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Digital Exposure - filming glossary Category: Film and Animation > Photographic and Digital Imaging terms Date & country: 15/08/2008, CA Words: 796

Panchromatic( Pan )
Is a photographic emulsion sensitive to all the colours of the visible spectrum and to a certain amount of ultra-violet light. The sensitivity is not uniform throughout the spectrum

Panning
Moving the camera so that the image of a moving object remains in the same relative position in the viewfinder as you take a picture. The eventual effect creates a strong sense of movement

Panorama
A broad view, usually scenic or a series of images stitched together to create a picture wider than what the camera is normally capable of capturing

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 base
Is the support for the emulsion used in printing papers

Paper grade
Is a numerical terminological description of paper contrast: numbers 0-1 soft; numbers 2 normal; number 3 hard; number 4-5 very hard; number 6 ultra hard. Similar grade number from different manufactures do not have the same characteristics

Paper safe
Is a light-tight container for unexposed photographic papers, with an easy open positive closing lid

Parallax
The difference in point of view that occurs when the lens (or other device) through which the eye views a scene is separate from the lens that exposes the film

Parallax error
Occurs when shooting very close up with a viewfinder camera. The photographer does not see an accurate indication of the subjects position relative to the lens, so parts of the subject that he or she thinks will be photographed are missing on the final photograph. Parallax error is overcome in more expensive compact and viewfinder camer...

Parallax focus
Focusing system in some compact cameras that compensates for the difference between viewfinder and lens placement

Parallel cable
The cable connection between the computer and another device's parallel ports ( usually a printer ), which allows a computer to send several bits of data simultaneously

Parallel port
A connector on your computer that allows you to connect to other devices, such as a printer . Another name for parallel port is LPT port

Parallel Processing
When an array of processors or segments of the CPU work at the same time to speed processing or multi-task

Path
A path is an overlay that sits on top of your image, allowing you to work with it

PCMCIA card
( Personal Computer Memory Card International Association ) card. used in digital cameras to transfer photos to a notebook or PC

PDF
(PortableDocumentFormat) is a file format that has captured all the elements of a printed document as an electronic image that you can view, navigate, print, or forward to someone else. PDF files are created using Adobe Acrobat (NOT the free reader), Acrobat Capture, or similar products. To view and use the files, you need the free A...

Peripheral
A term used to collectively describe computer accessories such as printers, modems, scanners, etc

Perspective
The angle or level from which the photographer takes the photograph; the camera and photographer's 'point of view'

ph
A measure of acidity or alkalinity. pH7 is neutral; lower numbers indicate increasing acidity, while higher numbers indicate increasing alkalinity. pH control is an essential aspect of photographic chemistry, and one which is often neglected

Phosphor
The chemical substance on the inside face of a computer screen that illuminates when electrically charged. The colour accuracy and luminance values of phosphors change over time, necessitating regular monitor calibration if consistent colour is required

Photo CD
A popular storage method for digital images. In the basic Kodak Photo CD configuration, five different levels of image quality are stored for each in an Image Pac

Photomontage
A photographic composition assembled from pieces of different photographs or of different negatives, closely arranged or superimposed upon each other. Sometimes graphic material is added to the combination

Photoshop
A sophisticated software program, produced by Adobe Systems, for editing and processing of images

PICT
Macintosh picture. A storage format for digital images designed for the Macintosh

Pigment
Particles that absorbs and reflect light and appear coloured to our eyes. The substance that gives ink its colour

Pincushion distortion
A lens aberration or defect that causes straight lines to bow inward toward the center of the image

Pinhole
1. A small clear spot on a negative usually caused by dust on the film during exposure or development or by a small air bubble that keeps developer from the film during development. 2. The tiny opening in a pinhole camera that produces an image

Pixel
Short for Picture Element, a pixel is a single point in a graphic image. Graphics monitors display pictures by dividing the display screen into thousands (or millions) of pixels, arranged in rows and columns. The pixels are so close together that they appear connected

Pixel dropping
A subsampling technique used to reduce the number of pixels in an image by dropping every nth pixel from the scan

Pixel Modulation
A process used in printing which changes the brightness of individual pixels by changing the pixel size

Pixel skipping
A means of reducing image resolution by simply deleting pixels throughout the image

Pixelization
The stair-stepped appearance of a curved or angled line in digital imaging. The smaller the pixels, and the greater their number, the less apparent the 'pixelization' of the image. Also known as the 'jaggies'

Plane of focus
The point in a camera where all the light rays converge, forming a sharp image. In a camera, this corresponds to the film plane

Plasma display
A display screen that has gas contained between two panels. When specific x-axis ( horizontal ) and y-axis ( vertical ) dots on the panels are electrically charged, the gas in that area glows

Platen
The glass scanning region on a flatbed scanner

Platform
The brand or computer type you are using, i.e., a Windows platform or MAC platform

Plug and play
The ability to install equipment with little or no setup

Plug-in
The plug-in architecture was first popularized by Adobe Photoshop and is now the de facto standard for all major imaging programs. Unlike TWAIN it allows more flexibility in design so acquire, export, and specific task can be performed within a software application. This is the preferred choice of operation in the Macintosh and 'Power U...

PMT
Photo Multiplier Tube. The light sensing devices generally used in drum scanners

PNG
Developed as a patent-free alternative to GIF, the Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format is used for losslessly compressing and displaying images on the World Wide Web. Unlike GIF, PNG supports 24-bit images and produces background transparency without jagged edges; however, some older versions of Web browsers may not support PNG image...

Point and shoot
A term used for a simple, easy to use camera with a minimum of user controls. Generally the user turns the camera on , aims it at the subject and presses the shutter button. The camera does everything automatically

Polarization
The use of specific filters to control the direction light travels. Effects are the reduction of glare and reflections and the saturation of colours, especially in landscapes

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

Ports
Plugs or connectors into which cables are attached

Positive
The opposite of a negative for example an image with the same tonal relationships as those in the original scan. Most prints and slides are positive

Posterization
A photographic or digital graphic effect arising from reducing the number of continuous tones in an image. Can be a deliberate effect or a result of over-manipulation or compression in a digital image

Posterize
To achieve the impression of continuous tone we need to reproduce 256 differentiation's of tone from white to black. If we break down the tonal range into fewer differentiation's you begin to see the breaks between the individual tones. We call this pasteurization, it often appears in smooth colour gradients

PPI
Pixel Per Inch. The frequency of the number of samples used to display an image on a computer monitor

Prescan
A quick, low resolution preview scan of an image to be scan

Presoak
To soak film briefly in water prior to immersing it in developer

Primary colours
The set of colours that can be mixed to produce all the colours in a colour space; in additive systems they are red, green, and blue, while in subtractive systems they are cyan, magenta, and yellow

Printer resolution
The amount of detail a printer or imagesetter will reproduce, measured in dots per inch (dpi)

Prism
Triangular-shaped glass or other transparent material. When light is passed through a prism, its wavelengths refracts into a rainbow of colours. This demonstrates that light is composed of colour, and indicates the arrangement of colours in the visible spectrum

Process colours
The four colours (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) that are combined to print a wide range of colours. When blended, they can reproduce only some of the colours found in nature

Process control
The stability of a manufacturing process that assures the products produced sable and consistent

Profile
An ICC description of a particular imaging input or output device that allows the Colour Management Software to apply the proper transformations to the image file to match the specific limitation of the device

Program mode
An automatic exposure mode in which the camera adjusts all aspects of exposure

Progressive CCD
CCD specially designed for digital cameras, the shape of progressive CCD pixels being square thereby making them ideal for photography

Progressive Scan
A non-interlaced refresh system for monitors that cuts down on CRT flicker

Proof
A test print made for the purpose of evaluating density, contrast, colour balance, subject composition, and the like

Proprietary
The design of programs, systems or equipment that are owned by an entity. This technology may be licensed for use in other applications or systems

Proxy
A representative version or sample of a larger image

Proxy Image
A low resolution image used in any software programs to show the effects of changes without performing transformations on high resolution files

PSD
The native file format of the Adobe Photoshop graphical editing application. Adobe Photoshop is a standard editing application in the print and internet media worlds

Pull processing
Decreasing the effective speed of film, often to compensate for a mistake in setting ISO. It is usually done by decreasing the development time or the temperature of the developer

Push
To expose film at a higher film speed rating than the normal, then to compensate in part for the resulting underexposure by giving greater development than normal. This permits shooting at a dimmer light level, a faster shutter, or a smaller aperture that would otherwise be possible

Ram
Random Access Memory. The high speed portion of the computer's memory that is held on special chips

Raster
The series of lines of information such as the parallel and horizontal scan lines that form a television or video display image

Raster image
This is a resolution - dependant image that is produced using pixels. The quality of a low - resolution image decreases as you zoom in to the image. Photoshop is raster software

Raster Scan
A scanning pattern, generally from left to right while progressing from top to bottom of the imaging sensor or the display monitor. Generally comprised of two fields composed of odd and even lines

Rasterization
Converting mathematical and digital information into a series of dots by an imagesetter for the production of negative or positive film

Raw image format
The most common image format amongst digital cameras is JPEG, it's a format which produces relatively small files from large amounts of image data by discarding certain information, as JPEG uses a 'lossy compression algorithm'

Reboot
The process of turning a computer system or printer off and then back on again, to reload the software

Reciprocity failure
Films are designed to be exposed within a limited but practical brightness range. Reciprocity failure occurs when a film is exposed under conditions that are not within its design range. It usually becomes evident with very low shutter speeds, such as those used in dim night scenes. As a result of reciprocity failure, colour balance will sh...

Reciprocity law
States that exposure = intensity x times, where intensity is equal to the amount of light and time is equal to the time that amount of light is allowed to act upon the photographic emulsion

Recycling time
Is the time it takes a flash unit to recharge between firings

Red eye
The appearance of deep red dots in the eyes of human and animal photographic subjects. Redeye is is caused by the flash reflecting off the retina in their eyes. It can be prevented by adjusting the camera angle, being sure the subject does not look straight at the flash, or with a redeye-reducing pre-flash. The pre-flash causes the subjects...

Red-eye Reduction Mode
A special flash mode whereby a pre-flash or a series of low-powered flashes are emitted before the main flash goes off to expose the picture. This causes the pupil in the human eye to close and helps eliminate red-eye

Reducers
Are solution which removes silver from negatives and prints. They are used to diminish density and alter contrast on a photographic emulsion

Reducing agent
Is a chemical in a developing solution which converts exposed silver halides to black metallic silver

Reflected light reading
Is a measurement by a light meter of the amount of reflected light being bounced off the subject. The light meter is pointed towards the subject

Reflections
Are rays of light which strikes a surface and bounce back again. Specular reflection occurs on even, polished surfaces; diffuse reflection occurs on uneven surfaces, when light scatters

Reflector
Any material or surface that reflects light. Reflectors are often used in photography to soften the effect of the main light or to bounce illumination into subjects shadows

Reflex
A reflex camera is one that utilizes a mirror system to reflect the light, and therefore the image, coming through the lens, to a visible screen. The image seen in the cameras viewfinder then is the same image entering the lens. This system provides the most accurate framing and focusing. Most reflex cameras reveal a high percentage of the ...

Refractive index
Is a numerical value indicating the light bending power of a medium such as glass. The greater the bending power, the greater the refractive index

Refresh rate
The rate at which an image is redrawn on a CRT. This is needed because the phosphors at each pixel are stimulated by the electron gun for only a brief time. The faster the refresh rate, the more stable an image will appear on the screen

Registration marks
Small crosshair on film used to align individual layers of film negatives

Replenisher
A substance added to some types of developers after use to replace exhausted chemicals so that the developer can be used again

Resample
To change the resolution of an image

Resolution
Refers to the sharpness and clarity of an image. The term is most often used to describe monitors, printers, and bit-mapped graphic images. In the case of dot-matrix and laser printers, the resolution indicates the number of dots per inch. For example, a 300-dpi (dots per inch) printer is one that is capable of printing 300 distinct dots in...

Resolution, output
The number of dots per inch, dpi, used to display an image on a display device (monitor) or in print

Resolving power
The resolving power of a lens is a measure of its ability to closely spaced objects so they are recognizable as individual objects. It is determined by photographing a series of closely spaced lines, measuring the spacing between the most closely spaced lines that appear separate on film. The resolving power is expressed as the number of li...

Reticulation
A crinkling of the gelatin emulsion on film that can be caused by extreme changes of temperature or acidity / alkalinity during processing

Retina
The area at the back of the human eye that converts incoming light into electrical impulses sent to the brain

Retouching
Removing imperfection or unwanted portions of an image

Reversal
A process for making a positive image directly from film exposed in the camera; also for making a negative image directly from a negative or a positive image from a positive transparency

Reversal film
Film that produces a positive image (transparency) on exposure and development

RIFF (Raster Image File Format)
A storage format used with gray-scale images

Right reading
The correct orientation of a negative or transparency when the image appears as it did to the camera. Both negative and transparencies should be viewed with the emulsion side down and the base facing the observer. The emulsion side is dull-finished and very slight ridges can often be seen at the edges of the image elements. The base sid...

Rimlighting
Lighting in which the subject appears outlined against a dark background. Usually the light source is above and behind the subject, but rimlit photographs can look quite different from conventional backlit images, in which the background is usually bright