Art Photography Terms


Gumoil Printing  – Created by Karl Koenig in 1990, this process resembles the deep atmospheric values of nineteenth century photographs
Hand-Tint  – To color a photograph by hand
Holography  – Holography is the science of producing holograms
Hypersensitization  – Refers to the process for increasing the speed of a photosensitive material between manufacture and image exposure
Ilfochrome  – Refers to both the trademarked photographic paper Ilfochrome and the process of making prints with such paper
Infrared Photography  – Refers to photography created using infrared film
Iris Print  – The trademarked name for a digital print produced by an Iris Graphics inkjet printer
Kallintype  – Refers to the early photographic process resulting in rich, dark brown tones as well as the prints themselves
Kodachrome  – Kodachrome is a brand of color transparency (slide) film sold by Kodak
Lambda  – Lambda is widely recognized as the one of the best digital printers
LED  – A type of light bulb, LED stands for Light Emitting Diode
Lightjet  – Lightjet refers to a process of printing digital images on photographic paper, and also to the corresponding hardware
Limited Edition  – Artworks produced in a deliberately limited quantity
Lith Film  – Also “litho film.” Lith film is a film that produces an extremely high contrast image when developed with a lith developer
Macrophotography  – Macrophotography is a type of close-up photography
Mount  – To secure a work of art to a supportive object or setting for display or study
Negative  – Refers to film for common 35mm cameras which comes in long narrow strips of chemical coated plastic
Negative Film  – Many photographic processes create negative images - the chemicals used react to light, and during developing these chemicals are retained and become opaque while the unexposed chemicals are washed away
Negative Image  – Refers to a color reversed image where red becomes cyan, etc. and lighter regions become dark and vice versa
Palladium  – Refers to a photographic process in which the image is produced by palladium crystals deposited on the paper
Panorama  – A panorama is any wide view of a physical space
Photogenic Drawings  – 
Photogram  – An image produced without the use of optics or a camera
Photograph  – A relatively permanent image produced by the action of light on a sensitive material, commonly restricted to images or objects formed by means of optical devices, such as lenses or mirrors
Photographic Collage  – A single artwork built up from several photographic prints or other images.
Photographic Film  – Refers to a flexible and transparent support coated with photosensitive material
Photographic Transparency  – Refers to an image (usually positive) intended to be observed by light which passes through the image and base as on a viewer or by projection
Photogravure  – A photo mechanical printing process based on photographically produced plate (usually cylindrical) containing small ink-receptive pits
Photomontage  – (1) A composite image, made by cutting and pasting, or by projecting several images in sequence on different parts of the receiving photographic material
Pigment-Based Inks  – Pigment-based ink, unlike dye, is a powder made up of tiny granules that do not dissolve completely in solution.
Pinhole Camera  – Refers to a camera with a tiny aperture that forms an image without the use of a lens
Platinum Prints  – Similar to silver gelatin prints, Platinum prints are created using iron and platinum instead of silver salts
Polaroid  – A manufacturer/trademark of a photographic system which gives 'instant' prints, by which film, paper and developing solution are combined in one unit.
Polaroid Transfer  – Polaroid transfer refers to a photographic image-transfer process, or printmaking technique, which uses Polaroid film
R (Reversal) Type Printing  – R (Reversal) type printing is printing from a positive slide or transparency onto R-type paper to give exactly the same color saturation as the original image
Rag Paper  – Paper created by beating cotton or linen into fibers
Resin-Based Paper  – Plastic-based paper type. The most common type of papers used for printing color images
Selenium Toning  – A type of toning using the metal selenium to replace silver salts
Sensitivity  – Photosensitivity is the amount to which an object reacts upon receiving light
Sepia  – (1)In photography, a gold toning bath can produce a color in the print referred to as sepia
Silver Bromide Print  – Silver bromides share the features of all silver gelatin prints, giving deep rich blacks and crisp whites on a high gloss paper, as well as having good archival properties
Silver Chloride Print  – Silver chlorides share the features of all silver gelatin prints, giving deep rich blacks and crisp whites on a high gloss paper, as well as having good archival properties
Silver Gelatin Print  – Silver gelatin prints typically give deep rich blacks and crisp whites on a high gloss paper
Slide  – A slide is a special type of transparency intended to be projected onto a screen using a slide projector
Stereoscopic Photography  – Stereoscopic photography is a photographic technique which yields simulated three-dimensional photographs
Subtractive Process  – The subtractive process and and the additive process are the two forms to produce color
Surface Finishes  – Matt, gloss, supergloss, satin and pearl are the various finishes available on different paper types
Tinting or Tinted Prints  – A process similar to toning, but involving the addition of a single color over the whole print
Toner  – Refers to a chemical bath used to change the hue of prints
Toning or Toned Black & White  – Toning images allows an artist to alter the colors of a photograph print