Browse All 840 Photography Terms A–Z

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

IPTC Files, Metadata & Workflow A metadata standard developed for the press, holding descriptive and rights information such as caption, creator, keywords and copyright.

ISO Exposure & Metering ISO (arithmetic scale) The standardised measure of how strongly a camera amplifies the signal it captures, determining image brightness for a given exposure. ISO ∝ 1 / H_required

ISO Invariance Sensors & Digital Capture The property of a sensor whose noise is essentially the same whether a file is brightened by raising ISO in camera or by lifting exposure in processing.

Isolation Composition & Visual Design Separating a subject from its surroundings so it reads alone, using depth of field, framing, tone or timing.

Jib Motion, Video & Creative Techniques m (reach) A counterweighted arm that raises and sweeps a camera through an arc, giving elevation and movement from a fixed base.

JPEG Files, Metadata & Workflow quality 1-100 The dominant lossy image format, using frequency-domain compression to achieve small files at the cost of some quality.

JPEG XL Files, Metadata & Workflow MB A newer image format offering both lossy and lossless compression, high bit depth, and lossless recompression of existing JPEGs.

Juxtaposition Composition & Visual Design Placing two contrasting or unexpectedly related elements together in a frame so each comments on the other.

Kelvin Scale Colour & Colour Management K The absolute temperature scale used to state the colour of light sources and white balance settings. K = °C + 273.15

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