Hair Light: A type of lighting that is directed specifically at the subject’s hair to separate it from the background, providing a sense of depth and dimension in a portrait.
Halation: A halo or glow effect around bright areas in an image caused by light scattering within the camera or lens elements.
Half-Press: The action of gently pressing the camera’s shutter button halfway to activate autofocus and exposure metering before fully pressing it to capture the image.
Halftone: A technique used in printing to reproduce continuous-tone images by converting them into a pattern of small dots of varying size and spacing.
Hand coloring: A traditional technique where black and white photographs are selectively painted by hand to introduce color.
Hand Strap: A strap attached to a camera that wraps around the hand or wrist, providing extra security and stability while shooting handheld.
Handheld Light Meter: A portable device used to measure the amount of light in a scene, providing precise exposure information for accurate metering.
Handheld Light Reflector: A portable device with a reflective surface used to redirect and manipulate light, often used in portrait photography to fill in shadows or add catchlights.
Handheld: Handheld refers to capturing photos or videos without the use of a tripod or any other stabilization equipment, relying solely on the photographer’s handholding technique.
Hard Copy: A physical printed copy of a photograph or image.
Hard Disk Drive (HDD): A traditional mechanical storage device used to store digital image files, often found in computers and external storage devices.
Hard Drive Dock: A device that allows direct connection and access to internal hard drives externally, facilitating data transfer and backup.
Hard Graduated ND Filter: A graduated neutral density filter with a distinct and abrupt transition between the darkened and clear areas, useful in scenes with a well-defined horizon line.
Hard Light Modifier: An accessory or device used to modify the quality of hard light, such as grids, snoots, or reflectors, to control its directionality and spread.
Hard light: Hard light refers to direct and intense light that creates well-defined shadows and high contrast in a photograph. It typically comes from a small light source or when the subject is in direct sunlight.
Hard Shadow: A sharp, well-defined shadow cast by a light source with minimal diffusion or scattering.
Hardness (Lighting): The quality of light that determines how abruptly the transition is from light to shadow, often influenced by the size and distance of the light source.
Haze Control Filter: A specialized filter used to minimize or eliminate haze and atmospheric scattering, enhancing the clarity and color saturation in landscape photography.
Haze Filter: A filter used to reduce or eliminate atmospheric haze or glare, improving the contrast and clarity of landscape photographs.
Haze: Haze refers to atmospheric moisture, dust, or other particles that reduce the clarity, contrast, and color saturation of a photograph, often resulting in a soft or hazy appearance.
HDR (High Dynamic Range): A technique that combines multiple exposures of the same scene to capture a wider range of tones and details, resulting in a final image with increased dynamic range.
HDR Software: Software applications designed for merging multiple exposures and processing high dynamic range (HDR) images, allowing for greater control over tonal range and details.
Head-On Perspective: A photographic viewpoint where the camera is positioned directly in front of the subject, capturing it straight on without any oblique angles.
Headroom: The space or area above a subject’s head within the frame, allowing room for compositional balance or potential cropping in post-processing.
Headroom-to-Footroom Ratio: The balance between the amount of space above a subject’s head (headroom) and the amount of space below their feet (footroom) within a frame.
Headroom-to-Footroom Ratio: The balance between the amount of space above a subject’s head (headroom) and the amount of space below their feet (footroom) within a frame.
Headshot: A headshot is a close-up photograph that focuses primarily on a person’s face, typically used for professional purposes like casting, business profiles, or social media.
Headshot: A tightly framed photograph typically capturing the head and shoulders of a person, often used in professional portraits and corporate profiles.
Helicopter Aerial Photography: The practice of capturing photographs from a helicopter, providing a unique and elevated perspective of landscapes, cityscapes, and events.
Heliography: Heliography is an early photographic process invented by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, using bitumen-coated plates exposed to sunlight, which produces the first permanent photographs.
Hierarchy of Importance: A composition principle that involves assigning visual importance to elements within the frame based on their size, position, or prominence.
High Contrast: The difference or range between the lightest and darkest areas in an image, resulting in a significant tonal difference between highlights and shadows.
High ISO: A high sensitivity setting on a digital camera that allows for capturing images in low-light conditions but may introduce digital noise.
High Key Portraits: Portraits where the lighting setup and tonal range emphasize bright and white tones, creating a soft and ethereal look.
High key: High key refers to a style of photography characterized by bright lighting and a predominantly light-toned color palette, resulting in low contrast and a soft, airy atmosphere.
High Pass Filter: A post-processing technique that enhances image sharpness by accentuating high-frequency details while suppressing low-frequency information.
High Pass Sharpening: A technique used to sharpen an image by applying a high pass filter to enhance the edges and details.
High-Angle Shot: A perspective where the camera is positioned above the subject, looking down, often used to convey a sense of power, vulnerability, or diminishment.
High-Aperture Lens: A lens with a wide maximum aperture, allowing for greater control over depth of field and the ability to shoot in low-light conditions.
High-Contrast Lighting: Lighting setup that emphasizes a strong difference between highlights and shadows, resulting in bold and dramatic images.
High-Key Lighting: A lighting technique characterized by a predominantly bright and even illumination, often used in fashion, beauty, and product photography.
High-Key: A lighting technique or style that emphasizes bright tones and highlights, often associated with cheerful and upbeat images.
Highlight Priority Mode: A shooting mode in some cameras that prioritizes retaining detail in highlight areas, often by slightly reducing overall exposure to avoid highlight clipping.
Highlight Recovery: The process of restoring or recovering detail from overexposed areas in an image during post-processing.
Highlights: The brightest areas of an image where the most light is reflected or transmitted, often representing the lightest tones in the photograph.
High-Resolution Image: An image with a high level of detail and fine clarity, typically achieved with cameras or sensors that have a large number of megapixels.
High-Speed Burst Mode: A camera shooting mode that allows for capturing a rapid series of images in quick succession, useful for capturing fast-moving subjects or action sequences.
High-Speed Photography: The practice of capturing rapidly occurring events by using fast shutter speeds, often involving specialized equipment and techniques.
High-Speed Sync (HSS): A flash synchronization technique that allows the use of flash at high shutter speeds, enabling photographers to balance flash and ambient light in bright conditions.
High-Speed Sync Flash (HSS Flash): A flash technique that allows for high shutter speeds and synchronization with the camera, enabling freeze motion and creative lighting effects.
High-speed sync: High-speed sync allows a camera’s flash to synchronize with fast shutter speeds beyond the camera’s native sync speed, enabling the use of flash in situations where the ambient light is strong or when freezing motion is required.
Histogram Clipping: A situation where the histogram of an image extends beyond the dynamic range of the sensor or display, resulting in loss of detail in the highlights or shadows.
Histogram Clipping: A situation where the histogram of an image extends beyond the dynamic range of the sensor or display, resulting in loss of detail in the highlights or shadows.
Histogram Display: A feature in cameras and image editing software that shows a real-time or post-capture histogram to analyze and adjust the exposure and tonal distribution of an image.
Histogram Equalization: A technique used to adjust the tonal distribution of an image by stretching the histogram to improve contrast and highlight details.
Histogram Peaks: The highest points on a histogram, indicating the most dominant tonal values or ranges in an image.
Histogram Stretching: A technique used to adjust the tonal distribution of an image by stretching the histogram to increase contrast and maximize the use of the available tonal range.
Histogram: A graphical representation of the distribution of tones in an image, showing the range of brightness from shadows to highlights.
Hologram: A three-dimensional photographic image produced using laser technology that can be viewed with a specific type of light or by tilting the image.
Holographic Display: A display technology that creates three-dimensional images by projecting light fields, allowing viewers to see objects from different angles without the need for special glasses.
Honeycomb Grid: A grid-shaped attachment placed in front of a light source to create a more focused and directional light pattern.
Horizon Correction: A feature available in some cameras that automatically corrects the levelness of the horizon line in-camera, ensuring straight horizons in photographs.
Horizon Line: The line that separates the sky and the land or other elements in a photograph, typically running horizontally across the frame.
Hot Mirror Filter: A filter used to block or reduce infrared light in order to maintain accurate color reproduction in digital cameras.
Hot Pixel Mapping: A camera or software process that identifies and maps out hot pixels in an image, reducing their visibility and improving overall image quality.
Hot Pixel: A pixel on an image sensor that appears brighter or more colored than its surrounding pixels, often caused by sensor defects or high temperatures.
Hot Pixels: Pixels in a digital image sensor that exhibit higher sensitivity, causing them to appear as bright spots or dots, especially in long-exposure or high-ISO images.
Hot Shoe Adapter: An accessory that allows the use of external flashes or other accessories with a camera that lacks a built-in hot shoe.
Hot shoe: A hot shoe is a mount on the top of a camera that allows the attachment of external accessories, such as a flash unit or a microphone, which can communicate with the camera and draw power from it.
Hot Spot: An area in an image that is significantly brighter or more intense than its surroundings, often caused by strong light sources or reflections.
HSS Flash Sync: Abbreviation for High-Speed Sync Flash, a flash technique that allows for flash synchronization at shutter speeds beyond the camera’s maximum sync speed.
Hybrid Autofocus System: A camera autofocus system that combines phase detection and contrast detection methods, offering fast and accurate focusing in various shooting conditions.
Hybrid camera: A hybrid camera combines features of both digital and film cameras. It may refer to cameras that can shoot both digital stills and videos or those that support interchangeable lenses like DSLRs but lack a traditional mirror system.
Hybrid Image Sensor: A sensor that combines different technologies or materials, such as organic and inorganic semiconductors, to optimize image quality, dynamic range, and low-light performance.
Hybrid Image Stabilization: A combination of optical and digital stabilization methods used to minimize camera shake and reduce blur in photographs or videos.
Hybrid Sensor: A camera sensor that combines both traditional image sensor technology, such as CMOS or CCD, with additional features like on-sensor phase detection autofocus.
Hybrid Viewfinder Camera: A camera that offers both an electronic viewfinder (EVF) and an optical viewfinder (OVF), providing photographers with the flexibility to choose between the two.
Hyperfocal App: A mobile application that calculates the hyperfocal distance for a given aperture, focal length, and camera format, aiding photographers in achieving maximum depth of field.
Hyperfocal Distance App: A mobile application that calculates the hyperfocal distance based on the camera settings, providing a convenient tool for achieving maximum depth of field.
Hyperfocal Distance Calculator: A tool, whether physical or digital, that helps photographers determine the hyperfocal distance for a given combination of aperture, focal length, and camera format.
Hyperfocal Distance Calculator: A tool, whether physical or digital, that helps photographers determine the hyperfocal distance for a given combination of aperture, focal length, and camera format.
Hyperfocal Distance Chart: A printed or digital reference chart that provides hyperfocal distance values for various apertures, focal lengths, and camera formats.
Hyperfocal distance: Hyperfocal distance is the closest distance at which a lens can be focused while keeping objects at infinity acceptably sharp. It’s often used in landscape photography to achieve maximum depth of field.
Hyperfocal Distance: The closest distance at which a lens can be focused while keeping objects at infinity acceptably sharp, maximizing depth of field.
Hyperfocal Scale: A scale or markings on a lens that indicate the distance settings for achieving maximum depth of field based on the aperture and focal length.
Hot mirror: A hot mirror is an optical filter used in digital cameras to block infrared light from reaching the image sensor. It helps prevent color shifts and maintains accurate color reproduction.
Hue: Hue is a color property that distinguishes different colors on the color wheel. It refers to the dominant wavelength of light emitted or reflected by an object, determining its perceived color.
