Browse All 840 Photography Terms A–Z

Stop Exposure & Metering stops (EV) The fundamental unit of exposure change: one stop doubles or halves the amount of light reaching the sensor. 1 stop = ×2 or ÷2 light

Stop Bath Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes seconds A mildly acidic solution used after development to halt the process immediately.

Stop Motion Motion, Video & Creative Techniques fps Animation created by photographing an object frame by frame, moving it slightly between exposures.

Straight Photography Genres, Movements & Theory An approach insisting that photography's proper qualities are sharpness, detail and tonal range, without imitation of other media.

Street Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Candid photography of everyday life in public places, made without directing the subject.

Stroboscopic Flash Motion, Video & Creative Techniques Hz Firing a flash repeatedly during a single long exposure, recording a sequence of positions in one frame. Positions = frequency × duration

Stuck Pixel Sensors & Digital Capture count A photosite permanently reporting its maximum value, appearing as a fixed bright dot regardless of exposure.

Studium Genres, Movements & Theory Barthes's term for the general, culturally shared interest a photograph holds — its subject, context and craft.

Subject Tracking Focus & Depth of Field A mode in which the camera identifies a chosen subject and follows it around the frame, moving the active focus area to match.

Sunny 16 Rule Exposure & Metering stops (EV) A field estimate stating that in bright, direct sunshine, correct exposure is f/16 with a shutter speed of one over the ISO. t = 1/ISO at f/16

Symmetry Composition & Visual Design A composition in which one half of the frame mirrors the other across a vertical, horizontal or radial axis.

T-grain Emulsion Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes An emulsion using flat, tabular silver crystals that present a larger surface area to light for a given volume.

T-stop Exposure & Metering T-stops A measured aperture value that accounts for the light a lens actually transmits, rather than the geometric ratio an f-number implies. T = N / √(transmittance)

Telecentric Design Optics, Lenses & Filters A lens design in which light rays strike the sensor nearly perpendicular across the whole frame rather than at increasing angles toward the corners.

Teleconverter Optics, Lenses & Filters × magnification A supplementary optic mounted between lens and body that multiplies focal length at the cost of light and, usually, sharpness. N_new = N × magnification

Telephoto Lens Optics, Lenses & Filters mm A lens with a focal length longer than the format's diagonal, magnifying distant subjects and narrowing the angle of view.

Test Print Printing, Display & Output A small print, often of selected crops, made to evaluate colour, tone and sharpening before committing to full size.

Test Strip Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes seconds A piece of paper exposed in bands at increasing times, used to determine the correct exposure for a print.

Tethered Shooting Files, Metadata & Workflow Connecting a camera directly to a computer so images transfer as they are captured.

Texture Composition & Visual Design The tactile surface quality of a subject as revealed by light, giving a sense of how something would feel.

Texture Slider Post-Processing & Retouching % A control that increases or decreases medium-scale detail while deliberately leaving very fine detail and broad tones alone.

The Decisive Moment Genres, Movements & Theory The idea that in any unfolding event there is a single instant at which form and content align most expressively.

The Family of Man Genres, Movements & Theory count A 1955 exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art presenting 503 photographs from 68 countries as evidence of shared human experience.

The Gaze Genres, Movements & Theory A critical concept describing how looking is structured by power, and how images position their subjects and viewers.

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