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Glossary of common terms
Saturation
Resolution
Pixels
Hue
Grain
Contrast
Highlights
Shadows
Mid-tones
Contrast adjusts the relationship between the light and dark areas of the
image. Increasing the contrast will make the highlights brighter and the
shadows darker. Increasing the contrast can also increase the apparent
sharpness of the image.
Film uses tiny silver-halide crystals to record light. When developed, these
crystals create a subtle texture to the image known as grain. The degree of
grain depends on the film, image density, and image detail.
Highlights refer to the bright tones in the image. If the highlights are too
bright, image detail is lost. If the highlights are too dark, the image looks flat
and dull.
Mid-tones are the range of tones between the highlights and shadows.
Pixel derives from the words picture element. A pixel is the smallest point
used to create an image.
Resolution indicates the number of pixels used in an image. Print resolutions
are usually given in dpi (dots per inch). Monitor resolution indicates the max-
imum horizontal and vertical dimensions in pixels of the display.
Saturation refers to how vivid the colors of an image are.
A hue is a specific color.
Shadows refer to the dark tones in the image. If the shadows are too light,
the dark areas look smokey and flat. If the shadows are too dark, image
details are lost.
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