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840 terms · page 4 of 35


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All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0–9
Files, Metadata & Workflow

Bit Rot

The gradual, silent corruption of stored data over time, in which individual bits change without any error being reported.

Motion, Video & Creative Techniques

Bitrate

The quantity of data used per second of video, which largely determines its quality within a given codec.

File size = bitrate × duration Mbps
Files, Metadata & Workflow

Bits per Channel

The number of bits used to record each colour channel of a pixel, determining how many tonal levels are available.

Levels = 2^bits bits
Post-Processing & Retouching

Black and White Conversion

Turning a colour image into monochrome by mapping each colour to a chosen grey value.

Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes

Black and White Film

Film with a single silver-based emulsion that records only luminance, producing a monochrome negative.

ISO
Sensors & Digital Capture

Black Level

The numerical value a sensor reports for a completely unexposed photosite, subtracted during processing to establish true black.

ADU
Printing, Display & Output

Black Point Compensation

A conversion option that maps the source's darkest tone to the destination's darkest tone rather than clipping it.

Post-Processing & Retouching

Blend If

A control that makes a layer's visibility depend on the brightness values of the layer itself or the layers below.

levels (0-255)
Post-Processing & Retouching

Blend Mode

A rule determining how a layer's pixels combine mathematically with those beneath it.

Sensors & Digital Capture

Blooming

The spilling of charge from a saturated photosite into its neighbours, spreading a bright highlight beyond its true boundaries.

Exposure & Metering

Blown Highlights

Bright areas recorded at maximum value across all channels, rendering as featureless white that no processing can restore.

Lighting & Flash

Blue Hour

The twilight period before sunrise and after sunset when the sun is below the horizon and the sky glows an even, saturated blue.

Sun elevation ≈ −4° to −6° degrees (sun elevation)
Genres, Movements & Theory

Body of Work

A sustained group of photographs unified by subject, approach or idea, developed over an extended period.

count
Optics, Lenses & Filters

Bokeh

The aesthetic character of the out-of-focus areas of an image, as distinct from how much of the image is out of focus.

Printing, Display & Output

Border

An area of unprinted paper deliberately left around an image.

mm
Lighting & Flash

Bounce Flash

Aiming a flash at a ceiling or wall so the reflected light, not the direct beam, illuminates the subject.

stops
Composition & Visual Design

Breaking the Pattern

Introducing a single element that interrupts an otherwise regular repetition, creating an immediate focal point.

Cameras, Formats & Systems

Bridge Camera

A fixed-lens camera styled like an SLR, offering a very long zoom range from a small sensor.

Lighting & Flash

Broad Lighting

A portrait approach in which the side of the face turned toward the camera is the lit side.

Printing, Display & Output

Bronzing

A metallic sheen visible in dark areas of a pigment print when viewed at an oblique angle.

Post-Processing & Retouching

Brush Adjustment

A local edit painted onto specific areas of an image with an adjustable brush.

px
Cameras, Formats & Systems

Buffer Depth

The number of consecutive frames a camera can shoot at full speed before its internal memory fills and the rate collapses.

frames
Exposure & Metering

Bulb Mode

A shutter setting, marked B, that keeps the shutter open for as long as the release is held down.

seconds
Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes

Burning

Giving extra exposure to part of a print so that area comes out darker.

seconds