoming increasingly common on displays the image correctly when

U
high-end cameras. played back on the camera LCD or

computer screen.
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1080p
A format for recording full HD OS
video with a resolution of 1920 x Stands for optical stabilisation, the
1080 pixels, offered on many system used on some Sigma lenses
current digital cameras. to reduce camera shake.
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Over-exposure While the shutter is open, objects

Exposing an image for too long to in the scene can be ‘painted’ with
suit the subject in given lighting light from a hand-held flash or
conditions. As a result, details in other light source. The other
highlight areas are lost or ‘blown technique also involves shooting in
out’. Some photographers choose to the dark with the shutter open, but
over-expose when creating a in this case the light source is
F
particular effect. They may also use moved while being pointed towards
G H
over-exposure to compensate the camera, often to create a ‘light

when the camera’s light meter trail’ shape in the final image.
gives an incorrect reading – when
shooting snow scenes, for example. Palette Bin / Panel Bin
I
Area on the right of the interface

for keeping various dialogs and
J
P information displays in
K
Photoshop/Elements. Later
Pack shot versions tend to use the term
L M N O P Q R
A short form for ‘packaging shot’, ‘panel’ instead of ‘palette’.

this is a photograph of a product The feature can be minimised to
with labelling clearly displayed, and buttons or hidden completely.
is usually taken for advertising or
other commercial reasons. Studio Pan-and-tilt head
setups for pack shots can vary from A tripod attachment that provides
the simple to the elaborate. independent movement of the
camera in both horizontal and
Paint Bucket tool vertical planes, giving the
A Photoshop tool that fills a photographer greater flexibility.
complete area with a particular
colour. As with the Magic Wand Panning
S
tool, you can adjust the Tolerance Moving the camera along a
to change the effect. It can be horizontal plane during the exposure
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useful for creating masks. to follow a moving subject.

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Painting with light Panograph

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Creating images with a mobile light See joiner.

source. One way of painting with
light is to shoot a scene in the dark, Panoramic
whether indoors or outdoors, with An elongated image in which the
the camera on the B (bulb) setting. width is at least twice the height.
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Panoramas are made by cropping electronic. It’s used to designate
one image, made using a specially Nikon’s range of tilt-shift lenses,
designed panoramic camera, or by which enable you to move the front
combining several images together elements on the lens to avoid or
using ‘stitching software’. Aspect exaggerate lens distortion. These
ratios for panoramic images can be lenses are commonly used in
4:1 or higher. architectural photography to
F
ensure vertical lines remain parallel
G H
Partial metering in the picture.
A type of metering system where
the exposure reading is taken from PC lens
a small area in the centre of the Stands for perspective-control
I
field of view. It’s similar to spot lens, another name for a shift lens.
metering, but the reading is taken
J
from a larger area of the image. PC socket
K
A simple electrical connection
Passive autofocus socket found on some D-SLRs for
L M N O P Q R
An autofocus system that adjusts connecting a flash to a camera to
the focus of the lens by analysing enable synchronisation. It’s widely
the image itself, rather than used for connecting studio flash.
actively measuring the subject
distance. Passive autofocus is used Pellicle mirror
by most digital cameras, and is also A lightweight, thin, translucent
known as phase-detection or mirror used in Sony’s Single Lens
contrast-detection autofocus. Translucent (SLT) cameras. In this
design, part of the light coming
Parallax through the lens is diverted to an
An effect in which the image seen autofocus unit, and part goes to the
through a camera’s lens is not the digital sensor. This allows the
S
same as that seen through the photographer to see a continuous

viewfinder, resulting in parts of the image through the viewfinder
T
scene missing in the photograph. during exposure. It also avoids

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It’s found in any camera in which vibration and noise from the
the viewfinder and lens are movement of a mirror.
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separate, such as rangefinder and

twin-lens reflex cameras. Pentamirror
A low-cost alternative to the
PC-E pentaprism (see next entry) used in
Stands for perspective control- the construction of some D-SLRs.
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They offer the same functionality, medium. Landmark photo books of

but use mirrors for the viewfinder the past have included Robert
construction rather than a prism. Frank’s The Americans and
Cartier-Bresson’s The Decisive
Pentaprism Moment. More recently, the ability
The five-sided prism used in the to create a personalised photo book
eye-level viewfinder of SLR and has come within everyone’s reach
F
D-SLR cameras. It ensures that the via online companies such as Blurb,
G H
image appears the right way up Snapfish and Photobox.

and the right way around in the
viewfinder, correcting the effects of Photogram
the mirror and the lens. A photographic image created by
I
placing an object on a sheet of

Perspective light-sensitive paper and exposing
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Perspective is used to translate it to light. When the paper is

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a three-dimensional scene into a developed, parts of the object that

two-dimensional image. It gives light rays cannot pass through are
L M N O P Q R
the viewer a sense of depth in the recorded as pure white, while

image, for example, through the translucent parts might be
use of converging lines in a recorded as shades of grey. The
landscape. Perspective allows us to technique goes back to
interpret the size and distance photography’s earliest days. The
between objects, relative to the artist and photographer Man Ray
camera’s viewpoint. (1890-1976) later produced many
such images, which he called
Phase-detection autofocus ‘Rayographs’ or ‘Rayograms’.
See passive autofocus.
Photojournalism
Photobomb News journalism using a camera to
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To appear in the background of an record events. The ‘golden age’ of

informal portrait and upstage the photojournalism’s lasted from the
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person being photographed, 1930s to the 1950s, before

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without them being aware. television took over as the main

source of news, but it still plays an
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Photo book important role in the media.

A book largely consisting of
photographs. It’s a means by which Photomerge
photographers have displayed their A group of ‘automated’ features
work since the earliest days of the designed for combining a number
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of similar or related shots together, photography, dominant during the
including Photomerge Panorama late 19th and early 20th century.
for combining an overlapping Instead of being straightforward
sequence to create a panoramic documents of reality, photographs
view. Elements includes additional were given a more painterly,
Photomerge tools not included in soft-focus appearance. Processes
Photoshop, such as Photomerge such as bromoil, gum bichromate
F
Group Shot (for combining the and platinum printing, which
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best features from a series of involved manipulating a
near-identical group portraits). photograph’s tones and texture
using brushes, pigments and inks,
Photomicrography were popular among Pictorialists.
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Photographic images of things
invisible to the naked eye, created Pincushion distortion
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using a microscope. D-SLR A lens fault or aberration that
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cameras are connected to a causes parallel lines in an image
microscope using an adaptor, and to bow inwards towards the centre,
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the degree of magnification is and is seen when shooting with
determined by the power of the telephoto lenses. The effect is
microscope. similar to one you’d see if an image
was printed on a pincushion. It can
Photoshop be corrected using post-capture
Industry-standard software software such as Photoshop.
program produced by Adobe that
enables photographers to edit Pinhole camera
digital images on screen and save A camera that uses a small hole
them as a JPEG, TIFF, PNG or GIF. instead of a lens to project an
It was initially named Display, and inverted image on to photographic
was created by Thomas and John film or a digital sensor. Exposures
S
Knoll in 1988. are usually manually operated and

can range from several seconds to
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PictBridge hours in duration. D-SLRs can be

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A system for printing direct from converted to pinhole cameras by

a camera to a compatible printer replacing the lens with a piece of
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without the need for first plastic drilled with a hole of around
uploading images to a computer. 0.3mm in diameter. Alternative
pinhole cameras have been made
Pictorialism with anything from wheelie-bins
An artistic approach to to shoe boxes.
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Pixels reflections on non-metallic

Every digital photograph is made surfaces, such as water or glass.
up of millions of square-shaped It must be rotated in front of the
dots called pixels (the term derives lens until you achieve the desired
from “picture elements”). Like the effect. See circular polariser.
tiles in a mosaic, they blend
together to create a photorealistic Positive
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image. Zooming into your images An image that gives an accurate

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using the Zoom tool in Photoshop/ representation of the composition,

Elements enables you to see, and tones and colours of the original
then edit, each of these building subject being photographed, as
blocks if you choose. opposed to a negative in which the
I
subject’s composition, tones and

Pixelated colours are reversed.
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A digital image in which individual

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pixels can be clearly seen, either PPI

due to very low resolution or high Pixels per inch. A measure of the
L M N O P Q R
magnification of a small part of an resolution (density of pixels) in a

image. Pictures are sometimes print or on-screen image.
deliberately pixelated, for example
when someone’s face is obscured Predictive autofocus
in a newspaper for legal reasons. A sophisticated autofocus setting
where the focus is not only
Plugin adjusted until the shutter is
A piece of software that adds actually fired, but continues to be
functionality to an existing adjusted during the delay between
computer program. Plugins are pressing the shutter and the
available for many digital image picture actually being taken. This
manipulation programs, including enables the camera to focus more
S
Photoshop/Elements, providing an accurately on moving subjects.

increased range of effects and
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transformations. Prefocusing
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A manual focusing technique used

Polariser for photographing moving subjects.
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A filter that only transmits light The lens is focused on a point or at

vibrating in one plane. It can be a distance, which you anticipate
used to deepen the colour of part the subject is going to move
of a picture, such as the sky. It can through. The shutter is released
also be used to eliminate or reduce when this point is reached.
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Previsualisation this tool allows you to adjust or

A term first introduced by Ansel radically change the shape of parts
Adams, which he defined in his of an image. Subjects can be
book The Camera (1980) as “the selected and altered without
ability to anticipate a finished affecting the background.
image before making the exposure”.
Push/pull processing
F
Prime lens In film photography, push

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A non-zoom lens, that is, a lens processing means increasing the

with a single and fixed focal length. film’s speed by shooting with
shorter exposures than
Program exposure recommended and increasing the
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Any exposure mode where the development time proportionately.

camera defines both the aperture This allows photographers to work
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and the shutter speed. in lower light conditions, but

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increases the grain size. Pull

Program shift processing means using longer
L M N O P Q R
A program exposure mode in which exposures than recommended and

the camera sets the shutter speed reducing development times, to
and aperture automatically, but the give a negative with reduced
photographer has the option of contrast and grain.
altering the bias between the two
readings to set a preferred shutter PZ
speed or aperture without Stands for power zoom, a
changing the overall exposure. servo-assisted zoom facility found
on some Panasonic compact
PSD system camera lenses.
Photoshop’s (and Elements’) own
file format, which preserves PZD
S
components such as layers and Stands for piezo drive, a type of

transparency that aren’t supported ultrasonic motor used in Tamron
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by some formats (including JPEG). lenses to provide fast, quiet AF.

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It’s worth saving an edited photo

as a PSD if you might want the
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option to revisit layers or Q

adjustment layers at a later time.
Le Querrec, Guy
Puppet Warp tool Guy Le Querrec (born 1941) is
First introduced in Photoshop CS5, a French photographer best known
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for his documentary work with jazz initial exposure, while still
musicians. He joined Magnum retaining maximum image quality.
Photos in 1976 and began Raw images also offer a greater
experimenting with film shortly tonal range than the alternative
after. He won the Grand Prix de la JPEG recording quality options.
Ville de Paris in 1998. Raw isn’t an abbreviation, or even a
single file type like JPEG; the
F
Quick-release plate format varies from manufacturer to
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A facility for attaching and manufacturer, and sometimes from
removing a camera from a tripod. camera to camera. Most current
A plate attaches to the camera Canon models use CR2, and Nikon
using the traditional screw-in models use NEF.
I
arrangement, then the plate slots
into a recess on the tripod. Rear-curtain sync
J
Flash feature found on some
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D-SLRs and flashguns that
R synchronises the flash output
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when the second shutter curtain is
Rangefinder about to close. Usually, the flash
A camera with a separate lens and fires at the point where the first
viewfinder, linked by a rangefinder shutter is fully open. The facility
mechanism. When looking through gives more natural-looking images
the viewfinder, two separate images when using flash in conjunction
are shown, one of which moves with slow shutter speeds.
when the focus ring is turned.
When the two superimposed Reciprocity
images are perfectly aligned, the The reciprocity law states that the
image is in focus. density of a photographic image
is in direct proportion to the
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Raw intensity of light (aperture setting)

A file format option provided by and the duration (shutter speed).
T
D-SLRs and some other top-end For example, if the correct

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digital cameras. Image data is exposure for a subject is 1/125 sec

stored in a semi-processed state at f/4 and the aperture is increased
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and needs to be fully processed on by one stop to f/2.8, the shutter

a computer. Raw files enable speed must be correspondingly
exposure compensation, image reduced by one stop to 1/250 sec
contrast, colour balance and other to maintain the same image quality,
settings to be altered after the and vice versa.
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Reciprocity failure umbrella-shaped reflector on a

In film photography, when shooting studio light is used to create softer
with very long or very short and more diffuse illumination.
exposures, the reciprocity law (see
above) can break down, leading to Rembrandt lighting
reciprocity failure. In these cases, A studio portrait lighting
extra exposure might be needed to technique named after the Dutch
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compensate, as specified by the painter Rembrandt van Rijn

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film manufacturer. Reciprocity (1606-1669), who often used it.

failure doesn’t occur with digitally It refers to lighting one side of the
captured images. face so that it creates a triangle of
light on the opposite cheek.
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Red-eye A reflector is sometimes used to

An effect often caused by a bounce light on to the side of the
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camera’s built-in flash. The flash face in shadow.

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light reflects from the retina of

a subjects’ eyes and gives them a Reportage
L M N O P Q R
bright red colour. It can be reduced The act or technique of news

or corrected in-camera, or at the reporting. In photography, the term
post-processing stage. refers to the art of telling a news
story through pictures. Many
Reflected light reading wedding photographers offer
The most frequently used type ‘reportage style’ pictures. This
of exposure meter reading, which simply means that the day’s events
measures the amount of light are approached as if it were a news
reflecting from a subject. An event, and recorded in an informal
alternative approach is to use an and unobtrusive way. See
incident light meter, which photojournalism.
measures the amount of light
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falling on a subject. Resize

To create a new copy of an image
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Reflector with a different file size or

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A piece of card or other flat resolution (pixel count).

material that reflects and increases
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the amount of illumination from a Resolution

light source. Reflectors can be A measure of the density of pixels
white, silver or gold, and are often in a printed or on-screen image,
used to ‘bounce’ light into shadow usually expressed in terms of
areas and make them brighter. An pixels per inch (ppi). A resolution
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of 300ppi is widely regarded as the often used in macro photography,
optimum for professional-quality but is sometimes used in other
printing. Monitors typically display kinds of photography including
images at between 72 and 96ppi, portraiture. Oversized ring flashes
although this can vary with are available for studio use,
monitor size and other factors. providing doughnut-shaped catch
Changing a photo’s resolution in lights when used for portraits.
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the Image Size dialog in Photoshop
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won’t change how big it looks Rule of thirds
on-screen, only in print. One of the best-known
compositional ‘rules’, in which an
RF image is divided, horizontally and
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The rear focus feature is found on vertically, into three parts, using
super telephoto lenses. With rear two equally spaced lines. Important
J
focus, the group of elements elements of the picture are then
K
nearest the camera are used to placed on one or more of these
determine the point of focus, lines, which creates a stronger and
L M N O P Q R
providing faster autofocus. more visually appealing
composition than simply centering
RGB the subject. The term has its
Stands for red, green and blue. origins in painting, and was first
These are the three primary written down by the artist John
colours used by a digital camera Thomas Smith in 1797.
to record a picture. Some tools can
access and edit each of the three Roll film
colour channels separately. A photographic film wound on a
spool and protected from light with
Rim lighting paper backing. The most
Light from behind or to the side of commonly used type is 120 roll
S
a subject that gives a thin line of film. It’s used in cameras shooting
light around some or all of the 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7 and 6x9 negative
T
subject’s edge, which sets it clearly sizes, plus panoramic cameras.

U
apart from the background.

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Ring flash S
A flash lighting system that uses a
circular flash tube attached to the Sabattier effect
front of the lens to provide even, A wet darkroom effect in which an
shadowless lighting. Ring flash is image is processed so that it’s
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partly a normal positive image and an object or environment in an

partly a negative. It was first image, by using another object in
described in the 1860s, but became the scene as a frame of reference.
well-known in the work of Man For example, by including a person
Ray (1890-1976). His assistant, Lee in a landscape, the viewer is given a
Miller (1907-1977) accidentally strong idea of the relative size of
turned on a light while developing that landscape.
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a print, but Ray liked the effect and

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consciously used it in his work. He Scheimpflug principle

called it ‘solarisation’. The Sabattier Theodor Scheimpflug (1865-1911)
effect is easily recreated using stated: “If the lens plane is tilted
Photoshop, and looks best applied down, when the extended lines
I
to a black-and-white image. from the lens plane, the object

plane and the film plane intersect
J
Safelight at the same point, the entire

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A red/orange lamp used to light subject plane is in focus.”

a traditional wet darkroom when This principle comes into play
L M N O P Q R
printing black-and-white when using tilt-shift lenses or

photographs. It’s safe to use tilt-and-swing movements on view
at the printing stage because cameras. In practice, it means that
photographic paper isn’t sensitive if you’re photographing a
to red/orange light. landscape, the lens can be tilted
forwards until the plane of focus
SAM runs parallel to the ground. As
Stands for smooth autofocus a result, depth of field is vastly
motor, which has been used in increased, even when shooting
recent Sony Alpha lenses. with the lens wide open.
Saturation Scratch disk

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The strength of a colour or hue. Hard disk space used by Photoshop

An increase in saturation gives while processing an image to
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a more intense colour. Too much temporarily store information and

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saturation, and the image will look make the process faster. It’s used,
unreal. An image with no for example, to store the history
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saturation whatsoever will be states that are essential for using

black and white. the History panel.
Scale Screen grab

Scale gives us a sense of the size of Also called a screen shot or screen
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capture, this is an image of all or Selenium tone
part of a computer monitor display A chemical treatment applied to a
that can be saved as a graphics file. silver-based black-and-white print
in a wet darkroom that changes
SD some of the metallic silver to silver
Super-low dispersion, the glass selenide. Depending on dilution
used in Tokina lenses to reduce and the type of printing paper,
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chromatic aberration. tones may range from red-brown to
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purple-brown. The appearance of
SD (Secure Digital) card the effect can now be simulated
A type of removable memory card in post-capture software on a
used in some digital cameras. computer. Photoshop CS6 and CC
I
includes selenium toning among
SDHC its range of toning presets.
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(Secure Digital High
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Capacity) Selfie
A type of SD card that has a higher A modern term for self-portrait,
L M N O P Q R
maximum capacity than standard a genre becoming increasingly
SD cards (up to 32GB). popular in the age of the
smartphone camera.
SDM
Supersonic drive motor, Pentax’s Self-timer
fast, quiet focus motor. A camera facility that incorporates
a delay between the pressing of the
SDXC (Secure Digital trigger and the beginning of the
Extended Capacity) exposure. It has traditionally been
A type of SD card that has an even used to enable the photographer to
higher maximum capacity than appear in the shot. It can also be
SDHC cards (up to 2TB). used as a way of minimising the
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vibration caused by pressing the

Second curtain sync camera shutter, when shooting a
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An alternative term for rear- long exposure with the camera

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curtain sync. mounted on a monopod or tripod.

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Secondary mirror Sensor size

A mirror used in digital SLRs to The dimensions of the CCD or
project some of the light passing CMOS sensor in a digital camera
through the lens to exposure and vary greatly according to the type
autofocus sensors. of camera. This has a major impact
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on image quality. Larger sensors printing has a further softening

collect more light and produce effect, so if you’re going to print
images with greater dynamic range your image, it will need more
and less noise than smaller sharpening than it would need for
sensors. Smartphone camera on-screen viewing.
sensors measure around 4.5 x
3.4mm; compact camera sensors Sheet film
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are around 6.1 x 4.5mm; D-SLR Film used in large-format cameras,

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sensors are around 23.5 x 15.6mm, including 5x4 and 10x8 equipment,
while a ‘full frame’ 35mm sensor which is supplied in boxes of
measures around 36 x 24mm. individual sheets.
A medium-format sensor (such as
I
in the Pentax 645Z) measures Shift lens

around 44 x 33mm. An interchangeable lens available
J
for a small number of D-SLRs and

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Sepia tone medium-format cameras. The lens

A chemical treatment used in provides a limited range of camera
L M N O P Q R
traditional photography that movements, including a facility for

converts metallic silver in a the lens to be shifted upwards to
black-and-white photograph to avoid converging verticals when
silver sulphide. It has the effect photographing tall subjects,
of changing shades of grey into especially buildings. Also known
shades of reddish-brown. as a PC lens.
The appearance can easily be
created in digital images, either Shutter
in-camera or using Photoshop. A device for allowing light to pass
through a camera lens to the digital
720p sensor or film, usually for a precise
A high-definition video recording period of time. See also leaf shutter
S
format with a resolution of 1,280 x and focal plane shutter.

720 pixels, offered on many of the
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more recent digital cameras. Shutter lag

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The delay between the

Sharpening photographer physically pressing
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Sharpening boosts the contrast the shutter and the exposure

around the edges of objects to actually being made.
increase definition, which helps
counter the inherent softening Shutter priority
effect of digital capture. Inkjet A semi-automatic exposure mode
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in which the shutter speed is set by Slave
the photographer. The aperture is Device that triggers a flash unit
then set by the camera to suit the automatically when another flash
metered light readings taken by is fired. The slave uses a light-
the camera. sensitive photoelectric cell, and
cuts down on the number of cables
Shutter speed needed in a studio.
F
Also called exposure time, this is
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the length of time the camera’s SLD
shutter is open to allow light Stands for super-low dispersion
coming through the lens to reach – lens elements in Sigma lenses
the image sensor or film. that reduce chromatic aberration.
I
Side lighting Slow lens
J
This is illuminating a subject from A lens with a narrower than
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one side across the camera axis, average maximum aperture for the
either using natural or artificial focal length. As a result, shutter
L M N O P Q R
light, while the other side remains speeds at the maximum aperture
in shadow. It’s often used in are longer than with ‘faster’ lenses.
portraiture to give texture and
depth to a subject. It can give a Slow sync flash
dramatic look, especially against Technique in which a slow shutter
a dark background. If desired, speed is used in conjunction with
shadow areas can be lightened by flash. The flash usually provides
using a reflector. the main source of illumination,
but the ambient light creates a
Silver halide secondary exposure that can be
The light-sensitive chemical useful in suggesting movement,
compound that, when coated on or for providing detail in a
S
photographic film or paper, enables background that would otherwise

images to be recorded. have looked unnaturally dark.
T
U
Single lens reflex (SLR) SLT

A camera that uses a pentaprism Stands for Single Lens Translucent.
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and mirror to show the exact image This is a proprietary name for
being seen through the lens. When Sony Alpha cameras that use a
the shutter is released, the mirror pellicle (fixed, translucent) mirror,
flips up to allow the image to pass electronic viewfinder and
through to the sensor or film. phase-detection autofocus system.
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Smc or Sebastião Salgado’s 1993 project

Stands for super multi coating, on the conditions endured by
a seven-layer coating used on workers in different countries
Pentax lenses to reduce light around the world.
reflected by the lens itself.
Softbox
Snapshot aesthetic An enclosure around a flash or
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A style of fine-art photography continuous light. The insides are

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that uses a seemingly casual, lined with reflective material while

snapshot appearance, and focuses the square or round front screen is
on everyday subject matter. made of a white opaque material
Photographers using this approach that diffuses and softens the light.
I
have included William Eggleston Softboxes can measure anything

(born 1939), Nan Goldin (born from 40cm to 2m across the front.
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1953) and Wolfgang Tillmans (born

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1968). It was particularly popular Soft focus

in 1990s fashion photography. Slightly blurred and lacking in
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sharp definition. Images can be

Snoot ‘soft’ due to a lens flaw, or made
A tube-like attachment in the deliberately so to give a romantic
shape of a cone or cylinder, which ‘glow’ to an image. It can be
fits on the front of a flash unit or achieved in-camera by attaching
studio light. It enables the a soft-focus or diffuser filter to the
photographer to control the lens, or by shooting through a
direction and width of the light piece of translucent material (for
so that it concentrates on, or example, a section cut out from a
isolates, a subject. pair of tights). It can also easily be
added using post-capture software
Social documentary on a computer.
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Photographic genre that

concentrates on recording the Solarisation
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everyday lives of people from See Sabattier effect.

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different nationalities, cultures and

social classes. Social documentary Sontag, Susan
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projects often have a particular Susan Sontag (1933-2004) was an

purpose, such as the photographs American writer, filmmaker and
of Lewis Hine (1874-1940) prominent activist, whose series of
highlighting child labour in the essays collected in the book, On
early part of the 20th century, Photography (1977), was a
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groundbreaking critique of the Photographer at Condé Nast
photographic medium. publications in the 1920s and
1930s, he was the most famous
Soup (and reputedly the highest paid)
Slang term for developer. photographer in the world. He was
Director of Photography at the
SP Museum of Modern Art in New
F
Stands for super performance, York from 1947-1962 and in 1955
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a long-standing tag found on organised the Family of Man
top-of-the-range Tamron lenses. exhibition, seen by over nine
million people.
Spot meter
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Exposure metering system in Still-life photography
which a meter reading is taken Following in the centuries-old
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from a very small area in the centre tradition of still-life painting,
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of the frame. still-life photographs focus on
single or small groups of objects.
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sRGB They can be shot indoors or
RGB colour space frequently used outdoors, using daylight or
by digital cameras, but providing a artificial light, and are usually
narrower range of colours than the carefully arranged by the
Adobe RGB space. photographer. Notable still-life
photographers include Edward
SSM Weston (1886-1958) and Irving
Stands for supersonic motor, used Penn (1917-2009).
for high-speed autofocus in
top-of-the-range Sony lenses. Street photography
Photographs taken in public places
Standard lens that record human behaviour or
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A focal length of lens roughly equal interaction in a way that comments

to the diagonal of the image sensor on society or life in general. Street
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area. Typically, standard lenses photographers aim to capture life

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have an effective focal length of as it happens and usually take

around 50mm. pictures when people are unaware.
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Those who have worked in this

Steichen, Edward broad genre include Henri
Edward Steichen (1879-1973) was Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004),
an American fashion and portrait Robert Frank (born 1924) and
photographer. As Chief Garry Winogrand (1928-1884).
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Stieglitz, Alfred Strobe light

An important advocate for Also called a stroboscopic lamp,
photography as an artistic medium, this light source produces flashes
Stieglitz (1864-1946) formed the of light (usually around 200
Camera Club of New York in 1896 microseconds in length) at regular
and edited the magazine Camera intervals. In photography, it’s been
Notes. He formed the Photo- used to make high-speed images of
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Secession in 1902, a group of subjects that move too fast for the
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leading photographers that argued eye to see, such as a bullet zipping

that artistic expression was the through the air. Strobe lights have
most important thing about also been used to capture multiple
photography. His ideas influenced images of a moving subject in
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a generation of photographers. one image, for example in the

photographs of dancers by Gjon
J
Stitching Mili (1904-1984).

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Combining two or more

overlapping images of a subject to Superzoom
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create one seamless panoramic or A lens with an unusually large focal

high-resolution image. It can be length range. Current superzoom
achieved via dedicated software examples available for D-SLR
programs such as Autostitch or cameras include the Tamron
Canon’s Photostitch, or using the 80-270mm f/3.5-6.3 and the
Photomerge feature in Photoshop. Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3. Some
of the largest superzooms are
Stop found on bridge cameras; the
A unit of exposure. Changing Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ70 has
exposure by a single stop is a 60x optical zoom, for example,
equivalent to doubling or halving which is equivalent to 20-
the amount of light reaching the 1,200mm. Bridge cameras
S
image sensor. The distance themselves are sometimes called

between each of the standard ‘superzooms’ or ‘ultrazooms’. See
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aperture settings (f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, bridge camera.

U
f/8, f/16 etc.) is a full stop. Digital

SLRs usually provide a number of Swinger, Polaroid
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intermediate half-stop or A name used on some of the

third-stop settings. affordable and easy-to-use range of
instant cameras produced by the
Stop down Polaroid Corporation in the 1960s
Close down the camera’s aperture. and 1970s.
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SWM refers to a long-focus lens in which
Silent wave motor, the high-speed the physical length of the lens is
quiet autofocus motor used on shorter than its focal length,
Nikon’s AF-S lenses. a design feat achieved by its
internal lens assembly.
Sync speed
The fastest shutter speed that can Terabyte (TB)
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be set on a camera that enables Unit for measuring computer
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synchronisation with the flash. See memory or disk storage capacity,
flash synchronisation. which is roughly equivalent to
1,000 gigabytes.
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T TFT (thin film transistor)
High-quality colour LCD
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Table-top photography technology, widely used for rear
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Images of small objects or a displays on digital cameras.
miniature scene, arranged on
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a table top. Thumbnail
A small, low-resolution version of
Talbotype a larger image. It’s often used in
See calotype. image management applications
such as Adobe Bridge and
Teleconverter Organizer to make it easier and
A supplementary lens used faster to search through and
between a primary lens and the preview your photo collection. The
camera body to increase the focal small representations of each layer
length range of the primary lens. in the Layers panel in Photoshop
For example, a 1.4 teleconverter on and similar software are also
a 200mm lens will increase the referred to as thumbnails.
S
focal length to 280mm, but causes

a corresponding reduction in the Three-quarters lighting
T
maximum aperture size. Used in portraiture, this style of

U
lighting is created by placing a light

Telephoto at approximately 45 degrees from
V W X
A term generally used to describe each side of the centre line of the
any long-focus lens (in 35mm face. It lights three quarters of the
photography, a lens with a focal face, leaving a shadow area along
length of 85mm upwards). the side opposite to the light that
However, telephoto technically gives the face depth and volume.
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B C D E
TIFF (Tagged Image File natural when shown on a computer

Format) monitor or in print.
Digital image format used to record
files with maximum available Toning
detail. Files can be large, although Changing the colour of a black-
this can be reduced using lossless and-white print or digital image.
compression. In traditional photography,
F
black-and-white prints are usually

G H
Time exposure toned using chemicals to change

See long exposure. the metallic silver in the print
emulsion to a silver compound.
Time-lapse This happens in sepia and
I
Technique where pictures are taken selenium toning. Other processes,

of the same subject at regular such as platinum and gold toning,
J
intervals. Some time-lapse are known as metal-replacement

K
photographers record an event that toners. Similar effects can be

takes place over a long period of produced in digital images using
L M N O P Q R
time, such as a butterfly emerging post-processing techniques.

from a chrysalis.
Toy camera
TLR An inexpensive and easy-to-use
Stands for twin-lens reflex. A TLR film camera, such as the Holga,
camera has two lenses of the same Lubitel, Lomo LC-A and Diana.
focal length; one is used for taking Their lens quality and general build
the picture while the other leads to vignetting, image blur,
provides the image for the distortion and light leaks, but
waist-level viewfinder, seen via a many photographers enjoy
45-degree mirror. The two lenses incorporating these flaws into their
are connected so that focusing is images for artistic effect.
S
the same on both lenses.

Transform
T
Tog A Photoshop tool used to scale,

U V W X
Short form for ‘photographer’. rotate, reduce, enlarge, distort or

change the perspective of a layer,
Tone mapping selection or shape.
A technique used in image
processing to reduce the range of Travel photography
tonal values in a high dynamic A genre of photography that
range image, so it looks more concentrates on documenting the
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B C D E
landscape, people, culture and Umbrella
customs of a country. An umbrella is used in a studio to
reflect and diffuse light from a
Tripod flash unit, creating a softer and
A three-legged camera support. more even light. The most
common types are the white
Tripod bush shoot-through umbrella, which is
F
Threaded socket found on the base used between the flash and the
G H
of cameras, used for attaching subject, or the black umbrella with
tripods and other accessories. a reflective silver or white
underside that bounces flash light
TS-E back on to the subject.
I
Tilt-shift electronic – Canon’s
range of perspective control lenses. Under-exposure
J
(See PC-E.) An insufficient exposure for the
K
subject to retain all the shadow
TTL details, so that darker areas become
L M N O P Q R
(through the lens) metering black or almost black. The greater
An exposure metering system in the under-exposure, the darker the
which the intensity of light is image. This may be a conscious
measured through the camera lens. choice for artistic reasons.
Tungsten lighting Underwater housing

A type of bulb lighting that has A sealed container specifically
a warm colour temperature of made to protect particular cameras
between 2,600 and 3,500K. from damage in underwater
photography, and that allow
Tv (time value) controls to be accessed and
Abbreviation used for shutter operated as normal.
S
priority on some cameras.

Unsharp Mask
T
One of the most popular

U
U
Photoshop tools for increasing

sharpness in a digital image. It gets
V W X
UD its curious name from a traditional

Stands for ultra-low dispersion, print process, where a soft focus
a type of glass used in Canon negative is sandwiched with the
lenses to reduce chromatic sharp original in order to increase
aberration in the image. edge contrast.
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USB 3.0 the name of the optical camera

The third version of the Universal shake-reduction system on some
Serial Bus standard for connection Tamron lenses.
and communication between
computer peripherals (including Vibrance
digital cameras and printers) and A slider available in Adobe Camera
personal computers. It was released Raw and Photoshop that enables
F
in 2008 and was further updated you to increase the saturation of

G H
to USB 3.1 in 2013. colours. It doesn’t increase

saturation universally – it
USD concentrates on colours that are
Stands for ultrasonic silent drive, not saturated already, with a more
I
Tamron’s fast, quiet AF motor. limited effect on colours that are

already intense. This often leads to
J
USM a more visually pleasing result.

K
Stands for ultrasonic motor, a fast,

low-noise autofocus motor used by View camera
L M N O P Q R
some Canon lenses. A large-format film camera that

uses sheet film. Depending on the
UV filter camera design, film sizes can range
An optical filter that absorbs from 5x4 inches to 20x24 inches.
ultraviolet (UV) radiation. It can be All view cameras have a front
used to improve visibility and standard with a lens mount and a
quality in mountain and maritime rear standard with a film holder
landscapes. Many use them to and ground glass screen for
protect the front of the lens. focusing. Both standards can be
moved backwards and forwards and
at different angles to alter
V perspective, focus and depth of
S
field. They are connected by a

Variable contrast flexible and extendable bellows.
T
A type of photographic printing View cameras can be used with

U
paper that, in the wet darkroom, digital backs instead of film.

allows a range of contrast grades to
V W X
be produced by changing the colour Vignetting

of the filter in the enlarger head. Darkening of the corners of an
image. This appearance is often
VC deliberately created to highlight
Stands for vibration compensation, a subject in the centre of the image,
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a
B C D E
and can be applied by digitally White balance
burning in corners. It’s also Digital camera system that sets the
commonly seen in images taken colour temperature for the scene
with toy cameras such as the being photographed. This can be
Holga. If vignetting is unintended, set automatically, with the system
it’s usually due to lens fall-off, and attempting to set the colour so that
can be corrected using post- it looks normal to the human eye.
F
processing software. Most D-SLRs also offer a wide
G H
selection of manual white balance
VR settings – where the WB can be
Stands for vibration reduction, set from a reference source (such as
Nikon’s name for its image- a piece of white card), or to a
I
stabilisation system. particular Kelvin value, or to a
lighting type (such as sunny
J
daylight or tungsten bulb lighting).
W
K
Wide-angle lens
L M N O P Q R
WB A lens with a focal length shorter
An abbreviation for white balance. than the ‘normal’ lens (that is, the
See white balance. lens that gives the most true-to-
life field of view) for a given
Watermark format. In the 35mm format, focal
An element embedded in a digital lengths from 35mm to 24mm are
image, such as a name or symbol, considered wide-angle, while
to show ownership and prevent lenses from 21mm to 14mm are
images being used without the generally described as ultra
copyright owner’s permission. wide-angle.
Weston, Edward WR
S
Edward Weston (1886-1958) was Weather resistant – a term found

one of the major American fine-art on certain Pentax lenses.
T
photographers of the 20th century.

U
His aim was, he said, to “make the Wratten number

commonplace unusual.” His A code for labelling optical filters,
V W X
photographs were clear and named after the inventor Frederick

detailed representations of Wratten (1840-1926). Each
landscapes, portraits, nudes, and, separate colour has a number
most famously, still-life subjects (orange filters, for example, have
such as seashells and peppers. the number 81) and some have
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a
B C D E
letters to indicate the strength of Yevonde, Madame

the filter (an 81EF is much stronger Madame Yevonde (1893-1975)
than an 81A, for example). popularised the use of colour in
portrait photography in the early
1930s. She’s most famous for her
X studio portraits of the mid-1930s
that made creative use of costumes
F
XLD and props.

G H
Stands for extra low dispersion, the

glass used in some Tamron lenses
to reduce chromatic aberration. Z
I
XMP ZA
Stands for extensible metadata Stands for Zeiss Alpha – a range of
J
platform. A labelling technology Sony lenses designed by Carl Zeiss.

K
used by a number of image-editing

programs, including the Photoshop Zone system
L M N O P Q R
family. It records information The Zone system is a systematic

about a file, and is usually technique for calculating the best
embedded within the file itself. possible film exposure and
With raw files, the XMP development. It was formulated in
information is recorded separately. around 1940 by photographers
Ansel Adams (1902-84) and Fred
XR Archer (1889-1963).
Stands for extra refractive, a type
of glass used in Tamron lenses. Zoom
It can bend light at wider angles A lens with a variable angle of
than normal glass, helping to make view. On a zoom lens, the focal
the overall size of the lens smaller. length can be changed while the
S
focus remains the same.

T
Y Zoom ratio
U
The relationship between the

Yellow filter shortest and longest focal length
V W X
In film photography, yellow filters setting of a zoom lens. For

were often used by black-and- example, a 14-42mm lens has a
white landscape photographers zoom ratio of 3:1, or 3x; a 50–
to darken a blue sky and brighten 500mm lens has a zoom ratio of
the landscape. 10:1, or 10x.
Y
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Welcome to…

Ben Brain, Editor

A also automatically created, so that

In photography, this term refers to and Elements to process and edit

images that concentrate on aspects raw files. Adobe Camera Raw is

Adams, Ansel exposure. This camera feature

Adams (1902-1984) was an enables the user to determine the

acclaimed for his black-and-white image, usually via a TTL (through-

Cellophane overlay on a print, an AF

appearance of layers below it, but first introduced on cameras in the

cornerstone of reversible, designated part of the image into

solution. The paper, when dried, is avoid a ‘staircase’ or ‘stepped’

Alternative processes Aperture

Semi-automatic exposure system, manipulation process. Examples

camera’s own meter. ASA

APO specifying film speed, or a film’s

Abbreviation of apochromatic. sensitivity to light, as devised by

lenses that use super-low Association in 1943. It was

It was mainly used in compact width and height of a picture,

of SLRs. an image format or a photograph.

The aspect ratio of most D-SLRs is

This refers to the size of sensor cameras, it’s 4:3.

a sequence of shots of the same the chief photographer for Harper’s

that the meter reading is accurate minimalist quality.

B direction of the light.

B (Bulb) Barnack, Oskar

open for as long as the shutter is known as ‘the father of 35mm

exposures of up to several minutes. camera company. He designed the

Backlighting sale in 1925, and introduced the 24

Backup similar to the effect you’d see if an

original digital image. capture software.

Ballhead Beauty dish

counted in bytes, which are each

Bright areas in a photo that are

Bit depth over-exposed are said to be blown

the colour of a single pixel. Digital and will be bleached white.

the lens creating them. Smooth, 1930s. He went on to photograph

Indirect flash-lighting technique,

where the flashgun is angled to Bridge camera

lighting effect. handling to small D-SLRs, but they

Bounding box lens, with some models offering up

In Photoshop, a rectangular border to a 50x optical zoom. Instead of a

that can be dragged to transform, have an electronic viewfinder.

Mathew Brady (1822-1896) was a prints made on silver bromide

famous for his photographs of the hardened before an oil pigment is

American Civil War and his applied. It was popular among

including Abraham Lincoln. invention in 1907 until the 1930s.

Brandt, Bill Brownie

a digital camera, which enables a Calibrator

rapid succession, measured in colour and brightness of a

1841, in which a negative image interpretation, rather than simply

process, multiple positive images dimensions of the image file you

Blurring of the image caused by

the exposure. Handheld cameras The Canvas Size control enables

needs to be used to reduce or that make up the image itself. It

Photos agency in 1947. He was one

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815- advantages of the Leica 35mm

1879) was a British photographer camera, and used it to capture

major figures of the Victorian images throughout his long career.

average in favour of light taken A fine-grain photographic film

predict when it will make an colour chemistry.

sophisticated metering systems. Circular polariser

and autofocus systems, unlike signal. It’s similar in function to

lost in these areas. On a histogram, printing process itself.