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Peter Ashby-Hayter - Photo glossary Category: Hobbies and Crafts > Photography Date & country: 20/09/2007, UK Words: 305

Open flash
Method of using numerous flash firings to build-up 'flash power'. During which time the shutter is kept open, this method can only be used when the shutter speed is unimportant because of poor existing lighting. (see: Existing light, Flash range & Shutter speed)

Orthochromatic
Term used to describe 'Black & White' emulsions that are not sensitive to red light, B&W printing papers are usually orthochromatic. (see Panchromatic)

Outdated
Film outside of the expiry date stamp, found on the film box. (this date indicates the useful life of the material in terms of maintaining its published speed and contrast.) (see Contrast & Speed)

Over exposed
A situation in which too much light reaches the film, which produces a dense negative or a very light transparency.

Over printed (or Overdevelopment)
Term indicating that the amount of recommended development has been exceeded. It can be caused by prolonged development time or an increase in temperature, and usually results in an increase in density and contrast. (see Contrast)

Pack Photography
Usually called 'Pack Shot'. A simple studio set-up to photograph numerous boxes and other 'packaged' goods in quick succession for either an advert, brochure or catalogue.

Panchromatic
Term used to describe 'Black & White' emulsions that are sensitive to all visible colours. Most modern films are panchromatic. (see Orthochromatic)

Panning
Technique for photographing a moving subject. While the shutter is open, the camera is swung following the moving subject. This creates a blurred background, but a sharp subject. The technique works best with slower shutter speeds. (see Shutter speed)

Panoramic camera
Camera with a special type of scanning lens which rotates. Or a static lens camera with a wide format e.g. 6cm x 17cm.

Paper grade
Numerical and terminological description of paper contrast: numbers 0 -1 soft; number 2 normal; number 3 hard; numbers 4 very hard. (see Contrast grade paper & Multigrade)

Parallax error
The difference between the image seen by the viewing system and that recorded on the film. Problems occur as the subject moves closer to the taking lens when using TLR cameras. Only through-the-lens viewing systems can avoid parallax error. (see TLR)

Pentaprism
Optical device, found on SLR cameras, which corrects the image (reversed by the lens), allowing eye-level viewing and focusing via the viewfinder. (see Finder, Focusing screen,& SLR )

Photoflood
Bright tungsten filament bulb used as an artificial light source. The bulb is over -run and so has a short life. (see Tungsten light)

Photomicrography
Sometimes called Microphotography. The technique of taking extreme close-up photos through the lens of a microscope, it is used to achieve magnifications greater than those obtainable using a Macro lens. (see Macro lens & Macrophotography)

Photoshop
Best known and well used Image manipulation computer program (by Adobe Systems); which has gradually entered the photographers vocabulary with words like: 'Photoshoped' meaning retouched or manipulated. (see Retouching)

Pincushion effect
Lens aberration (distortion) causing parallel, straight lines at the edge of the image to curve inwards. (see Aberration , Distortion & Barrel distortion)

Pinhole Camera
A camera without a lens, just a light tight box with a small hole at one end. (see Camera obscura)

Pixel
A single picture element of a digital photo. Digital Bitmap images (raster images) use a grid of colours known as pixels to represent images. Each pixel is assigned a specific location and colour value.The whole image would contain millions of individual pixels. (see Image resolution & File size)

Plug-in
A software module that can be used by Photoshop (and other image editing applications) to provide additional functions including: import of RAW camera files, file format conversions and creative image filters. (see Photoshop & RAW)

Polaroid back
A camera back that uses instant film for proofing a scene (checking lighting, composition & basic exposure) before shooting with traditional film. (see Film back)

Prism
Glass block which bends light to varying degrees, depending on wavelength, so separating it into its component colours. Also sometimes the given name to pentaprism finder. (see Pentaprism & Finder)

Process paid
Some 'amateur' trannie film includes the cost of processing by the manufacturers own 'Processing Lab. The transparency film is returned, slide mounted, ready for the projector, usually within a week. (see Trannie)

Processing
The sequence of steps in which the latent photographic image is converted into a visible, permanent image. (see Dev.& Latent image)

Pulled (Pulling)
Decreasing the development time of a film to slow its effective speed, e.g.50 ISO instead of its recommended 100 ISO. (See Uprating & ISO)

Pushed (Pushing)
Increasing the development time of a film to increase its effective speed, e.g. 200 ISO instead of its recommended 100 ISO. (See Uprating & ISO)

Rangefinder
A device included on many direct vision cameras as an aid in focusing. It assesses subject distance (usually by comparing two images), and displays this information in the viewfinder. This device may be linked directly to the lens focus control, to give a coupled rangefinder (see Coupled rangefinder)

RAW
An unprocessed digital file direct from the camera. Not a 'standard' file format like TIFF or JPEG. Usually the camera manufactures software or 'plug-in' must be used to open a RAW image file. RAW files are usually used to obtain the best theroetical quality from a given camera. (see JPEG, TIFF & Plug-in)

RC paper
Modern Resin Coated (plastic) photo paper which does not need as long washing than the traditional fibre paper (see Fibre (FB) & Resin coated paper)

Reciprocity
Most films are designed to be exposed within a certain range of exposure times. When an exposure time falls outside of this range a film's characteristics may change. Loss of effective film speed, contrast changes, and colour shifts are the common results. This is called reciprocity effect. (see Colour Balance, Contrast & Exposure)

Recycling time
Time taken by flash unit to recharge, between firings.

Redhead
A Type of Tungsten lighting from various manufactures (rated at 800w). (see Blonde & Tungsten light )

Reflector
Any surface from which light can be reflected. Used to reflect light from a main source into the shadow areas. (see Lastolite)

Resin-coated paper (RC)
Printing paper with a water-repellent base. RC papers can be processed faster; requires less washing, and dry far more quickly than fibre-based papers. (see Fibre (FB) & Multigrade)

Reticulation
Fine, irregular pattern appearing on the surface of an emulsion which has been subjected to a sudden and severe temperature change during development.

Retouching
After-treatment carried out on negatives, trannies, prints or Digital files to remove blemishes or change tonal values. Now, carried out by 'Photoshop' rather than by hand. (see Photoshop)

Reversal film
Film or paper designed to produce a positive directly from exposure and processing, without the need of a negative. (see Exposure & Trannie)

RGB
The way that the colours are recorded in Digital imaging. A large percentage of the visible spectrum can be represented by mixing Red, Green and Blue coloured light in various proportions and intensities. (see CMYK)

Ring Flash
Type of flash unit which fits around the lens to produce flat and shadow less lighting.

Rising front
Camera movement enabling the front lens panel to be raised or lowered from its central position (on most Large format cameras). Its main use is to maintain correct verticals in architectural photography. (see Converging angles, Large format Movements & Shift)

Roll film
120 format film which has an paper backing and is supplied wound on an open spool (rather than in a light-tight cassette). Also the less common double length 220. All these films are used in Medium Format cameras. The term should be applied to all camera films in roll form, including 35 mm. (see: Cut film , Medium format & 35mm)

Safelight
Darkroom lighting, allowing safe handling of light sensitive materials (e.g. deep red for B&W paper).

Saturation
A characteristic of the observation of colour. Saturated colours are called vivid, strong, or deep. Desaturated colours are called dull, weak, or washed out.

Scanning back
High quality digital camera back for Medium or large format cameras which scans in three passes (RGB) one pass for each colour, therefore only used with still life studio subjects. (see One shot back)

Screw mount lens
Lenses with screw mounts are probably still available but these are generally only needed for older cameras, the last popular 35mm SLRs fitted with a screw mount were the Pentax of the late sixties and the Praktica of the early seventies. (see Bayonet & SLR)

Scrim
Lighting attachment which when placed in front of the lamp reduces its light intensity.

Secure Digital
Secure Digital (SD). A small memory card which uses flash memory as a base for storing digital photos. (see Compact Flash)

Shift
Movement on large format camera (or special 'shift lens' in other formats) which can eliminate converging angles. (see Converging angles, Movements & Rising front)

Shutter
Blades or a curtain that controls the time during which light reaches the film. (see Focal plane shutter & Between-the-lens Shutter)

Shutter speed
The time in which the shutter stays open to light, measured in fractions of seconds, (1/8000th a second is a very fast shutter speed and 1/2 second is very slow).

Silver Halide
Chemical compound of silver with a halogen. Silver bromide is the principal light sensitive constituent of modern photographic emulsions. (see Emulsion)

Slave
A photo-electric cell which fires additional flash units simultaneously when it is activated by the light from another flash source set by the camera.

Slide
A photographic trannie (positive) mounted for projection (usually 35mm). (See Trannie & 35mm)

Slow film
Film which has a limited sensitivity. Such films have low ISO speeds (e.g. 25 or 50 ISO). (see Fast film, Film speed & ISO)

Slow lens
A lens with a small maximum aperture. (i.e. f8) (see Aperture & Fast lens)

SLR
(Single Lens Reflex) A Camera in which you view the scene through the same lens that takes the picture thanks to a system of mirrors and prisms. (see Prism & TLR)

Smart Media
A wafer-thin sized memory card which uses flash memory as a base for storing digital photos. (see Compact Flash)

Snoot
Cone-shaped shield used on lights to direct a small patch of light over the subject.

Soft box
A 'framed' diffuser that fits over the Light and creates a more natural soft light. (see Diffuser)

Soft Lighting
Lighting that is low in contrast, such as on an overcast day. (see Contrast & Diffuser)

Speed
Sensitivity of a photographic emulsion to light. Films are given ISO numbers which denotes its speed. The term is also used to denote the maximum aperture of a lens. (see Fast film,Fast lens ,Film speed, Slow film, Slow lens & ISO )

Spill kill
An attachment on a Mains Flash unit (when using a brolly) that stops the spill of light to the sides and possibly indirectly onto the subject. (see Brollies & Mains flash)

Spot meter
Narrow-angle exposure meter used to take accurate reflected light readings from a small area of a subject; can also be used from some distance away. (see Exposure meter)

Standard
The Standards (front & back) of a large format camera where you perform the 'movements'. (see Monorail, Movements & Technical)

Standard lens
A lens that makes the image in a photo appear in perspective similar to the original scene. It has a focal length approximately equal to the diagonal of the film format with which it is used (e.g. 50mm with 35mm cameras). Also known as a normal lens. (see Format, Tele, Wide & Zoom)

Stop down
Changing the lens aperture to a smaller opening; for example, from f4 to f5.6. This increases depth of field. (see Aperture, Depth of field& f-stop)

Strobe
Generic term for electronic flash.

Stroboscopic Flash
Stroboscopic or Repeating Flash is a 'mode' available on some flashguns where under certain lighting conditions it can produce multiple exposures in a single frame. A good use of this feature would be 'the swing of a golfer' or the movement of a bouncing ping pong ball .

Swimming Pool
There are various unusual names given to large photographic lights, including 'Fishfryers' & 'Eggcrates', a swimming pool is usually a large overhead light often used in Car photography and is suspended from the studio ceiling or attached to a large boom stand.

Swing
Swing, the movable front(lens) and back (film) panels (standards) of most view and monorail cameras. They allow manipulation of perspective and depth of field. (see Depth of field, Monorail, Movements, & Standard)

Tanks
Container for holding chemical solutions for processing films. Some tanks are for darkroom use only; others must be loaded in the dark, but can be used in daylight. (see Daylight Tanks)

Technical camera
Not unlike a Field Camera but is made of metal (Large or Medium format with movements on front and rear standards, but less than a Monorail!). Used in the field and the Studio, a good all rounder. (see Field camera, Large format, Monorail, Movements & Standard)

Tele (telephoto)
A telephoto lens has a longer focal length and narrower field of view than a normal lens and enlarges distant subjects. Depth of field decreases as focal length increases. (Telephoto lens construction: this allows a long focal length with short back focus, making for relative compactness). (see Depth of field, Long lens , Standard lens & Wide)

Test strip
Method of calculating exposure in photographic printing. A range of exposures are given to a strip of paper, from part of the image, this helps judge the correct exposure for the final print. (see Exposure)

Thin
A negative that is underexposed or underdeveloped and therefore appears less dense than a normal negative. A thin neg will need a harder paper to print correctly. (see Contrast, & Papergrade )

TIFF
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a common file format used in Digital Photography. This high quality file (which is lossless compared with a JPEG) can also contain colour management profiles and be colour separated. (see JPEG& Lossy)

Tilt
A Large Format camera movement. Tilt the lens or film standard to increase or decrease the depth of field. (see Depth of field, Movements& Standard)

TLR
Twin Lens Reflex camera. A fixed mirror replaces the SLR's flip-up mirror, so making this design very quiet. (Medium Format) 6cmx6cm. Rollei is the best known. (see Medium format, Parallax error & SLR )

Tone
Cold tones (bluish) and warm tones (reddish) refer to the colour of the image in both black-and-white and colour photographs. (see Colour Cast)

Toning
Solutions called toners are used to change the colour of a black and white photographic image. Various toners are available which add there own Cold or Warm tones to the print (Sepia is the most well known). (see Tone)

Trannie
A positive photographic image on film, usually colour but can be B&W, viewed or projected by light shining through the film.

TTL
Through The Lens: A metering system in which a light meter within the camera body measures exposure from the image-forming light that has passed through the lens. (see Meter)

Tungsten film
Colour film balanced for non-daylight sources (usually studio-type tungsten lamps) of 3200 or 3400K. (see Colour balance)

Tungsten light
Artificial light from either tungsten filament or tungsten halogen lamps. (see Blonde, Redhead & Tungsten film)

Ultraviolet(UV)
A Band of wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum invisible to the human eye which are shorter than the blue end of the spectrum. All films are sensitive to some ultraviolet radiation. It shows as increased haze, particularly in distant views and at high altitudes, and may give a blue cast to a photograph.

Under exposed
A condition in which too little light reaches the film, producing a thin negative, a dark trannie, or a muddy-looking print. (see Contrast, Neg, Over exposed, Thin & Paper grade)

Under printed & Under development
A reduction in development which is usually caused by a shortened development time or a decrease in the temperature. It results in a loss of density and a reduction in contrast. (see Contrast & Dev.)

Uprating (up rated)
A technique in which the suggested film speed is deliberately exceeded, by setting a higher speed on the camera, so causing underexposure, and then balanced by overdevelopment. Also known as 'pushing'. The opposite, shooting at an ISO rating below that suggested, and underdeveloping, is known as 'pulling'. (see Pulled , Pushed & ISO)

USM
USM (Ultra Sonic Motor) is a Canon devised Autofocus SLR lens motor system. USM lenses are usually quicker to focus, more compact, with greater operational simplicity and virtually silent compared to their earlier 'Arc Form Drive'(AFD) cousins. USM lenses only work with the Canon 'EOS' camera system, introduced in March 1987. (see SLR & EOS)

UV filter
Filter which may be used to absorb UV radiation, to reduce its effect. (see Ultraviolet)

Variable contrast paper
(see Multigrade paper)

Very high-contrast
B&W film which, after correct development with a special lith developer, gives negatives of black and white only (with no greys). (see Contrast & Dev.)

View camera
Large format camera, which has a ground glass screen at the image plane for viewing and focusing. (see Baseboard, Field camera,Large format ,Focusing screen, Monorail & Technical)

Vignetting
Fall-off in illumination at the edges of an image. This can be caused by poor lens design, using a hood not matched to the lens, or using too many filters at the same time.

White Balance
Depending on the lighting conditions, a pure white in a photograph may appear slightly yellow or blue. The white balance control settings on a 'Digital Camera' will help to eliminate unwanted colour bias by actually controlling the camera's colour temperature response. C.C. filters or a specially balanced film must be used when a film camera is utilized under the same lighting conditions! (see Colour Balance)

Wide
A Short focal length lens which takes in a greater angle of view than a standard lens. Depth of field increases as focal length decreases. (see Focal length , Tele & Standard lens)

XD Picture Card
A very small memory card which uses flash memory as a base for storing digital photos. (see Compact Flash)

Zone system
A system of 'relating exposure readings to tonal values' in picture-taking, development and printing, popularized by the American photographer Ansel Adams.

Zoom
A Lens which is constructed to allow a continuously variable focal length; in effect, this gives you many lenses of different focal lengths in one unit. (e.g. 80-200 mm). (see Focal length, Standard lens, Tele & Wide)

B ("Bulb")
Shutter setting on which the shutter will stay open as long as the release is depressed. Used for exposures longer than the numbered shutter speed settings. (see Shutter speed)

C41
The number given to a Chemical process for developing colour negative film. (created by Kodak but adopted universally by every other manufacturer).