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840 terms · page 28 of 35
Reciprocal Rule
A handholding guideline stating that the slowest safe shutter speed is roughly one over the focal length in use.
Film, Darkroom & Historic ProcessesReciprocity Failure
The breakdown of the reciprocity law at very long or very short exposures, where film needs more light than calculation predicts.
Exposure & MeteringReciprocity Law
The principle that exposure depends only on the product of light intensity and time, so halving one and doubling the other leaves the…
Lighting & FlashRecycle Time
The interval a flash needs to recharge its capacitor to full power after firing.
Exposure & MeteringReflected-light Metering
Measuring the light bouncing off a subject toward the camera, which is what every built-in camera meter does.
Motion, Video & Creative TechniquesReflection Photography
Using reflective surfaces — water, glass, metal, screens — as a compositional device rather than a nuisance.
Lighting & FlashReflector
A panel that bounces existing light back into the shadows, adding fill without a second light source.
Colour & Colour ManagementRelative Colorimetric Intent
A conversion strategy that reproduces in-gamut colours exactly and clips out-of-gamut ones to the nearest reproducible value.
Focus & Depth of FieldRelease Priority
A setting that fires the shutter whenever the button is pressed, regardless of whether focus has been confirmed.
Lighting & FlashRembrandt Lighting
A portrait pattern in which a small triangle of light appears on the shadowed cheek, below the eye.
Colour & Colour ManagementRendering Intent
The strategy chosen for handling colours that fall outside the destination gamut during a colour space conversion.
Film, Darkroom & Historic ProcessesResin-coated Paper
Photographic paper sealed between thin polyethylene layers so chemistry cannot penetrate the base.
Optics, Lenses & FiltersResolving Power
The finest detail a lens or film can distinguish, traditionally expressed in line pairs per millimetre.
Optics, Lenses & FiltersRetrofocus Design
A wide-angle design with a negative front group that places the rear element further from the sensor than the focal length would allow.
Exposure & MeteringRGB Histogram
Three separate histograms, one per colour channel, revealing clipping that a combined luminance histogram would hide.
Lighting & FlashRim Light
A light placed behind and to one side of the subject that draws a bright edge along its outline, separating it from the background.
Lighting & FlashRing Flash
A flash tube arranged in a circle around the lens, producing nearly shadowless frontal light.
Sensors & Digital CaptureRolling Shutter Artefact
Distortion caused by a sensor being read out progressively, so different parts of the frame record at slightly different times.
Files, Metadata & WorkflowRound-trip Editing
Sending an image from a catalogue to an external editor and returning the result automatically to the same collection.
Composition & Visual DesignRule of Odds
The observation that an odd number of subjects in a frame usually reads as more settled than an even number.
Composition & Visual DesignRule of Space
The guideline that a subject which is moving or looking in a direction should have space in front of it within the frame.
Composition & Visual DesignRule of Thirds
A guideline that divides the frame into nine equal parts and suggests placing key elements along those lines or at their intersections.
Composition & Visual DesignS-curve
A gently reversing curve within a scene that carries the eye through the frame in a sinuous path.
Film, Darkroom & Historic ProcessesSafelight
A darkroom lamp emitting only wavelengths to which the material in use is insensitive.