Photography terms starting with I

ICC Profile Colour & Colour Management A standardised data file describing how a device's colour numbers relate to absolute, measurable colour.

Illuminance Exposure & Metering lux (lx) The amount of light arriving on a surface per unit area, measured in lux, independent of what that surface does with it. E = Φ / A

Image Circle Optics, Lenses & Filters mm The circular area of usable image a lens projects, which must be at least as large as the sensor's diagonal. Diameter ≥ sensor diagonal

Image Licensing Files, Metadata & Workflow Granting specified rights to use an image while retaining ownership of the copyright.

Image Sensor Sensors & Digital Capture mm The silicon chip that converts light into an electrical signal, forming the digital equivalent of film.

Image Stacking Post-Processing & Retouching count Averaging multiple identical exposures to reduce random noise or to combine content across frames. SNR improvement = √n

Implied Motion Composition & Visual Design The suggestion of movement within a still image, created by blur, gesture, position or direction.

In-body Image Stabilisation Motion, Video & Creative Techniques stops Stabilisation achieved by moving the sensor itself to counteract camera movement.

Incident-light Metering Exposure & Metering EV Measuring the light falling onto a subject rather than the light reflecting off it, using a handheld meter with a white diffusing dome.

Indexicality Genres, Movements & Theory The property of a photograph as a physical trace of light reflected from a real object, rather than a depiction made by hand.

Infinity Focus Focus & Depth of Field m The lens setting at which parallel rays from very distant objects converge on the sensor.

Infrared Cut Filter Sensors & Digital Capture nm A filter bonded in front of the sensor that blocks infrared and ultraviolet light to which silicon is sensitive but the eye is not.

Infrared Film Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes nm Film sensitised beyond the visible spectrum into the near infrared, producing distinctive tonal reversals.

Infrared Photography Motion, Video & Creative Techniques nm Photography using light beyond the visible red, producing distinctive tonal reversals and false-colour effects.

Ingest Files, Metadata & Workflow The controlled process of copying images from a memory card into the working system, with verification and renaming.

Ink Limit Printing, Display & Output % The maximum total quantity of ink permitted in any one area, set to prevent flooding and bleeding. Total ink % = sum of channels

Ink Set Printing, Display & Output count The complete group of ink colours a printer uses, including additional greys and extended-gamut colours beyond basic CMYK.

Inkjet Printing Printing, Display & Output dpi Printing by spraying microscopic droplets of ink onto paper, the dominant method for photographic and fine-art output.

Instant Camera Cameras, Formats & Systems A camera that exposes and develops a self-contained print within a minute of the shutter firing.

Intentional Camera Movement Motion, Video & Creative Techniques seconds Deliberately moving the camera during a long exposure to abstract the scene into streaks and washes of colour.

Interior Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography of the inside of buildings, balancing artificial light, daylight and the character of a space.

Intervalometer Motion, Video & Creative Techniques seconds A timer, built in or external, that fires the shutter automatically at set intervals for a set number of frames.

Intra-frame Compression Motion, Video & Creative Techniques Mbps Compression in which each frame is encoded independently, without reference to those around it.

Inverse Square Law Lighting & Flash stops (EV) The rule that light from a point source falls off in proportion to the square of the distance, so doubling the distance quarters the illumination. E ∝ 1 / d²

Terms starting with I