Photographers’ gobbledygook can be confusing! This photography dictionary will help you find the real significance behind that jargon.
B ("Bulb")
Shutter setting on which the shutter will stay open as long as the release is depressed. Used for exposures longer than the numbered shutter speed settings.
(see Shutter speed)
Back focusing
The tendency of a lens to focus slightly behind the intended subject.
(see: Front focusing)
Backlighting
Light from behind the subject, and towards the photographer, so that the subject stands out against the background. This sometimes can produce a silhouette effect.
Background paper
Available in numerous colours, the rolls are hung from the ceiling or a set of free standing poles. The common sizes are 9ft and 4ft 6ins wide.
(see Cove)
Bag bellows
Used on large format cameras in place of normal bellows when wide-angle lenses are in use. (A flexible "bag" affair)
(see Bellows, Large format & Wide )
Balanced Fill Flash
When a modern camera with a multi-segment exposure meter (Matrix) is used with a dedicated flashgun the correct exposure can be obtained for both the subject and background using 'Automatic Balanced Fill Flash' in both daylight and low light. Balanced Fill Flash can also be achieved manually using a little knowledge and technique.
(see Matrix Metering & Dedicated flash, Syncro Sun)
Barn doors
Accessory used on lights to control the direction of output and the width of the beam.
Barrel distortion
Lens aberration (distortion) where straight lines are formed as curved lines in the image. These barrel shaped lines are most noticeable along the edges of the photo.
(see Aberration & Pincushion effect )
A set of numbers and letters printed on the packaging of film and paper to indicate a production batch. The number is given because of slight variations of colour, contrast and speed which may occur between batches of the same type.
Bayonet
All modern 35mm SLR cameras now use a "bayonet" lens fitting (a quarter turn clockwise or anti-clockwise will remove or attach the lens). Each camera manufacturer has its own type of fitting, therefore as an example a Canon lens cannot be attached to a Nikon camera body.
(see Screw mount lens, 35mm & SLR)
Bellows
Large format cameras: The folding (piano accordion style) part that connects the standards (lens and film back). Also a camera accessory for smaller formats that aids close focusing.
(see Monorail camera & Standard)
Between-the-lens shutter
Close to the diaphragm, inside the lens are metal blades which spring open and then close when the camera is fired, this exposes the film or image sensor
(see Focal plane shutter)
Bit
A single unit of digital information. Using binary notation a single bit has a value of either zero or one.
Bit Depth
The amount of colour information associated with a digital image. An image with a higher bit depth can display more gradations of colours. The most common colour bit depth for digital photos (especially jpeg files) is 8 bits per colour, (a 24-bit RGB image). Professional digital cameras capture 16 bits per colour when shooting RAW files.
(see RAW)
Bitmap
A digital image created from rows and columns of dots called pixels, the more bits associated with each pixel, the higher the bit depth. Bitmap occasionally refers specifically to images in which the dots are either pure black or white with no shades of gray and the image can be represented with one bit per pixel.
(see Bit Depth & Pixel)
Bleach fix
Chemical bath in which bleach and fixer have been combined! Used in many Traditional colour processes.
(see C41 & E6)
Blonde
A Type of Tungsten Lighting from various manufactures, rated at 2000W.
(see Redhead & Tungsten light )
Bokeh
Bokeh describes the rendition of out-of-focus points of light. Differing amounts of spherical aberration alter how lenses render out-of-focus points of light, and thus their bokeh. The word "bokeh" comes from the Japanese word "boke" (pronounced bo-keh) which literally means fuzziness or dizziness.
For a full description go to http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/bokeh.htm
(see: Aberration)
Bounce
Flash or tungsten light bounced off a reflector (such as the ceiling, walls or brolly) to give the effect of natural light.
(see Brollies)
Bracketing
The technique of taking a number of pictures of the same subject at different levels of exposure. At half and one stop differences, depending on subject.
A term to describe a camera that fills a gap between SLR and compact cameras. Can be similar in size and weight to a SLR, but lacks interchangeable lenses. Originally devised in 1988 by Ricoh with the Mirai (also sold as the Olympus AZ-4 Zoom SLR). Today the 'Bridge' has more competition from other types of cameras filling the same niche, particularly from the Micro Four Thirds system.
'this class of cameras can be a "bridge" towards finally switching to an SLR system.' http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Bridge_camera
(see: SLR, Compact camera & Micro Four Thirds system)
Brollies
Photographic white or silver Umbrellas! used to bounce flash light off of.
(see Bounce)
Photographic printing paper which is coated with a light sensitive emulsion of silver bromide, to reproduce traditional black and white images.
(see: Emulsion, Fibre (FB) and RC paper)
Buffer
Memory in a digital camera that stores the photos before they are written to the removable storage card.
(see Compact Flash)
Bulk film
Film purchased in long lengths and used in a bulk camera back, in assignments which demand a large amount of film in long continuous runs, (or with a bulk film loader, to reload cassettes cheaply).
Bulk back
A device that allows the use of many many feet of film at one loading: 35mm or 70mm (medium format).
(see Bulk film, Medium format & 35mm )
Burned
A photo is said to be burned when it contains uniform portions of black or white where there should be detail. Overexposed descriptions: washed out, blown out highlights or clipped whites. Underexposed descriptions: loss of shadow detail, muddy, indistinguishable from black, blocked up shadows, crushed blacks or clipped blacks
(see Over exposed & Under exposed)
Burning-in (or Burn-in)
To make an area of a print darker. This is accomplished after the basic exposure by extending the exposure time (or opening the aperture) to allow extra image-forming light to darken areas of the print while holding back the light from the rest of the image (with hands or card etc.); also called printing-in.
(see Dodging & Exposure )
Byte
A unit of digital information most often consisting of eight bits. File sizes and storage capacities are commonly described in thousands of eight-bit bytes (kilobytes), millions (megabytes), billions (gigabytes) or trillions (terabytes).
(see Bit)
Peter Ashby-Hayter, Bristol, U.K. Bristol Photographer
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