Home Wikituition Browse all terms Categories
Random term

Browse the dictionary

840 terms · page 5 of 35


A–Z
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
Cameras, Formats & Systems

Burst Rate

The number of frames a camera can capture per second in continuous drive mode.

fps
Lighting & Flash

Butterfly Lighting

A portrait pattern with the key placed directly in front of and above the face, casting a small butterfly-shaped shadow beneath the nose.

Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes

C-41 Process

The standardised chemical process for developing colour negative film.

3′15″ at 38 °C minutes at °C
Cameras, Formats & Systems

Cable Release

A mechanical or electronic remote that fires the shutter without the photographer touching the camera.

Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes

Calotype

An early paper-negative process, patented by Fox Talbot in 1841, allowing multiple prints from one exposure.

Cameras, Formats & Systems

Camera Cage

A rigid frame that surrounds a camera body, providing mounting points for monitors, microphones, handles and rigging.

Composition & Visual Design

Camera Height

The elevation of the camera above the ground, which controls the viewpoint's relationship to the subject.

m
Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes

Camera Obscura

A darkened room or box in which a small aperture projects an inverted image of the outside world onto an inner surface.

Colour & Colour Management

Camera Profile

A description of how a particular camera model renders colour, applied during raw conversion to translate sensor values into a colour space.

Motion, Video & Creative Techniques

Camera Slider

A short track on which a camera moves smoothly in a straight line.

cm
Genres, Movements & Theory

Caption and Context

The text and setting accompanying a photograph, which largely determine how it is understood.

Files, Metadata & Workflow

Caption Field

The IPTC field carrying a written description of what the image shows.

characters
Post-Processing & Retouching

Capture Sharpening

A modest first stage of sharpening applied to compensate for softening introduced by the sensor, the low-pass filter and demosaicing.

%
Files, Metadata & Workflow

Card Formatting

Erasing a memory card in the camera to restore a clean file structure before reuse.

Optics, Lenses & Filters

Cat's-eye Bokeh

The lens-shaped, off-round rendering of out-of-focus highlights near the frame corners, caused by optical vignetting.

Optics, Lenses & Filters

Catadioptric (Mirror) Lens

A long lens that folds its light path with curved mirrors as well as glass, achieving great focal length in a short, light barrel.

mm
Files, Metadata & Workflow

Catalogue

A database recording every image in a collection along with its metadata, previews and editing instructions.

count
Files, Metadata & Workflow

Catalogue Backup

A copy of the catalogue database, holding every rating, keyword, collection and editing decision.

MB
Lighting & Flash

Catchlight

The reflection of a light source visible in a subject's eye.

Sensors & Digital Capture

CCD Sensor

A sensor type in which charge is shifted across the chip to a single output amplifier for conversion.

Composition & Visual Design

Central Composition

Placing the primary subject at or near the centre of the frame.

Exposure & Metering

Centre-weighted Average Metering

A metering pattern that averages the whole frame while giving most of the weight — typically 60 to 80 per cent — to the central area.

Post-Processing & Retouching

Channel Mixer

An adjustment that builds each output channel from a weighted combination of the red, green and blue input channels.

Out = aR + bG + cB %
Film, Darkroom & Historic Processes

Characteristic Curve

A graph plotting a film's resulting density against the logarithm of the exposure it received.

D vs log H density vs log exposure