Important Word Glossary
A list of important words and terms the class learned over the semester through lectures, exercises, and projects.
4K Video
The term "4K" is generic and refers to any resolution with a horizontal pixel count of approximately 4,000. [Boyuan Wen]
8K
Refers to an image or display resolution with a width of approximately 8000 pixels.
offers quadruple the resolution of 4K video, even though the best 4K cameras boast an impressive 3840 x 2160 UHD resolution. [Allie Bergeman]
Aberration
The failure of rays to converge at one focus because of limitations or defects in a lens or mirror. Aberration causes light to be spread out over some region of space, rather than be focused on a specific point or object. Aberration typically causes images to be blurred or distorted. [Allie Bergeman]
Adobe 1998
A color space developed by Adobe in 1998. It is one of the most common color spaces used for digital photography. It was designed to include almost all of the colors achievable in CMYK printers while only using RGB colors on digital displays. [Emilie Ravena]
Adobe Bridge
A digital management application developed by Adobe Systems. It is often used to organize files through the use of batch renaming, star ratings, and color assigning. It can also be used to sort and categorize files based on their metadata. [Emilie Ravena]
Adobe Lightroom
Lightroom is a family of image organization and image manipulation software developed by Adobe Systems for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and tvOS (Apple TV). It allows importing/saving, viewing, organizing, tagging, editing, and sharing large numbers of digital images. [Boyuan Wen]
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is an image processing software developed and distributed by Adobe Systems. Photoshop mainly deals with digital images composed of pixels. The software has many functions, involving image editing, graphic design, text layout, video production, and other aspects. [Yinting Fan]
Adobe Premiere
A video editing software for film, tv, and the web. Premiere Pro includes many features for organizing, editing, and adjusting video clips on a timeline, along with a large selection of effects. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Adobe RGB
Adobe RGB is a color space developed by Adobe Systems in 1998. It enables images edited in RGB to translate accurately to most CMYK color printers. [Yinting Fan]
After Image
A type of optical illusion where an image continues to appear for a brief moment even after exposure to the image has stopped. [Emilie Ravena]
AIFF
Stands for “Audio Interchange File Format” it is designed to store audio data. AIFF was designed by Apple computer but is based on Electronic Arts ‘IFF a container format originally used by Amiga systems. A standard AIFF file contains 2 channels of uncompressed stereo audio. [Amanda Dixon]
Algorithm
A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving mathematical operations, especially by a computer [Boyuan Wen]
Analog to Digital Convertor
In electronics, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC, A/D, or A-to-D) is a system that converts an analog signal, such as a sound picked up by a microphone or light entering a digital device, into a digital signal. An ADC may also provide an isolated measurement such as an electronic device that converts an input analog voltage or current to a digital number representing the magnitude of the voltage or current. [Boyuan Wen]
Anti-Aliasing
A software processor that makes an image look more natural by smoothing out rugged or bitmapped edges, and blending colors together to make the image more appealing. [Joshua Carter]
Aperture
A space through which light travels through in an optical or photographic mechanism that controls light intensity. [Emilie Ravena]
Archive
A collection of historical documents, objects, or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people. An archive can also be referred to as a place in which public records or historical materials are preserved. [Allie Bergeman]
ARW
A raw image format used by Sony cameras. [Emilie Ravena]
Back Printing
Printing on the reverse side or underside of a sheet or transparent film, to create a text continuation or, in the case of transparent films, to provide a background for the text or other design printed on the front side [Boyuan Wen]
Backup
In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. [Boyuan Wen]
Banding
Occurs in photography in which lines appear in photos during image processing, which weren’t originally there during image capture. Banding occurs when values within a gradient get pushed so much that there is no color/value in the file to actually represent the mathematical change you’ve applied with a tool in Photoshop. Banding indicates that you are hitting the boundaries of your image file. [Allie Bergeman]
Bayer Pattern
A widely used color filter array for arranging RGB colors on a square grid of photosensors. This specific pattern is used in most single-chip digital image sensors in digital cameras, cameras, and scanners. It is named after Bryce Bayer, who invented the pattern at Eastman Kodak. [Emilie Ravena]
Beta Test
The final round of testing in a controlled setting before a product is released to a large audience. The goal is to uncover as many usability issues and bugs as possible. [Emilie Ravena]
Binary
In mathematics and digital electronics, a binary number is a number expressed in the base-2 numeral system or binary numeral system, which uses only two symbols: typically "0" (zero) and "1" (one). The base-2 numeral system is a positional notation with a radix of 2. [Boyuan Wen]
Bit Depth
Color depth; helps us determine the color information in an image. The higher the bit depth, the more colors that can be stored and displayed in an image. [Joshua Carter]
Bitmap
A grid where each individual square is a pixel that contains color information. The key characteristics involved in bitmap are the number of pixels (or squares in the grid), and the amount of information in each grid square (pixel). Bitmap corresponds with raster images. [Allie Bergeman]
Black Point
Small area(s) of an image that is just black. As a photographer, the user won’t want the areas to be too big or the image will have blocked, muddy or featureless shadows which isn't a good thing. [Amanda Dixon]
BMP
Also known as Bitmap, The BMP format is a commonly used raster graphic format for saving image files. The BMP format stores color data for each pixel in the image without any compression. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Brightness
The way in which emitted light is ordered continuously from light to dark in connection with its intensity. Simply put, it is the state of giving out or reflecting light. Pure white has the maximum brightness, and pure black the minimum brightness. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Browser
It is an application used to retrieve and display information resources of the World Wide Web. These information resources can be web pages, images, videos, or other content, which is identified by a uniform resource identifier. [Yinting Fan]
Buffer Memory
The buffer is an area of memory used to temporarily store data when moving data from one place to another. [Yinting Fan]
Byte
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit of memory in many computer architectures. [Alexa Ralston]
Cache
The cache is a temporary storage area used to store frequently accessed data for quick access. [Yinting Fan]
Calibrator
A calibrator is an equipment used to adjust an instrument accuracy, often associated with a specific application. The most sophisticated industrial equipment will not be very useful unless it is calibrated. Through calibration, adjustments made to a piece of equipment ensure that it performs as expected—that it can be relied on to deliver predictable, accurate results that meet quality standards. [Boyuan Wen]
Camera RAW
Is an unprocessed photograph captured by a digital camera. It contains raw image data captured by the camera’s sensor and saved in proprietary file format specific to a camera manufacturer. Usually by default digital cameras process and compress photos as JPEG files immediately after image capture. [Amanda Dixon]
Catalog
A compilation of media and digital assets weaved together in the form of a story for the purpose of helping photographers sell their product or services in a thoughtful, organized manner. [Allie Bergeman]
Channel
Refers to a specific medium photographers and other professionals use to convey or share their work. Channels serve as a delivery vehicle, representing how a specific message or form of media is shared from production to consumers. [Allie Bergeman]
Characterization
Characterization or characterisation is the representation of persons or data as narrative or manner or comparison to known. [Boyuan Wen]
Chromatic
Chromaticity is an objective specification of the quality of a color regardless of its luminance. Chromaticity consists of two independent parameters, often specified as hue (h) and colorfulness (s), where the latter is alternatively called saturation, chroma, intensity, or excitation purity. [Boyuan Wen]
Chromacity
The quality of a color in reference to it’s hue and purity. [Joshua Carter]
Clipping
Occurs in digital photography and digital video and results from capturing or processing an image where the intensity in a certain area falls outside the minimum and maximum possible intensity levels. Clipping describes an area of your photo that has been severely over or underexposed and can occur in both the highlights and shadows of your photos. [Allie Bergeman]
Close-up Lens
A lens capable of focusing at very short working distances or a secondary lens used on the primary lens to capture fine details. [Joshua carter]
CMYK
Stands for "Cyan Magenta Yellow Black." These are the four basic colors used for printing color images using offset lithography. Unlike RGB (red, green, blue), which is used for creating images on your computer screen, CMYK colors are "subtractive." This means the colors get darker as you blend them together. [Boyuan Wen]
Codec
Compression technology in the form of a computer program or device that has two components; an encoder to compress files and a decoder to decompress files. [Emilie Ravena]
Color Adaptation
Changes in the visual perception of a color due to prolonged stimulation. This relates to the adjustment of vision to the degree of brightness or color tone. [Alexa Ralston]
Color Checker
A color checker is a color calibration target consisting of a cardboard-framed arrangement of 24 squares of painted samples. [Alexa Ralston]
Color Chroma
Chroma refers to the degree of vividness of a color, or how pure it is compared to its representative on the color wheel. It can also be called saturation, or color intensity. Understanding chroma is essential for creating the Munsell color mixing chart, which relies on a 16-step chroma sequence. [Boyuan Wen]
Color Filter Array
A mosaic of color filters that overlays the pixels that make up a digital image sensor. The color filters filter the light intensity being recorded at the pixel location to correlate with the wavelengths transmitted by that color. Through a demosaicing algorithm, a color encoded digital image is created. [Emilie Ravena]
Color Hue
One of the main properties of a color. It refers to the dominant Color Family of any specific color; either red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or violet. [Emilie Ravena]
Color Management
The controlled conversion between the color depictions of numerous devices. Such devices can include digital cameras, computer monitors, film and computer printers, image scanners, and TV screens. [Emilie Ravena]
Color Separation
The act of decomposing a color graphic or photo into single-color layers. For example, to print full-color photos with an offset printing press, one must first separate the photo into the four basic ink colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). Each single-color layer is then printed separately, one on top of the other, to give the impression of infinite colors. [Boyuan Wen]
Color Value
The relative lightness or darkness of a color. Value indicates the quantity of light reflected. Dark values with black added are called “shades.” Light values with white pigment added are called “tints.” [Allie Bergeman]
Colorimetric Rendering
The relative chromaticity rendering method can replace colors, so that the old white point (the purest and brightest position in the color space) and the new white point are consistent with each other, while maintaining the relative position of the colors. Print logos, chromatic materials or PowerPoint presentations, but because this rendering type will reduce contrast, it is not suitable for printing photos and images. [Boyuan Wen]
Compact Flash
Camera storage media used for portable devices such as DSLR cameras. [Joshua Carter]
Compression
Reduces the size of one or more files. Compressed files take up less disk space and can be transferred to other systems more efficiently than their uncompressed versions. Compression changes data. [Emilie Ravena]
Composition
Is the placement of visual elements in an order that is visually pleasing to the eye. There are seven rules of composition: the rule of thirds; achieving balance; using leading lines; beware of patterns and symmetry; framing your subject; utilize cropping; and creating focus. [Amanda Dixon]
Content Management
A combination of software and technology used to organize and manage digital assets. Content management is the process for collection, delivery, retrieval, governance, and overall management of information and assets of all forms. [Allie Bergeman]
Contrast
The state of being strikingly different from something else in close association or nature, often related to color, tone, or emotion in media. [Allie Bergeman]
Cookies
Small amounts of data generated by a website and saved by your web browser for future recall. Cookie Files contain personal information, such as customized preferences, frequently visited websites and a user identification code. Its purpose is to remember information about you by the author of the cookie. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Copyright
Defines the ownership of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to control use of a creative work by granting permission for reproduction. [Boyuan Wen]
CPU
CPU stands for "Central Processing Unit." The CPU is the main component of a computer, just like the brain of the computer that processes instructions. [Yinting Fan]
Cropped Sensor
Any sensor smaller than a 35mm film frame which is 35mm x 24mm. The field of view is tighter than that of a full frame due to the crop sensor cutting out the edges of the frame. [Emilie Ravena]
CRT
The cathode-ray tube is a vacuum tube that contains one or more electron guns and a phosphorescent screen, and is used to display images. [Alexa Ralston]
CRW
The CRW file is a Canon Raw CIFF Image file product by a Canon digital camera, which is unprocessed and uncompressed images. [Yinting Fan]
Curves
In image editing, a curve is a remapping of image tonality, specified as a function from input level to output level, used as a way to emphasize colors or other elements in a picture and change the display contrast of the image.[Boyuan Wen]
Dark Adaptation
Process in which our eyes adjust from going from a brighter light to darker environment or vice versa. [Joshua Carter]
Deming, Edward
(1900-1993) is widely acknowledged as the leading management thinker in the field of total quality management (TQM) in the mid 20th century. His views were considered highly unorthodox in the US. He was a statistician and business consultant. He went to Japan where he aided recovery after the Second World War and beyond. He conceived and subscribed to the TQM program that looked at (1) continuous improvement, (2) Six Sigma, (3) employee empowerment, (4) benchmarking, (5) just-in-time (JIT), (6) Taguchi concepts, and (7) knowledge of TQM tools. [Michael Peres]
Depth of Field
Depth of field is the zone of distance that appears acceptably sharp in a scene in an image. [Yinting Fan]
Derivative File
Derivative files refer to assets that are created from the original. Derivative files are also called service, access, delivery, viewing, or output files, and are, by their nature secondary items, generally not considered to be permanent parts of an archival collection or data asset management system. [Allie Bergeman]
Descreen
Descreen is a function that can remove Moiré-pattern artifacts or halftone dots when scanning half-toned printed images. [Yinting Fan]
Digital Asset
Files that are owned, stored and managed online by a specific organization or business that requires permission for usage. [Joshua Carter]
Digital Noise
Digital noise, or electronic noise, is randomness caused by your camera sensor and internal electronics, which introduce imperfections to an image. Sometimes, digital will have a clearly visible pattern, although it depends upon the camera. [Alexa Ralston]
Digitizing
Process of converting information into a digital form. [Joshua Carter]
Distinct Vision (Least Distance)
Is the closest in reference to distance, someone with "normal" vision can comfortably view something. Conventional distance for the closest a normal eye can see clearly: typically taken as 10in or 250mm. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Distribution Channel
The process and network used to move a product from the manufacturer or creator to the end user. Typically used in the context of business when describing the chain of intermediaries through which a good or service passes prior to reaching the final buyer. [Allie Bergeman]
DNG
Also known as Digital Negative, is a patented, open, lossless raw image format developed by Adobe and used for digital photography. A great reason to use a DNG file is that they are smaller than their proprietary RAW counterparts. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
DPI
Used to describe the resolution number of dots per inch in a digital print and the printing resolution of a hard copy print dot gain, which is the increase in the size of the halftone dots during printing. This is caused by the spreading of ink on the surface of the media. [Boyuan Wen]
Driver
A software program that allows a specific hardware device to work with a computer's operating system. A driver acts as a translator between the device and programs that are used by that device. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
DSLR Camera
DSLR camera means a digital single-lens reflex camera. The mirror inside the camera body can reflect the light into the optical viewfinder; so the user can see the image through the lens directly. [Yinting Fan]
Dominant Eye
Is sometimes called eye preferent or eyedness, is the tendency to prefer visual input from one eye over the other. Knowing your dominant eye can help aid in taking photographs and capturing a photo composition. [Amanda Dixon]
DPI
Also known as “Dots per inch,” and refers to the measure of resolution used for printed texts or images like those in newspapers. The more dots per inch, the higher the resolution. [Allie Bergeman]
Dynamic Range
The measure of light intensity between the shadows and the highlights in a scene. [Joshua Carter]
EPS
Stands for “Encapsulated PostScript” and is a file extension for graphics file format used in vector based images in Adobe Illustrator. [Amanda Dixon]
Exposure
The amount of light that enters the camera and hits the camera sensor. If there is too much light that enters the camera and reaches the digital sensor, the image will turn out too bright or overexposed. If there is not enough light, the image will look too dark or underexposed. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
File Format
Traditional way encoded information is stored as a computer file. Tells the computer what content to display depending on the file type. [Joshua Carter]
Firewire
Was a popular interface that enables high-speed data transfer between computers. USB C has completely displaced Firewire devices as the most common interface. [Joshua Carter]
Flickr
Is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and has been popular with hosting high-resolution photos by amateur and professional photographers. [Anonymous]
Focal Length
A calculation of the optical distance from the point where light rays converge to form a sharp image of an object to the digital sensor at the focal plane in the camera. Ultimately, the distance between the center of a lens and its focus, and the measure of how strongly the system (often a camera) converges or diverges light. [Allie Bergeman]
Framing
Is the presentation of visual elements in an image, particularly the placement of the subject in relation to other objects. It draws attention to the subject of your image by blocking other parts of the image in the scene. Benefits of framing include: giving the photo context, giving the images a sense of depth and layers, and it leads the eye towards your main focal point. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
FTP
The File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used for the transfer of computer files between a client and server on a computer network. FTP is built on a client-server model architecture using separate control and data connections between the client and the server. [Alexa Ralston]
Gamut
Is the entire range of colors visible to the human eye. In color reproduction including computer graphics and photography is a certain complete subset of colors. [Amanda Dixon]
Gantt Chart
Gantt chart is a bar chart used to track the project schedule, named after its inventor Henry Gantt. [Yinting Fan]
GIF
Also known as “Graphic Interchange Format,” a GIF is a type of computer file that contains a still or moving image and is typically used in multimedia and web environments. GIF’s may contain multiple frames; therefore, they can be animated. [Allie Bergeman]
Gigabyte
A unit of storage capacity for computer data and memory that is equal to about one billion bytes. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Greyscale
It is an achromatic color scale used in television and photography, with several equal gradients ranging from white to black. [Yinting Fan]
Halftone Dot
A reprographic technique that resembles continuous-tone imagery through the use of dots that vary in either size or spacing. This creates a gradient-like effect. [Emilie Ravena]
HDR
Also known as High Dynamic Range, is a technology that improves the range of color and contrast in a digital image. HDR photography is often captured using multiple images at different exposures and blending them together. Today's modern cameras can capture HDR images in a single exposure. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
HEIC
HEIC, also known as “High Efficiency Image Container”, is a container format for individual images and image sequences, and commonly used to store photos on mobile devices. [Alexa Ralston]
Histogram
An illustration of organized data points used in specific data ranges to share an image’s tonal distribution. [Joshua Carter]
HMI
Stands for “Human Machine Interface”, is a software application that presents information to an operator or user about a state of a process, and accepts and implements the operators control instructions. The information is usually displayed in a graphic format. [Amanda Dixon]
HTML
HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. HTML is the standard markup language used to create web pages. HTML documents are text documents that can be read through a Web browser and presented on the screen as text, graphics, and images. [Yinting Fan]
ICC
The International Color Consortium (ICC) was formed in 1993 by eight vendors in order to create an open, vendor-neutral color management system which would function transparently across all operating systems and software packages. [Boyuan Wen]
Illuminance
The measurement of light that falls onto a subject. [Joshua Carter]
Image Editor
A software used to alter a digital photo that has specific tools. [Joshua Carter]
Imaging
The capture, storage, manipulation, and display of images, especially by electronic or digital means. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Index
An alphabetical list of names or subjects with references to the places where they occur, typically found at the end of a book. [Alexa Ralston]
Inkjet
Is a type of computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper and plastic materials. [Amanda Dixon]
Interpolation
Occurs when an image is resized. Often interpolation describes increasing a file’s digital resolution. [Joshua Carter]
ISO
Also known as the International Organization of Standardization. ISO controls sensitivity ratings for camera sensors. It is the camera setting that will either brighten or darken your photography. Increasing the ISO number will make your pictures brighter and help you capture good shots in darker environments. [Allie Bergeman]
IT8
IT8 is a set of standards for color control defined by the American National Standards Institute since 1993. [Yinting Fan]
IPTC
A metadata standard most widely used to describe photos, because of its universal acceptance. Mostly used by news agencies, photographers, libraries, museums, and other related industries. It structures and defines metadata properties that allow users to add precise and reliable data about images. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
ISO
ISO is a setting on the camera, and it is the camera's sensitivity to light. Users can make their photo brighter by increasing the ISO number. Raising the ISO will also increase the noise in the photo. [Yinting Fan]
Java
A high-level programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. It was originally designed for developing programs for set-top boxes and handheld devices, but later became a popular choice for creating web applications. [Alexa Ralston]
JPEG or JPG
Also known as “Joint Photographic Experts Group”, JPEG is a method for lossy compression of digital images. The amount of compression can be adjusted in order to allow for a tradeoff between storage size and image quality. [Alexa Ralston]
Keyword
A word that provides a searchable term, another word, a sentence, passage, or similar. [Joshua Carter]
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The International System of Units defines the prefix kilo as 1000, which means that one kilobyte is 1000 bytes. [Alexa Ralston]
LAB Color
Also known as the CIELAB color space. LAB stands for Lightness, Red/Green Value, Blue/Yellow Value, and they express color as three values. [Yinting Fan]
Layer
Are like sheets but are stacked so they may be worked on individually. Layers are usually used in digital art. [Amanda Dixon]
LCD
Stands for Liquid Crystal Display. It is a type of flat panel display that uses liquid crystals combined with a backlight or reflector to produce images. [Emilie Ravena]
Learning Objective
Learning Objectives are statements that define the expected goal of a curriculum, course, lesson or activity in terms of demonstrable skills or knowledge that will be acquired by a student as a result of instruction. [Boyuan Wen]
LED
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source that emits light when current flows through it. [Alexa Ralston]
Light Adaptation
Light adaptation means getting accustomed to greater levels of environmental illumination. It is the process of the eyes adapting to the bright light when moving from a dark environment to a bright environment. [Yinting Fan]
Lossless
Is when you reduce the size of an image without losing any information from the photo. [Joshua Carter]
Lossy Compression
Lossless compression is a class of data compression algorithms that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data. By contrast, lossy compression permits reconstruction only of an approximation of the original data, though usually with greatly improved compression rates (and therefore reduced media sizes). [Boyuan Wen]
Low Light Vision
Also considered “scotopic vision" describes how human vision is impacted by low light conditions. Often decreases visual acuity. Particularly a problem in older generations. Low light vision is accomplished primarily by rods. [Allie Bergeman]
Luminance
The intensity of light emitted from a surface per unit area in a given direction. Luminance is an objectively measurable attribute that can be measured repeatedly. The unit of measurement is 'Candela per Square Meter' (cd/m2). [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Macro Lens
A lens suitable for taking photographs unusually close to the subject. A macro lens is optically optimized to handle extremely close focusing distances and can take sharp, highly detailed images of microscopic subjects. A macro lens has the ability to focus from infinity to 1:1 magnification, meaning that the size of the image in real life is the same size as it’s reproduced on the sensor. [Allie Bergeman]
Media
The communication outlet or tools used to store and deliver information and data. This refers to print media, publishing, news media, photography, broadcasting, cinema and advertising. [Alexa Ralston]
Media / Memory Card
A portable card that stores data and media in flash memory, used in digital cameras, computers, and other devices. Some major card types are SD Cards, Memory Sticks and CompactFlash. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Media Distribution
Media distribution is to publish and deliver media products to audiences, which also includes a marketing campaign. [Yinting Fan]
Megabyte
A unit of storage capacity for computer data and memory that is equal to about one million bytes. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Megapixel
Is a unit of graphic resolution used to measure resolution in a digital image. One megapixel is equivalent to one million pixels. [Amanda Dixon]
Message Delivery
Message Delivery is a process that we send messages to others through different mediums, such as email, text message, and voice message. [Yinting Fan]
Metadata
Describes other data, and provides certain information about the contents of an item. For example, a photographer can input metadata such as copyright, date/time, location, information about the image, etc. Metadata will also tell you how big the file is, its color depth and images resolution, among other information. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Metamerism
In colorimetry, metamerism is a perceived matching of colors with different spectral power distributions. Colors that match this way are called metamers. [Alexa Ralston]
Migration
The act of moving one thing to another place. Typically the term is used to describe the movement of digital data from one device to another. [Joshua Carter]
Mirrorless Camera
Is a camera that uses interchangeable lenses that does not use a mirror to reflect the image to a viewfinder but rather relies on a digital display rather than an optical viewfinder. [Joshua Carter]
Mioré Pattern
Moiré patterns appear in many situations. In printing, the printed pattern of dots can interfere with the image. In television and digital photography, a pattern on an object being photographed can interfere with the shape of the light sensors to generate unwanted artifacts. They are also sometimes created deliberately – in micrometers they are used to amplify the effects of very small movements. [Boyuan Wen]
Monochromatic
Is a single base hue that is either tinted, toned or shaded. [Amanda Dixon]
MOV
A specific file type used for multimedia files. [Joshua Carter]
MP4
The full name of MP4 is MPEG 4 Part 14. MP4 is a multimedia/audio format which can store video, audio, subtitles, and still images. [Yinting Fan]
Munsell Color System
Is a three-dimensional color model based on the premise that each color has three qualities or attributes: hue, value and chroma. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Native White Point
The natural color emitted by an LCD panel without any filtering. This color varies from monitor to monitor. [Emilie Ravena]
NEF
Also known as “Nikon Electronic Format”, a NEF is Nikon’s RAW file format that features image information and metadata received from the sensor of the camera. This includes information about the lens, the camera’s identification, the settings and various other data. [Alexa Ralston]
Offset Lithography
A method of printing where images on metal plates are transferred onto rubber rollers or blankets and then onto media such as paper. [Emilie Ravena]
Open Source
Open source refers to computer software whose source code can be obtained arbitrarily. Anyone can view, modify and distribute the code they think is appropriate. [Yinting Fan]
Operating System
The software that supports a computer's basic functions, such as scheduling tasks, executing applications, and controlling peripherals. [Alexa Ralston]
Optical Resolution
In photography describes the total physical resolution that a digital camera or optical device like a scanner is able to capture. [Amanda Dixon]
Optimization
A way to improve a file image without losing the quality of the file. [Joshua Carter]
Output
In computing, input/output or I/O (or, informally, io or IO) is the communication between an information processing system, such as a computer, and the outside world, possibly a human or another information processing system. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system and outputs are the signals or data sent from it. The term can also be used as part of an action; to "perform I/O" is to perform an input or output operation. [Boyuan Wen]
Out of Gamut Color
The range of colors that can’t be reproduced within the CMYK color space once converted from RGB color space. [Emilie Ravena]
Pantone Color
Are color codes that represent specific shades of colors. This means the color is created from a palette of 1114 basic colors, not with screens or dots. Process colors are CMYK colors, the color is determined by cyan, magenta, yellow and black. [Amanda Dixon]
Also known as Portable Document Format. PDF is a file format designed to present documents consistently across different devices and platforms. PDF captures all the elements of a printed document and shows it as an electronic image, preserving the formatting. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Perception
Is the ability to become aware of our surroundings using our five senses. [Amanda Dixon]
Perceptual Rendering Intent
One of the four modes by which color management systems modify colors in a picture to fit within the constraints of a specific display or printer. A perceptual rendering intent maintains the overall color appearance by adjusting all colors in the source space to fit the destination space. [Emilie Ravena]
Persistence of Vision
An optical phenomenon where the brain interprets multiple still images appearing in rapid succession as one, resulting in the illusion of motion. [Emilie Ravena]
Pixel
It is the smallest controllable element of a picture represented on the screen [Boyuan Wen]
Playback Rate
The speed at which media is being replayed. [Emilie Ravena]
PNG
Also known as “Portable Network Graphics”, PNG is a raster-graphics file format that works in lossless data compression. PNG was created to replace Graphics Interchange Format due to being an improved and non-patented format. [Alexa Ralston]
Posterization
Entails the conversion of a continuous gradation of tone to several regions of fewer tones, with abrupt changes from one tone to another. This was originally done with photographic processes to create posters. It can now be done photographically or with digital image processing and may be deliberate or an unintended artifact of color quantization. [Boyuan Wen]
PPI
Pixels Per Inch, refers to the resolution of an image. PPI measures the numbers of pixels per line per inch in a digital photo. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
ProPhoto Color
The ProPhoto RGB color space, also known as ROMM RGB (Reference Output Medium Metric), is an output referred RGB color space developed by Kodak. It offers an especially large gamut designed for use with photographic output in mind. The ProPhoto RGB color space encompasses over 90% of possible surface colors. Approximately 13% of the representable colors are imaginary colors that do not exist and are not visible colors. [Allie Bergeman]
Proprietary File Format
Is one that a company owns and controls. Data in this format may need proprietary software to be read reliably. This format can also be restricted through liscences such that only the company itself or licensees may use it. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
PSD
Files with this extension are called Adobe Photoshop Document. A PSD file is mainly used in adobe photoshop as a default for saving a file and offer. It is also an image file format and its editing friendly format supports multiple image layers and various imaging options. [Amanda Dixon]
RAID
Stands for ‘Redundant Array of Independent Disks’ or ‘Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks’. It is a way of storing the same data in different sources on multiple hard disks or solid-state drives for the purpose of data redundancy, performance improvement, or both. [Emilie Ravena]
RAM
Random-access memory is a form of computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working data and machine code. [Alexa Ralston]
Raster Images
In computer graphics, a Raster graphics or bitmap image is a dot matrix data structure that represents a generally rectangular grid of pixels (points of color), viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium. Raster images are stored in image files with varying formats. [Boyaun Wen]
RAW
An unprocessed image typically captured by a digital camera. It contains the raw pixel information captured by the camera’s sensor and saves it in proprietary file format, specific to the camera manufacturer. RAW files must be converted to a TIFF, JPEG, or DNG file to be opened in and adjusted in Adobe software. [Allie Bergeman]
Rendering Intent
When the gamut of source color space exceeds that of the destination, saturated colors are liable to become clipped (inaccurately represented), or more formally burned. [Boyuan Wen]
RGB
Stands for “Red Green Blue” and is an additive color model in which red, green and blue light are added together in different ways to produce an array of colors. [Alexa Ralston]
Saturation
Is the intensity and vividness of a color in a picture or image. [Amanda Dixon]
SD
Known as “Secure Digital”, SD is a flash memory card format. [Alexa Ralston]
Self Paced Learning
A specific form of learning designed to allow students to control the amount of material they consume at their own speed. Often motivated by the student’s interests or priorities. [Allie Bergeman]
Serial Port
An older interface by which information is transferred to a computer, typically monitors, mice, gaming controllers will have this port. [Joshua Carter]
SEO
Stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization’, it is the process of improving the quantity and quality of traffic to a website or web page through organic search engine results. [Emilie Ravena]
Sharpening
A technique used to increase the apparent sharpness of an image. Often used to make details in an image appear more defined. Sharpening is applied to digital images to enhance the definition of photo edges. Sharpening can be accomplished through image editing software or through camera settings. [Allie Bergeman]
Sharpness
In photography sharpness is the level of detail an image has considering many factors such as the camera lens and the shooting technique used to capture the image. [Amanda Dixon]
Shutter Speed
Is the length of time film in the camera sensor is exposed to light, and affects the final exposure from a digital camera. Faster shutter speed results in an action frozen in time within the photo. Slower shutter speed results in a blurring effect on the final photo. [Amanda Dixon]
Sidecar File
Often called a sidecar, is a file type that allows users to store information that is not included in the original file type. [Joshua Carter]
Soft Proof
A step in the printing process that allows the viewing of how an image or publication may look when printed or displayed. [Joshua Carter]
Sound Design
The sound design commonly involves editing the previously recorded sound or using software to generate the sound. It is a process of sound recording, sound-generating, and editing. [Yinting Fan]
Spacial Resolution
Spatial resolution refers to the number of pixels utilized used in the construction of a digital image. An image with a higher spatial resolution has a larger number of pixels than an image with a lower spatial resolution. [Yinting Fan]
sRGB
sRGB is a color space that defines a range of colors that can be displayed on screen and in print. It is the most widely used color space and is supported by most operating systems, software programs, monitors, and printers but is also the most compact color space. [Boyuan Wen]
Standard Viewer
It is commonly defined as a standard viewer when describing a person in average vision with discrimination skills. [Yinting Fan]
Stereo Vision
The ability to perceive how far away an object is based on the relative positioning of the object in both eyes. The ability to have stereo vision depends on good vision in both eyes as well as sensory and motor abilities. [Emilie Ravena]
SWOP CMYK
A specification for the colors of the cyan, magenta, yellow and black ("key") inks used in CMYK printing. Inks conforming to the specification can be called SWOP inks. [Anonymous]
Terabyte
A unit of storage capacity for computer data and memory that is equal to about one trillion bytes. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
Thumbnail
A miniature computer graphic sometimes hyperlinked to a full-size version. [Alexa Ralston]
TIFF
Also known as “Tagged Image File Format”, a TIFF or TIF is a computer file format for storing raster graphics images. This is popular in the publishing industry and is useful for graphic artists and photographers. [Alexa Ralston]
Tone
The overall range of lightness to darkness in an image. [Joshua Carter]
Tristimulus Values
Referring to three color values that when combined produce the same color being considered. [Joshua Carter]
Tungsten
Is an artificial light source that emits measurable heat and adds warmth to a scene or subject being photographed. [Amanda Dixon]
TQM
Stands for ‘Total Quality Management’, which is a customer-focused management system where all employees participate in working towards common objectives and are all held accountable for the quality of the final product or service. The main focus of this strategy is to detect and minimize errors. [Emilie Ravena]
Typography
An art technique of arranging type in a written form that is legible, readable and visually pleasing when displayed. The type arrangement is based on the typeface used; point size; letter and line spacing. [Amanda Dixon]
Universal Translator
Is a device used in color management that interprets color data and imparts code to allow the file to be accurately displayed and used across many devices and displays. [Boyuan Wen]
USB
USB stands for Universal Serial Bus, and it is an external bus standard for computer systems. It is used to regulate the connection and communication between computers and external devices. [Yinting Fan]
User Interface (UI)
Is the point when human users interact with a computer, website or application. User interface is created in layers to appeal to the human senses. An effective UI makes the user’s experience easy and takes little effort on the user’s parts. [Amanda Dixon]
User Experience (UX)
The overall experience a person has with a website or application, especially how easy or pleasing it is to use. This includes emotions and attitudes toward the product, system or service. [Amanda Dixon]
Vector Images
Are graphics images made up of points, lines and curves based on mathematical equations instead of solid square pixels or a bitmap. This means when zooming in on the graphic image the lines remain smooth instead of pixelating so long as there is sufficient data for the size of the image. [Amanda Dixon]
Virtual Memory
Memory that acts as RAM in a computer’s hard drive that enables applications to run as if the computer has more memory than it does. [Joshua Carter]
Visual Acuity
Sharpness of vision which is measured by the ability to make out letters or numbers at a specific distance according to a fixed standard. [Alexa Ralston]
Visual Literacy
The ability to read, recognize, and understand ideas conveyed through visible actions or visual images. It is a concept that relates to art and design but involves wider applications. [Allie Bergeman]
Visuals
A picture, piece of film, photograph, or graphic that is used for effect or illustration. Visuals can also be used in promotion. [Giancarlo DiMascio]
XD
Is a vector-based user experience design tool for web apps and mobile apps, developed and published by Adobe Inc. [Boyuan Wen]
White Balance
This is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in a photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the "color temperature" of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light. [Alexa Ralston]
White Point
Often known as target white or reference white and is chromaticity coordinates that define the color “white” in an image. [Amanda Dixon]
White Point Setting
Tristimulus values that serve to define the white color in an image. [Joshua Carter]
Workflow
The sequence of industrial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion. Workflows occur across every kind of business and industry. Anytime data is passed between humans and/or systems, a workflow is created. Workflows are the paths that describe how something moves from being undone to done or raw to processed. [Allie Bergeman]
WYSIWYG
In computing, What You See Is What You Get is a system where editing software allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product such as a printed document, web page, or slide presentation. [Boyuan Wen]
XMP
Stands for “Extensible Metadata Platform” and is a universal metadata format developed by Adobe systems. It provides a standard format for sharing metadata between multiple applications. [Amanda Dixon]
Zoom Lens
Is a type of camera lens that offers the photographer a useful range of different focal lengths in a single lens. Focal length can be continuously adjusted to provide various degrees of magnification without any loss of focus. Visually, this gives the effect of “zooming in" or "zooming out”. [Giancarlo DiMascio]