Terms starting with V
18 terms
Vanishing Point
Composition & Visual Design
The point in an image at which receding parallel lines appear to meet.
Variable Contrast Paper
Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes
grade equivalent
Paper carrying two emulsions of different contrast and colour sensitivity, whose grade is set by the colour of the enlarging light.
Variable ND Filter
Optics, Lenses & Filters
stops (EV)
A filter made of two stacked polarisers whose relative rotation continuously varies the amount of light blocked.
Varifocal Lens
Focus & Depth of Field
A zoom lens that does not hold focus when the focal length changes, requiring refocusing after every zoom.
Vectorscope
Motion, Video & Creative Techniques
A circular display showing an image's colour information as hue by angle and saturation by distance from the centre.
Veiling Glare
Optics, Lenses & Filters
A diffuse haze of scattered light that lowers contrast across the whole frame without forming distinct shapes.
Vernacular Photography
Genres, Movements & Theory
Everyday photographs made for practical or personal purposes rather than artistic ones — family albums, passport photos, evidence shots.
Vibrance
Colour & Colour Management
%
A saturation control that increases less-saturated colours more than already-saturated ones, and usually protects skin tones.
View Camera
Cameras, Formats & Systems
A large-format camera consisting of a lens board and film back joined by a flexible bellows, both adjustable in position and angle.
Viewfinder Coverage
Cameras, Formats & Systems
%
The percentage of the recorded image that is visible through the viewfinder.
Coverage = finder area / frame area × 100
Viewfinder Magnification
Cameras, Formats & Systems
× magnification
How large the finder image appears compared with the naked eye, quoted for a 50 mm lens focused at infinity.
Viewing Booth
Printing, Display & Output
K, lux
An enclosure providing standardised, controlled illumination for judging prints and proofs.
Viewing Distance
Printing, Display & Output
m
The distance from which a print is normally seen, which determines how much resolution and sharpening it actually needs.
Typical distance ≈ print diagonal
Virtual Copy
Post-Processing & Retouching
count
An additional set of processing instructions attached to one source file, allowing several interpretations without duplicating data.
Visual Path
Composition & Visual Design
The route the eye takes through a photograph, determined by the arrangement of weights, lines and contrasts.
Visual Rhythm
Composition & Visual Design
The pace at which repeated elements carry the eye across a frame, set by their spacing and variation.
Visual Tension
Composition & Visual Design
A sense of unresolved energy created by elements that pull against each other or against the frame.
Visual Weight
Composition & Visual Design
The degree to which an element in the frame attracts and holds attention, independent of its physical size.