PhotoTerms |
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Website for photo glossary (terms): |
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| Ambient light (available light) The available light already existing in an indoor or outdoor setting which is not caused by any illumination created by the photographer. Aperture / f-stop Aperture is the diaphragm located in the lens for controlling the amount of light entering the lens. The larger the opening (f4), the more light will be let in. The smaller the opening (f16), the less light will be let in. Backlighting Light coming from behind the subject which is close to the axis of the camera lens. Blown out An overexposed image or portion of an image in which highlights are indistinguishable patches of white. Bracketing The technique of taking a number of pictures of the same subject at different levels of exposure in order to ensure a better chance of getting a proper exposed photo. CCD Charge-coupled device. A common type of digital image sensor used by digital cameras. CMOS Complementary metal oxide semiconductor. Another type of digital image sensor. Contrasty A photo having great differences between its highlights and shadows. Color cast A dominant tint or color on a photo. Color temperature The measurement of the color of light in terms of K units ( Kelvin). Daylight are white and is around 5600K, tungsten light is orange and is around 3600K. Digital noise The showing of noticeable dot-like colored pixels in a digital photo. Usually appears when photo was underexposured, taken with high ISO setting or long exposure. Dynamic range (Tonal range) The range of intensities that can be captured by a recording medium, or the contrast ratio between highlight and shadow in the case of an image. Flare (Lens flare) An non-image forming light scattered by the lens or reflected from the camera interior. Flat An undesirably low-contrast image, same as dull. It means the photo is having a small difference between its highlights and shadows. JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group - A digital image compression method which helps minimize the file size of a digital photo substantially according to the degree of compression selected. Highlight The brightest areas of a photo. ISO The sensitivity setting of a sensor (film) which stands for “International Organization for Standardization.” The larger the number, the higher the sensitivity of the sensor, the less light needed to form an image. LCD A thumbnail display or playback of the image the camera is viewing or has taken. More info. Midtone An area of an image which is gray and roughly midway between black and white. In color photography, mid-tone will be the medium reflective color such as red, deep blue, dark green, rich brown, light purple and similiar value colors. Overexposed An expression used to indicate that the light sensitive material has been excessively exposed. The resulting image will be too bright or blown out. Resolution The ability of a photo to distinguish fine details. Several things affect the resolution of a photo, such as the sharpness of a lens, the focus, and the number of pixels the sensor can record. Pixel & Megapixel Pixel means picture element. The smallest unit that combines to form a digital photo. A megapixel means a million pixels. One mega means one million. Shadow The dark area of a scene or on a print. Areas below mid-tone. Shutter speed The time in which the shutter stays open to light, usually measured in fractions of seconds, Sidelighting Light coming from the side of the subject which is perpendicular to the axis of the camera lens. Underexposed Not enough light received by the sensor to form a full tonal value image. Final image tends to be dark. White balance The calibration of the white point of a digital photo to reproduce a natural looking photo without color cast. |
![]() Ambient light
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