Photography terms starting with F

Focus Shift Focus & Depth of Field mm A movement of the plane of sharpest focus as a lens is stopped down, caused by residual spherical aberration.

Focus Stacking Focus & Depth of Field count Combining several frames focused at different distances into one image with depth of field no single exposure could achieve.

Focus Throw Focus & Depth of Field degrees The angle through which a focus ring must turn to travel from minimum distance to infinity.

Focus-by-wire Focus & Depth of Field A manual focus ring that sends an electronic signal to a motor rather than moving the optics mechanically.

Folder Structure Files, Metadata & Workflow The hierarchy of directories in which image files are physically stored.

Follow Focus Motion, Video & Creative Techniques degrees A geared mechanism that allows focus to be adjusted precisely and repeatably, usually by a second operator.

Food Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography of prepared food, for menus, packaging, editorial and cookbooks.

Foreground Interest Composition & Visual Design An element placed close to the camera to anchor the composition and establish depth.

Format Migration Files, Metadata & Workflow Converting archived files to a current format before the original becomes unreadable.

Foveon Sensor Sensors & Digital Capture A sensor that records all three colours at every location by stacking three photodiode layers at different depths in the silicon.

FPV Drone Motion, Video & Creative Techniques km/h A first-person-view drone flown through a headset showing the pilot's live camera feed, capable of fast, acrobatic movement.

Frame Rate Motion, Video & Creative Techniques fps The number of individual frames recorded or played back per second.

Frame Within a Frame Composition & Visual Design Using an element in the scene — a doorway, arch, window or overhanging branch — to surround and isolate the subject.

Framing Glass Printing, Display & Output % UV blocked The transparent glazing that protects a framed print, available in grades differing in reflection and ultraviolet filtering.

Freelensing Motion, Video & Creative Techniques Detaching a lens from the camera and holding it in front of the mount, tilting it to create selective focus and light leaks.

Frequency Separation Post-Processing & Retouching px (radius) A retouching technique that splits an image into a blurred low-frequency layer of tone and colour and a high-frequency layer of texture.

Front Focus Focus & Depth of Field mm A calibration error in which a lens consistently focuses slightly nearer than the intended subject.

Full Frame Cameras, Formats & Systems mm A sensor the same size as a 35 mm film negative, 36 by 24 millimetres, treated as the reference format for focal length and depth of field. Crop factor = 1.0

Full-well Capacity Sensors & Digital Capture e⁻ (electrons) The maximum number of electrons a photosite can hold before it saturates and stops responding to further light.

Terms starting with F