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Photography



 
 
Photography ( or ) (from Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 f?t? and ??af?a) is the process, activity and art
Art

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature....
 of creating still or moving pictures
Image

An image is an artifact, usually two-dimensional , that has a similar appearance to some subject —usually a physical object or a person....
 by recording radiation
Radiation

In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy emitted by one body travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body....
 on a sensitive medium, such as a film
Photographic film

Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and of the film....
, or an electronic sensor
Image sensor

An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices....
. Light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
 patterns reflected or emitted from objects activate a sensitive chemical or electronic sensor during a timed exposure
Exposure (photography)

In photography, exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium during the process of taking a photograph. Exposure is measured in lux seconds, and can be computed from exposure value and scene luminance over a specified area....
, usually through a photographic lens
Photographic lens

A photographic lens is an optics lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically....
 in a device known as a camera
Camera

A camera is a device that records images, either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies. The term comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room functioned as a real-time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscura....
 that also stores the resulting information chemically or electronically.






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Quotations


(a means by which we)...learn to see the ordinary.

a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.

an austere and blazing poetry of the real.

has interesting ideas of its own.

- John Szarkowski. A photograph is...

is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.

my meditation.

- Czar Anthony Lopez A camera...





Encyclopedia


Photography ( or ) (from Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 f?t? and ??af?a) is the process, activity and art
Art

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature....
 of creating still or moving pictures
Image

An image is an artifact, usually two-dimensional , that has a similar appearance to some subject —usually a physical object or a person....
 by recording radiation
Radiation

In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy emitted by one body travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body....
 on a sensitive medium, such as a film
Photographic film

Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and of the film....
, or an electronic sensor
Image sensor

An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices....
. Light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
 patterns reflected or emitted from objects activate a sensitive chemical or electronic sensor during a timed exposure
Exposure (photography)

In photography, exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium during the process of taking a photograph. Exposure is measured in lux seconds, and can be computed from exposure value and scene luminance over a specified area....
, usually through a photographic lens
Photographic lens

A photographic lens is an optics lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically....
 in a device known as a camera
Camera

A camera is a device that records images, either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies. The term comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room functioned as a real-time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscura....
 that also stores the resulting information chemically or electronically. Photography has many uses for business, science, art and pleasure.

Large Format Camera Lens
Nikonf
The word "photography" comes from the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 f?? (phos) "light" + ??af?? (graphis) "stylus", "paintbrush" or ??af? (graphê) "representation by means of lines" or "drawing", together meaning "drawing with light." Traditionally, the products of photography have been called negative
Negative

The term negative refers to a property of negativity and may refer to:...
s
and photograph
Photograph

A photograph is an created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a Charge-coupled device or a Complementary metal?oxide?semiconductor chip....
s
, commonly shortened to photos.

The discipline of making lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for the cinema is dealt with under Cinematography
Cinematography

Cinematography , is the making of Stage lighting and camera choices when recording photographic s for the film. It is closely related to the art of photography....


Function and cameras


The camera
Camera

A camera is a device that records images, either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies. The term comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room functioned as a real-time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscura....
 or camera obscura
Camera obscura

The camera obscura is an optical device used, for example, in drawing or for entertainment. It is one of the inventions leading to photography....
 is the image-forming device, and photographic film
Photographic film

Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and of the film....
 or a silicon
Silicon

Silicon is the most common metalloid. It is a chemical element, which has the symbol Si and atomic number 14. The atomic mass is 28.0855....
 electronic image sensor
Image sensor

An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices....
 is the sensing medium. The respective recording medium can be the film itself, or a digital electronic or magnetic memory.

Photographers control the camera and lens to "expose" the light recording material (such as film) to the required amount of light to form a "latent image
Latent image

A latent image on photographic film is an invisible image produced by the exposure of the film to light. When the film is Photographic processing, the area that was exposed darkens and forms a visible image....
" (on film) or "raw file" (in digital cameras) which, after appropriate processing, is converted to a usable image. Digital cameras replace film with an electronic image sensor
Image sensor

An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices....
 based on light-sensitive electronics such as charge-coupled device
Charge-coupled device

A charge-coupled device is an analog signal shift register that enables the transportation of analog signals through successive stages , controlled by a clock signal....
 (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The resulting digital image is stored electronically, but can be reproduced on paper or film.

The movie camera
Movie camera

The movie camera is a type of photography camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of photographic film. In contrast to a still camera, which captures a single snapshot at a time, the movie camera takes a series of images, each called a "frame"....
 is a type of photographic camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of film. In contrast to a still camera, which captures a single snapshot at a time, the movie camera takes a series of images, each called a "frame". This is accomplished through an intermittent mechanism. The frames are later played back in a movie projector at a specific speed, called the "frame rate" (number of frames per second). While viewing, a person's eyes and brain merge the separate pictures together to create the illusion of motion.

In all but certain specialized cameras, the process of obtaining a usable exposure must involve the use, manually or automatically, of a few controls to ensure the photograph is clear, sharp and well illuminated. The controls usually include but are not limited to the following:

  • Focus
    Focus (optics)

    In geometrical optics, a focus, also called an image point, is the point where light rays originating from a point on the object converge ....
     - the adjustment to place the sharpest focus where it is desired on the subject.
  • Aperture
    Aperture

    In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light is admitted. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of ray that come to a focus in the ....
     – adjustment of the iris
    Diaphragm (optics)

    In optics, a diaphragm is a thin opaque structure with an opening at its centre. The role of the diaphragm is to stop the passage of light, except for the light passing through the aperture....
    , measured as f-number
    F-number

    In optics, the f-number of an optical system expresses the diameter of the entrance pupil in terms of the focal length of the photographic lens; in simpler terms, the f-number is the focal length divided by the "effective" aperture diameter....
    , which controls the amount of light passing through the lens. Aperture also has an effect on focus and depth of field
    Depth of field

    In optics, particularly as it relates to film and photography, the depth of field is the portion of a scene that appears sharp in the image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on either side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under nor...
    , namely, the smaller the opening aperture, the less light but the greater the depth of field--that is, the greater the range within which objects appear to be sharply focused. The current focal length divided by the f-number gives the actual aperture size in millimeters.
  • Shutter speed
    Shutter speed

    File:Sparklers with a slow shutter speed.JPGIn photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a shutter is open; the total Exposure is proportional to this exposure time, or duration of light reaching the Photographic film or ....
     – adjustment of the speed (often expressed either as fractions of seconds or as an angle, with mechanical shutters) of the shutter to control the amount of time during which the imaging medium is exposed to light for each exposure. Shutter speed may be used to control the amount of light striking the image plane; 'faster' shutter speeds (that is, those of shorter duration) decrease both the amount of light and the amount of image blurring from motion of the subject and/or camera.
  • White balance
    Color balance

    In photography and , color balance is the global adjustment of the intensities of the colors . An important goal of this adjustment is to render specific colors ? particularly neutral colors ? correctly; hence, the general method is sometimes called gray balance, neutral balance, or white balance....
     – on digital cameras, electronic compensation for the color temperature
    Color temperature

    Color temperature is a characteristic of visible light that has important applications in lighting, photography, videography, publishing, and other fields....
     associated with a given set of lighting conditions, ensuring that white light is registered as such on the imaging chip and therefore that the colors in the frame will appear natural. On mechanical, film-based cameras, this function is served by the operator's choice of film stock
    Film stock

    Film stock is photographic film on which Film are shot and reproduced....
     or with color correction filters. In addition to using white balance to register natural coloration of the image, photographers may employ white balance to aesthetic end, for example white balancing to a blue object in order to obtain a warm color temperature
    Color temperature

    Color temperature is a characteristic of visible light that has important applications in lighting, photography, videography, publishing, and other fields....
    .
  • Metering – measurement of exposure so that highlights and shadows are exposed according to the photographer's wishes. Many modern cameras meter and set exposure automatically. Before automatic exposure, correct exposure was accomplished with the use of a separate light metering device
    Light meter

    A light meter is a device used to measure the amount of light. In photography, a light meter is often used to determine the proper exposure for a photograph....
     or by the photographer's knowledge and experience of gauging correct settings. To translate the amount of light into a usable aperture and shutter speed, the meter needs to adjust for the sensitivity of the film or sensor to light. This is done by setting the "film speed" or ISO sensitivity into the meter.
  • ISO speed – traditionally used to "tell the camera" the film speed
    Film speed

    Film speed is the measure of a photographic film sensitivity to light. Film with lower sensitivity requires a longer exposure and is thus called a slow film, while stock with higher sensitivity can shoot the same scene with a shorter exposure and is called a fast film....
     of the selected film on film cameras, ISO speeds are employed on modern digital cameras as an indication of the system's gain
    Gain

    In electronics, gain is a measure of the ability of a electrical network to increase the Power or amplitude of a Signal . It is usually defined as the mean ratio of the Signalling of a system to the Signalling of the same system....
     from light to numerical output and to control the automatic exposure system. A correct combination of ISO speed, aperture, and shutter speed leads to an image that is neither too dark nor too light.
  • Auto-focus
    Autofocus

    Autofocus is a feature of some optical systems that allows them to obtain correct Focus on a subject, instead of requiring the operator to adjust focus manually....
     point
    – on some cameras, the selection of a point in the imaging frame upon which the auto-focus system will attempt to focus. Many Single-lens reflex camera
    Single-lens reflex camera

    The single-lens reflex camera uses an automatic moving mirror system which permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging system, as opposed to non-SLR cameras where the view through the viewfinder could be significantly different from what was captured on film....
    s (SLR) feature multiple auto-focus points in the viewfinder.


Many other elements of the imaging device itself may have a pronounced effect on the quality and/or aesthetic effect of a given photograph; among them are:

  • Focal length and type of lens (telephoto
    Telephoto lens

    In photography and cinematography, a telephoto lens is a specific construction of a long focal length photographic lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length....
     or "long" lens, macro
    Macro photography

    Macro photography is close-up photography. The classical definition is that the projected on the "film plane" is close to the same size as the subject....
    , wide angle
    Wide-angle lens

    In photography and cinematography, a wide-angle lens is a Photographic lens whose focal length is substantially shorter than the focal length of a normal lens for the image size produced by the camera, whether this is dictated by the dimensions of the image frame at the film plane for film cameras or dimensions of the digital photography...
    , fisheye
    Fisheye lens

    In photography, a fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes in an extremely wide, Sphere image. Originally developed for use in meteorology to study cloud formation and called "whole-sky lenses", fisheye lenses quickly became popular in general photography for their unique, distorted appearance....
    , or zoom
    Zoom lens

    A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens with the ability to vary its focal length , as opposed to a fixed focal length lens . They are commonly used with still camera, video camera, motion picture camera cameras, projectors, some binoculars, microscopes, telescopes, telescopic sights, and other optical instruments....
    )
  • Filters placed between the subject and the light recording material, either in front of or behind the lens
  • Inherent sensitivity of the medium to light intensity and color/wavelengths.
  • The nature of the light recording material, for example its resolution as measured in pixels or grains of silver halide
    Silver halide

    A silver halide is one of the Chemical compound formed between silver and one of the halogens — silver bromide , silver chloride , silver iodide , and two forms of silver fluorides....
    .


Exposure and rendering


Camera controls are inter-related. The total amount of light reaching the film plane (the "exposure") changes with the duration of exposure, aperture of the lens, and, the effective focal length of the lens (which in variable focal length lenses, can change as the lens is zoomed). Changing any of these controls can alter the exposure. Many cameras may be set to adjust most or all of these controls automatically. This automatic functionality is useful for occasional photographers in many situations.

The duration of an exposure is referred to as shutter speed, often even in cameras that don't have a physical shutter, and is typically measured in fractions of a second. Aperture is expressed by an f-number or f-stop (derived from focal ratio), which is proportional to the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of the aperture. If the f-number is decreased by a factor of , the aperture diameter is increased by the same factor, and its area is increased by a factor of 2. The f-stops that might be found on a typical lens include 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, where going up "one stop" (using lower f-stop numbers) doubles the amount of light reaching the film, and stopping down one stop halves the amount of light.

Exposures can be achieved through various combinations of shutter speed and aperture. For example, f/8 at 8 ms (=1/125th of a second) and f/5.6 at 4 ms (=1/250th of a second) yield the same amount of light. The chosen combination has an impact on the final result. In addition to the subject or camera movement that might vary depending on the shutter speed, the aperture (and focal length of the lens) determine the depth of field, which refers to the range of distances from the lens that will be in focus. For example, using a long lens and a large aperture (f/2.8, for example), a subject's eyes might be in sharp focus, but not the tip of the nose. With a smaller aperture (f/22), or a shorter lens, both the subject's eyes and nose can be in focus. With very small apertures, such as pinholes
Pinhole camera

A pinhole camera is a very simple camera with no photographic lens and a single very small aperture. Simply explained, it is a light-proof box with a small hole in one side....
, a wide range of distance can be brought into focus.

Image capture is only part of the image forming process. Regardless of material, some process must be employed to render the latent image captured by the camera into the final photographic work. This process consists of two steps, development and printing.

During the printing process, modifications can be made to the print by several controls. Many of these controls are similar to controls during image capture, while some are exclusive to the printing process. Most controls have equivalent digital concepts, but some create different effects. For example, dodging and burning controls are different between digital and film processes. Other printing modifications include:

  • Chemicals and process used during film development
  • Duration of exposure – equivalent to shutter speed
    Shutter speed

    File:Sparklers with a slow shutter speed.JPGIn photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a shutter is open; the total Exposure is proportional to this exposure time, or duration of light reaching the Photographic film or ....
  • Printing aperture – equivalent to aperture
    Aperture

    In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light is admitted. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of ray that come to a focus in the ....
    , but has no effect on depth of field
  • Contrast
    Contrast (vision)

    Contrast is the difference in visual properties that makes an object distinguishable from other objects and the background. In visual perception of the real world, contrast is determined by the difference in the color and brightness of the object and other objects within the same field of view....
  • Dodging – reduces exposure of certain print areas, resulting in lighter areas
  • Burning in – increases exposure of certain areas, resulting in darker areas
  • Paper texture
    Photographic paper

    This article is about light-sensitive photographic media; for digital printing media please see Photo printer, photo paper and inkjet paper.Photographic paper is paper coated with light-sensitive chemicals, used for making photographic prints....
     – glossy
    Gloss (material appearance)

    Gloss is an optical property, which is based on the interaction of light with physical characteristics of a surface. It is actually the ability of a surface to reflect light into the specular direction....
    , matte, etc
  • Paper type – resin-coated (RC) or fiber-based (FB)
  • Paper size
    Paper size

    There have been many standard sizes of paper at different times and in different countries, but today there are two widespread systems in use: the international standard and the North American sizes....
  • Toners – used to add warm or cold tones to black and white prints


Uses


Photography gained the interest of many scientists and artists from its inception. Scientists have used photography to record and study movements, such as Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard J. Muybridge was an England List of photographers, known primarily for his early use of multiple cameras to capture motion , and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the celluloid film strip that is still used today....
's study of human and animal locomotion in 1887. Artists are equally interested by these aspects but also try to explore avenues other than the photo-mechanical representation of reality, such as the pictorialist movement. Military, police, and security forces use photography for surveillance, recognition and data storage. Photography is used by amateurs to preserve memories of favorite times, to capture special moments, to tell stories, to send messages, and as a source of entertainment. Many mobile phones now contain cameras to facilitate such use.

Commercial advertising relies heavily on photography and has contributed greatly to its development.

History


Photography is the result of combining several technical discoveries. Long before the first photographs were made, Chinese philosopher Mo Ti described a pinhole camera
Pinhole camera

A pinhole camera is a very simple camera with no photographic lens and a single very small aperture. Simply explained, it is a light-proof box with a small hole in one side....
 in the 5th century B.C.E, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965–1040) studied the camera obscura
Camera obscura

The camera obscura is an optical device used, for example, in drawing or for entertainment. It is one of the inventions leading to photography....
 and pinhole camera, Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus

Saint Albertus Magnus, Ordo Praedicatorum , also known as Saint Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, was a Dominican Order Dominican friar and bishop who achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of and advocacy for the peaceful Relationship between religion and science....
 (1193–1280) discovered silver nitrate
Silver nitrate

Silver nitrate, also known as lunar caustic, is a soluble chemical compound with chemical formula silverNitrogenOxygen3. This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography....
, and Georges Fabricius (1516–1571) discovered silver chloride
Silver chloride

Silver chloride is a chemical compound with the chemical formula SilverChlorine. This white crystalline solid is well known for its low solubility in water ....
. Daniel Barbaro described a diaphragm in 1568. Wilhelm Homberg described how light darkened some chemicals (photochemical effect) in 1694. The fiction book Giphantie
Giphantie

Giphantie is a novel by Tiphaigne de la Roche published in 1760.It is most famous for predicting the modern day process of photography according to M....
, by French author Tiphaigne de la Roche
Tiphaigne de la Roche

Tiphaigne de la Roche, Charles-Fran?ois, was a French author.He studied medicine at Caen university and became Physician in 1744.His romances, mainly written anonymously, take place in the wake of two of the great 18th century's philosophical movements that are Rationalism and Illuminism and often mix scientific considerations with...
, described what can be interpreted as photography.

Photography as a usable process goes back to the 1820s with the development of chemical photography. The first permanent photograph
Photograph

A photograph is an created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a Charge-coupled device or a Complementary metal?oxide?semiconductor chip....
 was an image produced in 1825 by the French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 inventor Nicéphore Niépce
Nicéphore Niépce

Joseph Nic?phore Ni?pce was a France inventor, most noted as the inventor of photography and a History of photography in the field. He is well-known for taking some of the earliest photographs, dating to the 1820s....
. However, because his photographs took so long to expose
Exposure (photography)

In photography, exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium during the process of taking a photograph. Exposure is measured in lux seconds, and can be computed from exposure value and scene luminance over a specified area....
, he sought to find a new process. Working in conjunction with Louis Daguerre
Louis Daguerre

Louis-Jacques-Mand? Daguerre was a France artist and chemist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography....
, they experimented with silver compounds based on a Johann Heinrich Schultz
Johann Heinrich Schultz

Johann Heinrich Schulze or Schultz was a Germany professor and polymath from Colbitz in the Duchy of Magdeburg....
 discovery in 1724 that a silver and chalk mixture darkens when exposed to light. Niépce died in 1833, but Daguerre continued the work, eventually culminating with the development of the daguerreotype
Daguerreotype

A daguerreotype is an early type of photograph, developed by Louis Daguerre, in which the image is exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver bearing a coating of silver halide particles deposited by iodine vapor....
 in 1837. Daguerre took the first ever photo of a person in 1839 when, while taking a daguerreotype of a Paris street, a pedestrian stopped for a shoe shine, long enough to be captured by the long exposure (several minutes). Eventually, France agreed to pay Daguerre a pension for his formula, in exchange for his promise to announce his discovery to the world as the gift of France, which he did in 1839.

Meanwhile, Hercules Florence
Hércules Florence

Antoine Hercule Romuald Florence was a French-Brazilian Painting and inventor, known as the isolate inventor of photography in Brazil, three years before Daguerre , using the matrix negative/positive, still in use....
 had already created a very similar process in 1832, naming it Photographie, and William Fox Talbot
William Fox Talbot

File:William Henry Fox Talbot, by John Moffat, 1864.jpgWilliam Henry Fox Talbot , was the inventor of the negative / positive photographic process, the precursor to most photographic processes of the 19th and 20th centuries....
 had earlier discovered another means to fix a silver process image but had kept it secret. After reading about Daguerre's invention, Talbot refined his process so that portraits were made readily available to the masses. By 1840, Talbot had invented the calotype
Calotype

Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. The term calotype comes from the Greek language ' for 'good', and ' for 'impression'....
 process, which creates negative
Negative (photography)

In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related....
 images. John Herschel
John Herschel

Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet Royal Guelphic Order, Fellow of the Royal Society was an England mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer/inventor, who in some years also did valuable botanical work....
 made many contributions to the new methods. He invented the cyanotype
Cyanotype

Cyanotype is a photographic process that gives a cyan print.The English scientist and astronomer Sir John Herschel discovered this procedure in 1842....
 process, now familiar as the "blueprint". He was the first to use the terms "photography", "negative" and "positive". He discovered sodium thiosulphate solution to be a solvent of silver halides in 1819, and informed Talbot and Daguerre of his discovery in 1839 that it could be used to "fix" pictures and make them permanent. He made the first glass negative in late 1839.

In March 1851, Frederick Scott Archer
Frederick Scott Archer

Frederick Scott Archer invented the photographic collodion process which preceded the modern photographic film. He was born in Bishop's Stortford in the United Kingdom and is remembered mainly for this single achievement which greatly increased the accessibility of photography for the general public....
 published his findings in "The Chemist" on the wet plate collodion
Collodion

Collodion an inflammable, syrupy solution of Nitrocellulose in ether and alcohol, used as a surgical dressing or to hold dressings in place. When painted on the skin, collodion dries to form a flexible cellulose film....
 process. This became the most widely used process between 1852 and the late 1880s when the dry plate was introduced. There are three subsets to the Collodion process; the Ambrotype
Ambrotype

The ambrotype process or amphitype is a photography process that creates a positive photographic image on a sheet of glass using the wet plate collodion process....
 (positive image on glass), the Ferrotype or Tintype (positive image on metal) and the negative which was printed on Albumen or Salt paper.

Many advances in photographic glass plates and printing were made in through the nineteenth century. In 1884, George Eastman
George Eastman

George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company and invented roll film, helping to bring photography to the mainstream. Roll film was also the basis for the invention of the film stock in 1888 by world's first filmmaker, Louis Le Prince, and a decade later by his followers L?on Bouly, Thomas Edison, the Lumi?re Brothers and Georges M?li?s....
 developed the technology of film
Photographic film

Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and of the film....
 to replace photographic plate
Photographic plate

Photographic plates preceded photographic film as a mean of photography. A light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was applied to a glass plate....
s, leading to the technology used by film cameras today.

In 1908 Gabriel Lippmann
Gabriel Lippmann

Jonas Ferdinand Gabriel Lippmann was a France-Luxembourgish physicist and inventor, and Nobel Prize in Physics in physics for his method of reproducing colours photographically based on the phenomenon of interference, later known as the Lippmann plate....
 won the Nobel Laureate in Physics for his method of reproducing colours photographically based on the phenomenon of interference
Interference

In physics, interference is the addition of two or more waves that result in a new wave pattern.Interference usually refers to the interaction of waves which are correlated or Coherence with each other, either because they come from the same source or because they have the same or nearly the same frequency....
, also known as the Lippmann plate
Lippmann plate

The Lippmann plate was an early form of colour photography developed in 1891 by Gabriel Lippmann, a physicist. Lippmann won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1908 for its development....
.

Processes


Black-and-white


All photography was originally monochrome, most of these photographs were black-and-white
Black-and-white

Black-and-white is a number of monochrome forms in visual arts. Most forms of visual technology start out in black and white, then slowly evolve into color as technology progresses....
. Even after color film was readily available, black-and-white photography continued to dominate for decades, due to its lower cost and its "classic" photographic look. It is important to note that some monochromatic pictures are not always pure blacks and whites, but also contain other hues depending on the process. The Cyanotype process produces an image of blue and white for example. The albumen process which was used more than 150 years ago had brown tones.

Many photographers continue to produce some monochrome images. Some full color digital images are processed using a variety of techniques to create black and whites, and some cameras have even been produced to exclusively shoot monochrome.

Color


Color photography
Color photography

Color photography is photography that uses media capable of representing colors which are produced chemically during the Photographic processes phase....
 was explored beginning in the mid 1800s. Early experiments in color could not fix the photograph and prevent the color from fading. The first permanent color photo was taken in 1861 by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell

James Clerk Maxwell was a Scotland Mathematical physics. His most significant achievement was the development of the classical electromagnetic theory, synthesizing all previous unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and even optics into a consistent theory....
.

Prokudin Gorskii 12
One of the early methods of taking color photos was to use three cameras. Each camera would have a color filter in front of the lens. This technique provides the photographer
Photographer

A photographer is a person who takes a photograph using a camera. A professional photographer uses photography to make a living whilst an amateur photographer does not earn a living and typically takes photographs for pleasure and to record an event, place or person for future enjoyment....
 with the three basic channels required to recreate a color image in a darkroom
Darkroom

A darkroom is a workspace, usually a separate area in a building or a vehicle, made dark to allow photographers to use light-sensitive materials to develop Photographic film and photographic paper to make photography....
 or processing plant. Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii
Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii

Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky was a Russian photography. Prokudin-Gorsky was born in Murom in what is now Vladimir Oblast, Russia and educated as a chemist....
 developed another technique, with three color plates taken in quick succession.

Practical application of the technique was held back by the very limited color response of early film; however, in the early 1900s, following the work of photo-chemists such as H. W. Vogel
Hermann W. Vogel

Hermann Wilhelm Vogel was a Germany photochemistry and photography who made key contributions to practical color photography. From 1860 he was a professor at Berlin's Technische Hochschule , where he introduced photography as a field of study....
, emulsions with adequate sensitivity to green and red light at last became available.

The first color plate, Autochrome
Autochrome Lumière

The Autochrome Lumi?re is an early color photography process. Patented in 1903 by the Lumi?re brothers in France and first marketed in 1907, it remained the principal color photography process available until it was superseded by the advent of color photographic film during the mid 1930s....
, invented by the French Lumière brothers, reached the market in 1907. It was based on a 'screen-plate' filter made of dyed dots of potato starch, and was the only color film on the market until German Agfa introduced the similar Agfacolor
Agfacolor

Agfacolor is a series of color photographic products produced by Agfa of Germany. It was originally introduced in 1932 as a 'screen plate' version, similar to the Autochrome process, but in late 1936 Agfa introduced Agfacolor-Neu transparency film....
 in 1932. In 1935, American Kodak introduced the first modern ('integrated tri-pack') color film, Kodachrome
Kodachrome

Kodachrome is the trademarked name of a brand of reversal film manufactured by Eastman Kodak. Since its introduction in 1935 it has been produced in various photography and movie formats, 8 mm film, 16mm film and 35mm film, and was for many years used for professional color photography, especially for images intended for publication in pri...
, based on three colored emulsions. This was followed in 1936 by Agfa's Agfacolor Neue
Agfacolor

Agfacolor is a series of color photographic products produced by Agfa of Germany. It was originally introduced in 1932 as a 'screen plate' version, similar to the Autochrome process, but in late 1936 Agfa introduced Agfacolor-Neu transparency film....
. Unlike the Kodachrome tri-pack process, the color couplers in Agfacolor Neue were integral with the emulsion layers, which greatly simplified the film processing. Most modern color films, except Kodachrome, are based on the Agfacolor Neue technology. Instant color film
Instant film

Instant film is a photographic film that is designed to be used in an instant camera . The film contains thechemicals needed for developing and fixing the photo, and the instant camera exposes and initiates the film developing process after a photograph has been taken....
 was introduced by Polaroid
Polaroid Corporation

Polaroid Corporation was founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land. It is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948, and continued to be the company's flagship product line until the February 2008 decision to cease all production in favor of digital photography products....
 in 1963.

Color photography may form images as a positive transparency, intended for use in a slide projector
Slide projector

A slide projector is an opto-mechanical device to view Photography Transparency . It has four main elements: a fan-cooled electric light bulb or other light source, a reflector and "condensing" lens to direct the light to the slide, a holder for the slide and a focusing lens ....
, or as color negatives intended for use in creating positive color enlargements on specially coated paper. The latter is now the most common form of film (non-digital) color photography owing to the introduction of automated photoprinting equipment.

Full-spectrum, ultraviolet and infrared


Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet photography

Ultraviolet photography is a photographic process of recording s by using light from the ultraviolet spectrum only....
 and infrared
Infrared photography

In infrared photography, the film or used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the visible spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging....
 films have been available for many decades and employed in a variety of photographic avenues since the 1960s. New technological trends in digital photography have opened a new direction in full spectrum photography
Full spectrum photography

Full-spectrum photography is a subset of full-spectrum imaging, defined currently among photography enthusiasts as imaging with consumer cameras the full, broad spectrum of a film or camera sensor bandwidth....
, where careful filtering choices across the ultraviolet, visible and infrared lead to new artistic visions.

Modified digital cameras can detect some ultraviolet, all of the visible and much of the near infrared spectrum, as most digital imaging sensors are sensitive from about 350nm to 1000nm. An off-the-shelf digital camera contains an infrared hot mirror
Hot mirror

A hot mirror is a specialized dielectric mirror, a dichroic filter, often employed to protect optical systems by reflecting infrared light back into a light source, while allowing visible light to pass....
 filter that blocks most of the infrared and a bit of the ultraviolet that would otherwise be detected by the sensor, narrowing the accepted range from about 400nm to 700nm. Replacing a hot mirror
Hot mirror

A hot mirror is a specialized dielectric mirror, a dichroic filter, often employed to protect optical systems by reflecting infrared light back into a light source, while allowing visible light to pass....
 or infrared blocking filter with an infrared pass or a wide spectrally transmitting filter allows the camera to detect the wider spectrum light at greater sensitivity. Without the hot-mirror, the red, green and blue (or cyan, yellow and magenta) colored micro-filters placed over the sensor elements pass varying amounts of ultraviolet (blue window) and infrared (primarily red, and somewhat lesser the green and blue micro-filters).

Uses of full spectrum photography are for fine art photography
Fine art photography

File:The Steerage 1907 Stieglitz.jpgFine art photography refers to photographs that are created to fulfill the creative vision of the artist. Fine art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism and commercial photography....
, geology
Remote sensing

Remote sensing is the small or large-scale acquisition of information of an object or phenomenon, by the use of either recording or real-time sensing device that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object ....
, forensics
History of forensic photography

Forensic photography encompasses documenting both suspected and convicted criminals, and also the crime scenes, victims, and other evidence needed to make a conviction....
 & law enforcement, and even some claimed use in ghost hunting
Ghost hunting

Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations said to be List of reportedly haunted locations.Typically, a ghost "hunting party" will involve 4-8 individuals who work as a team in an attempt to collect evidence of paranormal activity....
.

Digital

Nikon D1
Traditional photography burdened photographers working at remote locations without easy access to processing facilities, and competition from television pressured photographers to deliver images to newspapers with greater speed. Photo journalists at remote locations often carried miniature photo labs and a means of transmitting images through telephone lines. In 1981, Sony unveiled the first consumer camera to use a charge-coupled device
Charge-coupled device

A charge-coupled device is an analog signal shift register that enables the transportation of analog signals through successive stages , controlled by a clock signal....
 for imaging, eliminating the need for film: the Sony Mavica
Sony Mavica

Mavica was a brand of Sony cameras which used removable disks as the main recording media. In August, 1981, Sony released the Sony Mavica electronic still camera, the first commercial electronic camera....
. While the Mavica saved images to disk, the images were displayed on television, and the camera was not fully digital. In 1990, Kodak unveiled the DCS 100, the first commercially available digital camera. Although its high cost precluded uses other than photojournalism
Photojournalism

Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, and in some cases to video used in broadcast journalism or for personal use....
 and professional photography, commercial digital photography
Digital photography

Digital photography is a form of photography that utilizes digital technology to make s of subjects. Until the advent of such technology, photography used photographic film to create images which could be made visible by photographic processing....
 was born.

Digital imaging uses an electronic image sensor
Image sensor

An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices....
 to record the image as a set of electronic data rather than as chemical changes on film. The primary difference between digital and chemical photography is that chemical photography resists manipulation because it involves film
Photographic film

Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and of the film....
 and photographic paper
Photographic paper

This article is about light-sensitive photographic media; for digital printing media please see Photo printer, photo paper and inkjet paper.Photographic paper is paper coated with light-sensitive chemicals, used for making photographic prints....
, while digital imaging is a highly manipulative medium. This difference allows for a degree of image post-processing that is comparatively difficult in film-based photography and permits different communicative potentials and applications.

Digital point-and-shoot cameras have become widespread consumer products, outselling film cameras, and including new features such as video
Video

Video is the technology of electronics Videography, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing Scene in motion....
 and audio
Digital audio

Digital audio uses digital signals for sound reproduction. This includes Analog-to-digital converter, Digital-to-analog converter, storage, and transmission....
 recording. Kodak announced in January 2004 that it would no longer sell reloadable 35 mm cameras in western Europe
Western Europe

Western Europe refers to the countries in the western most half of Europe. This concept has had different meanings, political and cultural as well as geographical issues have influenced the area....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 and the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 after the end of that year. Kodak was at that time a minor player in the reloadable film cameras market. In January 2006, Nikon
Nikon

, also known as Nikon or Nikon Corp., is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan specializing in optics and imaging....
 followed suit and announced that they will stop the production of all but two models of their film cameras: the low-end Nikon FM10
Nikon FM10

The Nikon FM10 is an interchangeable photographic lens, 135 film, focal plane shutter, manual focus, single-lens reflex camera camera introduced in 1995....
, and the high-end Nikon F6
Nikon F6

The Nikon F6 is a 35 mm Photographic film-based single-lens reflex camera body that became commercially available in 2004, and is the sixth top-of-the-line professional film camera in Nikon's line since the introduction of the Nikon F in 1959....
. On May 25, 2006, Canon
Canon Inc.

is a Japanese multinational corporation that specialises in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, Photocopying and computer printers....
 announced they will stop developing new film SLR cameras. Though most new camera designs are now digital, a new 6x6cm/6x7cm medium format film camera was introduced in 2008 in a cooperation between Fuji
Fuji

Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan. Fuji can refer to:...
 and Voigtländer
Voigtländer

Voigtl?nder is an optical company founded by Johann Christoph Voigtl?nder in Vienna in 1756 and thus the oldest name in cameras. It produced the Petzval photographic lens in 1840, and the world's first all-metal daguerrotype camera in 1841, also bringing out plate cameras shortly afterwards....
.

According to a survey made by Kodak in 2007, 75 percent of professional photographers say they will continue to use film, even though some embrace digital.

According to the U.S. survey results, more than two-thirds (68 percent) of professional photographers prefer the results of film to those of digital for certain applications including:

  • film’s superiority in capturing more information on medium and large format films (48 percent);
  • creating a traditional photographic look (48 percent);
  • capturing shadow and highlighting details (45 percent);
  • the wide exposure latitude of film (42 percent); and
  • archival storage (38 percent)


Digital imaging has raised many ethical concerns because of the ease of manipulating digital photographs in post processing. Many photojournalists have declared they will not crop their pictures, or are forbidden from combining elements of multiple photos to make "illustrations," passing them as real photographs. Today's technology has made picture editing relatively simple for even the novice photographer. However, recent changes of in-camera processing allows digital fingerprinting of RAW photos to verify against tampering of digital photos for forensics use.

Camera phones, combined with sites like flickr
Flickr

Flickr is an and video hosting service website, web services suite, and online community platform. In addition to being a popular Web site for users to share personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers as a photo repository....
, have lead to a new kind of social photography.

Modes of production


Amateur

An amateur photographer is one who practices photography as a hobby
Hobby

A hobby is a leisure recreational pursuit....
 and not for profit. The quality of some amateur work is comparable or superior to that of many professional
Professional

A professional is a person who has completed a doctoral or law program or equivalent .A professional is someone who has a professional degree - a number one on the Hollingshead scale....
s and may be highly specialised or eclectic
Eclectic

eclectic;consisting of parts selected from various sourceseclectic may refer to:* Eclecticism, philosophical movement, artistic movement, etc....
 in its choice of subjects. Amateur photography is often pre-eminent in photographic subjects which have little prospect of commercial use or reward.

Commercial

Freak Out, Oblivion, Night
Commercial photography is probably best defined as any photography for which the photographer is paid for image
Image

An image is an artifact, usually two-dimensional , that has a similar appearance to some subject —usually a physical object or a person....
s rather than works of art. In this light money could be paid for the subject of the photograph or the photograph itself. Wholesale, retail, and professional uses of photography would fall under this definition. The commercial photographic world could include:
  • Advertising photography: photographs made to illustrate and usually sell a service or product. These images, such as packshot
    Packshot

    File:Packshot fingernail polish.jpgA packshot is a still or moving of a product, usually including its packaging and labeling, used to portray the product's reputation in advertising or other Media ....
    s, are generally done with an advertising agency
    Advertising agency

    An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services....
    , design firm
    Design firm

    A design firm is an organisation that designs any of a variety of things, in one or more of the design fields, such as graphic design, web design, architectural design, engineering, or interior design....
     or with an in-house corporate design team.
  • Fashion and glamour photography: This type of photography usually incorporates models. Fashion photography
    Fashion photography

    Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue , Vanity Fair , or Allure ....
     emphasizes the clothes or product, glamour emphasizes the model. Glamour photography is popular in advertising and in men's magazines. Models in glamour photography
    Glamour photography

    Glamour photography is the photography of a photographic model with the emphasis on the subject. Photographers use a combination of cosmetics, lighting and airbrushing techniques to produce the most physically appealing image of the model possible....
     may be nude, but this is not always the case.
  • Crime Scene Photography: This type of photography consists of photographing scenes of crime such as robberies and murders. A black and white camera or an infrared camera may be used to capture specific details.
  • Still life photography
    Still life photography

    Still life photography is the depiction of inanimate subject matter, most typically a small grouping of objects that are either human-made or "natural." Still life photography, more so than other types of photography, such as Landscape art or Portrait photography, gives the photographer more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within...
     usually depicts inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made.
  • Food photography
    Food photography

    Food photography is a still life specialization of commercial photography, aimed at producing attractive photographs of food for use in advertisements, packaging, menus or cookbooks....
     can be used for editorial, packaging or advertising use. Food photography is similar to still life photography, but requires some special skills.
  • Editorial photography: photographs made to illustrate a story or idea within the context of a magazine. These are usually assigned by the magazine.
  • Photojournalism
    Photojournalism

    Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, and in some cases to video used in broadcast journalism or for personal use....
    : this can be considered a subset of editorial photography. Photographs made in this context are accepted as a documentation of a news story.
  • Portrait
    Portrait photography

    Portrait photography is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people, in which the face and its expression is predominant....
     and wedding photography
    Wedding photography

    Wedding photography is the photography of activities relating to weddings. It covers both photographs of the couple before marriage as well as coverage of the wedding and wedding reception also sometimes referred to as the wedding breakfast in non-US countries....
    : photographs made and sold directly to the end user of the images.
  • Landscape photography
    Nature photography

    Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes , wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures....
    : photographs of different locations.
  • Wildlife photography
    Nature photography

    Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes , wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures....
     that demonstrates life of the animals.
  • Photo sharing
    Photo sharing

    Photo sharing is the electronic publishing or transfer of a user's digital photography online, thus enabling the user to share them with others ....
    : publishing or transfer of a user's digital photos online.
  • paparazzi
    Paparazzi

    File:Paparazzi by David Shankbone.jpgPaparazzi is a plural term for photographers who take unstaged and/or candid photographys of celebrities caught unaware....
The market for photographic services demonstrates the aphorism
Aphorism

The word aphorism denotes an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and easily memorable form.The name was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates....
 "one picture is worth a thousand words," which has an interesting basis in the history of photography. Magazines and newspapers, companies putting up Web sites, advertising agencies and other groups pay for photography.

Many people take photographs for self-fulfillment or for commercial purposes. Organizations with a budget and a need for photography have several options: they can employ a photographer directly, organize a public competition, or obtain rights to stock photographs
Stock photography

Stock photography consists of existing photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. Publishers, advertising agencies, graphic artists, and others use stock photography to fulfill the needs of their creative assignments....
. Photo stock can be procured through traditional stock giants, such as Getty Images
Getty Images

Getty Images, Inc. is a Stock photography, based in Seattle, Washington, USA.It is a supplier of stock images for business and consumers with an archive of 70 million still images and illustrations and more than 30,000 hours of stock film footage....
 or Corbis
Corbis

Corbis Corporation is a buyer/seller of high-quality photography and film footage and related rights, based in Seattle, Washington. It has a collection of more than 100 million creative, entertainment and historic images, a comprehensive footage library, extensive rights and clearances expertise, and a roster of elite assignment photographers...
; smaller microstock
Microstock photography

Microstock photography, also known as micropayment photography, is an offshoot of traditional stock photography. What defines a company as a microstock photography company is that they source their images almost exclusively via the Internet, do so from a wider range of photographers than the traditional stock agencies , and sell the...
 agencies, such as Fotolia
Fotolia

Fotolia is a microstock photography agency that is based in New York City, New York. It was started by Olag Tscheltzoff, Patrick Chassany, Thibaud Elziere in November 2005....
; or web marketplaces, such as Cutcaster.

As an art form

the Steerage 1907 Stieglitz Corrected
During the twentieth century, both fine art photography
Fine art photography

File:The Steerage 1907 Stieglitz.jpgFine art photography refers to photographs that are created to fulfill the creative vision of the artist. Fine art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism and commercial photography....
 and documentary photography
Documentary photography

Documentary photography usually refers to a type of professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur or student pursuit. The photographer attempts to produce truthful, objective, and usually candid photography of a particular subject, most often pictures of people....
 became accepted by the English-speaking
Anglophone

An Anglophone is someone who speaks the English language. As an adjective, it refers to belonging to an English-speaking population especially in a country where two or more languages are spoken....
 art
Art

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature....
 world and the gallery
Art gallery

An art gallery or art museum is a space for the art exhibition, usually visual art. Paintings are the most commonly displayed art objects; however, sculpture, photographs, illustrations, installation art and objects from the applied arts may also be shown....
 system. In the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, a handful of photographers, including Alfred Stieglitz
Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his fifty-year career in making photography an accepted art form....
, Edward Steichen
Edward Steichen

Edward Steichen was an American photography, Painting, and art gallery and museum curator, born in Bivange, Luxembourg. His family moved to the United States in 1881 and he became a naturalized citizen in 1900....
, John Szarkowski
John Szarkowski

John Szarkowski was an influential photographer, curator, historian, and critic. From 1962 to 1991 Szarkowski was the Director of Photography at New York City's Museum of Modern Art....
, F. Holland Day
F. Holland Day

Fred Holland Day was an American photographer and publisher. He was the first in the U.S.A. to advocate that photography should be considered a fine art....
, and Edward Weston
Edward Weston

Edward Henry Weston was an United States photography, and co-founder of Group f/64. Most of his work was done using an 8 by 10 inch view camera....
, spent their lives advocating for photography as a fine art. At first, fine art photographers tried to imitate painting styles. This movement is called Pictorialism, often using soft focus for a dreamy, 'romantic' look. In reaction to that, Weston, Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams

Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West and primarily Yosemite National Park....
, and others formed the Group f/64
Group f/64

Group f/64 was a group of seven 20th century San Francisco List of photographers who shared a common photographic style characterized by sharp-focused and carefully framed images seen through a particularly Western viewpoint....
 to advocate 'straight photography', the photograph as a (sharply focused) thing in itself and not an imitation of something else.

The aesthetics
Aesthetics

Aesthetics or esthetics is commonly known as the study of senses or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste ....
 of photography is a matter that continues to be discussed regularly, especially in artistic circles. Many artists argued that photography was the mechanical reproduction of an image. If photography is authentically art, then photography in the context of art would need redefinition, such as determining what component of a photograph makes it beautiful
Beauty

Beauty is a characteristic of a person, Location , Object , or idea that provides a perception experience of pleasure, Value , or satisfaction....
 to the viewer. The controversy began with the earliest images "written with light"; Nicéphore Niépce
Nicéphore Niépce

Joseph Nic?phore Ni?pce was a France inventor, most noted as the inventor of photography and a History of photography in the field. He is well-known for taking some of the earliest photographs, dating to the 1820s....
, Louis Daguerre
Louis Daguerre

Louis-Jacques-Mand? Daguerre was a France artist and chemist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography....
, and others among the very earliest photographers were met with acclaim, but some questioned if their work met the definitions and purposes of art.

Clive Bell
Clive Bell

Arthur Clive Heward Bell was an England Art critic, associated with the Bloomsbury group....
 in his classic essay Art states that only "significant form" can distinguish art from what is not art.

On February 14th 2006 Sotheby’s London sold the 2001 photograph "99 Cent II Diptychon
99 Cent II Diptychon

The artwork "99 Cent II Diptychon" from 2001 is a two part photograph made by Andreas Gursky probably in 1999, as the work is sometimes called "99 cent.1999"....
" for an unprecedented $3,346,456 to an anonymous bidder making it the most expensive of all time.
  • Conceptual photography
    Conceptual photography

    Conceptual photography is a photography genre in which the artists makes a photograph of a concept or idea. This kind of photography often involves use of computer editing, to achieve the desired effects....
    : Photography that turns a concept or idea into a photograph. Even though what is depicted in the photographs are real objects, the subject is strictly abstract.


Scientific and forensic

The camera has a long and distinguished history as a means of recording phenomena from the first use by Daguerre and Fox-Talbot, such as astronomical events (eclipses for example) and small creatures when the camera was attached to the eyepiece of microscopes (in photomicroscopy
Micrograph

A micrograph, microphotograph or photomicrograph is a photograph or similar image taken through a microscope or similar device to show a magnified image of an item....
). The camera also proved useful in recording crime scene
Crime scene

A crime scene is a location where an Law act took place, and comprises the area from which most of the Forensic identification is retrieved by trained police, crime scene investigators or in rare circumstances, Forensic science....
s and the scenes of accidents, one of the first applications being at the scene of the Tay Rail Bridge
Tay Rail Bridge

The Tay Bridge is a railway bridge approximately two and a quarter miles long that spans the Firth of Tay in Scotland, between the city of Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife ....
 disaster of 1879. The court, just a few days after the accident, ordered James Valentine
James Valentine

James Valentine may refer to:*James Valentine , Scottish*James Valentine , Australian; also musician*James W. Valentine , American biologist...
 of Dundee to record the scene using both long distance shots and close-ups of the debris. The set of accident photographs was used in the subsequent court of inquiry so that witnesses could identify pieces of the wreckage, and the technique is now commonplace both at accident scenes and subsequent cases in courts of law. The set of over 50 Tay bridge photographs are of very high quality, being made on large plate cameras with a small aperture and using fine grain emulsion film on a glass plate. When scanned at high resolution, they can be enlarged to show details of the failed components such as broken cast iron
Cast iron

Cast iron usually refers to Gray iron, but also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys, which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy....
 lugs and the tie bars which failed to hold the towers in place. They show that, in the words of the Public Inquiry
Public inquiry

A Public inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government. A public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more public forum and focuses on a more specific occurrence....
 the bridge was badly designed, badly built and badly maintained. The methods used in analysing old photographs are known as forensic photography
Forensic photography

Forensic photography is the art of producing an accurate reproduction of a crime scene or an accident scene for the benefit of a court or to aid in the investigation....
.

Between 1846 and 1852 Charles Brooke
Charles Brooke (surgeon)

Charles Brooke Fellow of the Royal Society , surgeon and inventor....
 invented a technology for the automatic registration of instruments by photography. These instruments included barometer
Barometer

A barometer is an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure. It can measure the pressure exerted by the atmosphere by using water, air, or mercury ....
s, thermometer
Thermometer

The thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles; it comes from the Greek language roots thermo, heat, and meter, to measure....
s, psychrometers, and magnetometer
Magnetometer

A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of the magnetic field in the vicinity of the instrument....
s, which recorded their readings by means of an automated photographic process. Photographs have become ubiquitous in recording events and data in science and engineering, and at crime scene
Crime scene

A crime scene is a location where an Law act took place, and comprises the area from which most of the Forensic identification is retrieved by trained police, crime scene investigators or in rare circumstances, Forensic science....
s or accident scenes.

Other image forming techniques

Besides the camera, other methods of forming images with light are available. For instance, a photocopy or xerography
Xerography

Xerography is a photocopying technique developed by Chester Carlson in 1938 and patented on October 6, 1942. He received for his invention. Although dry electrostatic printing processes had been invented as far back as 1778 by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Carlson's innovation combined electrostatic printing with photography....
 machine forms permanent images but uses the transfer of static electrical charges
Electric charge

Electric charge is a fundamental conserved property of some subatomic particles, which determines their electromagnetic interaction. Electrically charged matter is influenced by, and produces, electromagnetic fields....
 rather than photographic film, hence the term electrophotography. Photogram
Photogram

A photogram is a Photography image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a photo-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light....
s are images produced by the shadows of objects cast on the photographic paper, without the use of a camera. Objects can also be placed directly on the glass of an image scanner
Image scanner

In computing, a scanner is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital image. Common examples found in offices are variations of the desktop scanner where the document is placed on a glass window for scanning....
 to produce digital pictures.

Social and cultural implications

There are many ongoing questions about different aspects of photography. In her writing “On Photography” (1977) Susan Sontag discusses concerns about the objectivity of photography. This is a highly debated subject within the photographic community (Bissell, 2000). It has been concluded that photography is a subjective discipline “to photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. It means putting one’s self into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge, and therefore like power” (Sontag, 1977: p 4). Photographers decide what to take a photo of, what elements to exclude and what angle to frame the photo. Along with the context that a photograph is received in, photography is definitely a subjective form.

Modern photography has raised a number of concerns on its impact on society. The concept of the camera being a 'phallic' tool has been exemplified in a number of Hollywood productions. In Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954), the camera is presented as a promoter of voyeuristic inhibitions. 'Although the camera is an observation station, the act of photographing is more than passive observing' [Sontag Susan 1977: p 12]. Michal Powell's Peeping Tom (1960) portrays the camera as both sexual and sadistically violent technology that literally kills in this picture and at the same time captures images of the pain and anguish evident on the faces of the female victims.

"The camera doesn't rape or even possess, though it may presume, intrude, trespass, distort, exploit, and, at the farthest reach of metaphor, assasinate- all activities that, unike the sexual push and shove, can be conducted from a distance, and with some detachment" [Sontag Susan 1977: p 12]



Photography is one of the new media forms that changes perception and changes the structure of society (Levinson, 1997). Further unease has been caused around cameras in regards to desensitization. Fears that disturbing or explicit images are widely accessible to children and society at large have been raised. Particularly, photos of war and pornography are causing a stir. (Sontag). Sontag is concerned that “to photograph is to turn people into objects that can be symbolically possessed”. Desensitization discussion goes hand in hand with debates about censored images. Sontag writes of her concern that the ability to censor pictures means the photographer has the ability to construct reality.

Photography and the law


Photography is both restricted and protected by the law in many jurisdictions. Protection of photographs is typically achieved through the granting of copyright or moral rights to the photographer.

See also


Technical principles

  • Angle of view
    Angle of view

    In photography, angle of view describes the angle extent of a given scene that is imaged by a camera. It parallels, and may be used interchangeably with, the more general visual term field of view....
  • Aperture
    Aperture

    In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light is admitted. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of ray that come to a focus in the ....
  • Color temperature
    Color temperature

    Color temperature is a characteristic of visible light that has important applications in lighting, photography, videography, publishing, and other fields....
  • Depth of field
    Depth of field

    In optics, particularly as it relates to film and photography, the depth of field is the portion of a scene that appears sharp in the image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on either side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under nor...
  • Depth of focus
    Depth of focus

    Depth of focus is a Lens optics concept that measures the tolerance of placement of the image plane in relation to the lens. In a camera, depth of focus indicates the tolerance of the film's displacement within the camera, and is therefore sometimes referred to as "lens-to-film tolerance."...
  • Digital versus film photography
    Digital versus film photography

    Digital versus film photography is a topic sometimes debated by photographers. Between Digital photography and Photographic film, each format has advantages, and the different natures of these two technologies usually render the question "Which is better, film or digital?" meaningless without the qualifier "...for what purpose?" Strictly sp...
  • Double exposure
    Multiple exposure

    In photography, a multiple exposure is an exposure in which the sensitivity to light is reduced and then increased at least once during the total exposure time....
  • Exposure
    Exposure (photography)

    In photography, exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium during the process of taking a photograph. Exposure is measured in lux seconds, and can be computed from exposure value and scene luminance over a specified area....
  • F-number
    F-number

    In optics, the f-number of an optical system expresses the diameter of the entrance pupil in terms of the focal length of the photographic lens; in simpler terms, the f-number is the focal length divided by the "effective" aperture diameter....
  • Film format
    Film format

    A film format is a technical definition of a set of standard characteristics regarding image capture on photographic film, for either stills or movies....
  • Film speed
    Film speed

    Film speed is the measure of a photographic film sensitivity to light. Film with lower sensitivity requires a longer exposure and is thus called a slow film, while stock with higher sensitivity can shoot the same scene with a shorter exposure and is called a fast film....
  • Perspective distortion
    Perspective distortion (photography)

    In photography and cinematography, perspective distortion describes one of two phenomena ? the appearance of a part of the subject as abnormally large, relative to the rest of the scene, or an apparent lack of distance between objects in the foreground and those behind them....
  • Photographic printing
    Photographic printing

    Photographic printing is the process of producing a final image on paper for viewing, using chemically sensitized photographic paper. The paper is exposed to a photographic Negative , a positive reversal film, or a digital image file projected using an enlarger or digital exposure unit such as a LightJet printer....
  • Photographic processes
  • Pinhole camera
    Pinhole camera

    A pinhole camera is a very simple camera with no photographic lens and a single very small aperture. Simply explained, it is a light-proof box with a small hole in one side....
  • Reciprocity (photography)
    Reciprocity (photography)

    In photography and holography, reciprocity refers to the inverse relationship between the intensity and duration of light that determines exposure of light-sensitive material....
  • Red-eye effect
    Red-eye effect

    The red-eye effect in photography is the common appearance of red pupils in color photographs of eyes. It occurs when using a photographic Flash very close to the camera lens , in ambient low light....
  • Rule of thirds
    Rule of thirds

    The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design.The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these li...
  • Science of photography
    Science of photography

    Science of photography refers to the use of science, such as chemistry and physics, in all aspects of photography. This applies to the camera, its lenses, physical operation of the camera, electronic camera internals, and the process of developing Photographic film in order to take and develop pictures properly....
  • Shutter speed
    Shutter speed

    File:Sparklers with a slow shutter speed.JPGIn photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a shutter is open; the total Exposure is proportional to this exposure time, or duration of light reaching the Photographic film or ....
  • Zone System
    Zone system

    The Zone System is a photography technique for determining optimal photographic film exposure and Photographic processing, formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer in 1941....


Forms

  • Architectural photography
  • Candid photography
    Candid photography

    Candid photography is photography that focuses on spontaneity rather than technique, on the immersion of a camera within events rather than focusing on setting up a staged situation or on preparing a lengthy camera setup....
  • Cloudscape photography
  • Documentary photography
    Documentary photography

    Documentary photography usually refers to a type of professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur or student pursuit. The photographer attempts to produce truthful, objective, and usually candid photography of a particular subject, most often pictures of people....
  • Erotic photography
    History of erotic photography

    Erotic photography is a style of art photography of an erotic, sexually suggestive and even sexually provocative nature. Though the subjects of erotic photography are usually completely or mostly nudity, that is not a requirement....
  • Fashion photography
    Fashion photography

    Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue , Vanity Fair , or Allure ....
  • Fine art photography
    Fine art photography

    File:The Steerage 1907 Stieglitz.jpgFine art photography refers to photographs that are created to fulfill the creative vision of the artist. Fine art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism and commercial photography....
  • Fire photography
    Fire photography

    Fire photography is the act of taking photographs of firefighting operations. Individuals that practice this form of photography are called fire photographers....
  • Forensic photography
    Forensic photography

    Forensic photography is the art of producing an accurate reproduction of a crime scene or an accident scene for the benefit of a court or to aid in the investigation....
  • Food photography
    Food photography

    Food photography is a still life specialization of commercial photography, aimed at producing attractive photographs of food for use in advertisements, packaging, menus or cookbooks....
  • Glamour photography
    Glamour photography

    Glamour photography is the photography of a photographic model with the emphasis on the subject. Photographers use a combination of cosmetics, lighting and airbrushing techniques to produce the most physically appealing image of the model possible....
  • Head shot
    Head shot

    A headshot is a photographic technique where the focus of the photograph is a person's face. Headshot is essentially the same as portrait. However, headshot is an image that portrays people as they are and is more of a 'mug shot', however simple or stylized it might be....
  • Landscape art
    Landscape art

    Landscape art depicts scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests. Sky is almost always included in the view, and weather usually is an element of the composition....
  • Miksang
    Miksang

    Miksang is a Tibetan word meaning "good eye" and represents a form of contemplative photography based on the Dharma Art teachings of Ch?gyam Trungpa, in which the eye is in synchronisation with the contemplative mind....
     (contemplative photography)
  • Nature photography
    Nature photography

    Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes , wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures....
  • Nude photography
    Nude photography

    Nude photography is a style of art photography which depicts the nude human body as a study. Nude photography should be distinguished from erotic photography, which has a sexually suggestive component....
  • Photojournalism
    Photojournalism

    Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, and in some cases to video used in broadcast journalism or for personal use....
  • Portrait photography
    Portrait photography

    Portrait photography is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people, in which the face and its expression is predominant....
  • Sports photography
    Sports photography

    Sports photography refers to the genre of photography that covers all types of sports.In the majority of cases, it is a branch of photojournalism....
  • Still life photography
    Still life photography

    Still life photography is the depiction of inanimate subject matter, most typically a small grouping of objects that are either human-made or "natural." Still life photography, more so than other types of photography, such as Landscape art or Portrait photography, gives the photographer more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within...
  • Stock photography
    Stock photography

    Stock photography consists of existing photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. Publishers, advertising agencies, graphic artists, and others use stock photography to fulfill the needs of their creative assignments....
  • Street photography
    Street photography

    Street photography is a type of documentary photography that features subjects in candid situations within Public space such as streets, parks, beaches, Shopping mall, political conventions, and other settings....
  • Travel photography
    Travel photography

    Travel photography is a subcategory of photography involving the documentation of an area's landscape, people, cultures, customs and history. The Photographic Society of America defines a travel photo as an image that expresses the feeling of a time and place, portrays a land, its people, or a culture in its natural state, and has no geograph...
  • Underwater photography
    Underwater photography

    Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while snorkeling or swimming....
  • Vernacular photography
    Vernacular photography

    Vernacular photography refers to the creation of photographs by amateur or unknown photographers who take everyday life and common things as subjects....
  • VR photography
    VR photography

    VR photography, or virtual reality photography, is a technique which allows the interactive viewing of wide angle Panoramic photography. A VR Photograph is generally a wide photographic image encompassing a 360 degree circle, but can also encompass an entire spherical view....
  • War photography
    War photography

    War photography captures photograph of armed conflict and life in war-torn areas.War photography depicts the terrors of war mingled with acts of sacrifice....
  • Wedding photography
    Wedding photography

    Wedding photography is the photography of activities relating to weddings. It covers both photographs of the couple before marriage as well as coverage of the wedding and wedding reception also sometimes referred to as the wedding breakfast in non-US countries....
  • Wildlife photography
    Wildlife photography

    Wildlife photography is the act of taking photography of wildlife. Wildlife photography is regarded as being one of the more challenging forms of photography....


Techniques

  • Aerial Photography
    Aerial photography

    Aerial photography is the taking of photographs of the ground from an elevated position. The term usually refers to images in which the camera is not supported by a ground-based structure....
  • Astrophotography
    Astrophotography

    Astrophotography is a specialized type of photography that entails making photographs of astronomical objects in the sky such as the Moon, Sun, planets, stars, and deep sky objects such as star clusters and galaxies....
  • Bokeh
    Bokeh

    Bokeh is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera photographic lens using a shallow depth of field....
  • Contre-jour
    Contre-jour

    Contre-jour, French language for 'against daylight', refers to photographs taken when the camera is pointing directly toward the light source. An alternative term is backlighting ....
  • Cross processing
    Cross processing

    Cross processing is the procedure of deliberately processing photographic film in a chemical solution intended for a different type of film. The effect was discovered independently by many different photographers often by mistake in the days of C-22 process and E-4 process ....
  • Cyanotype
    Cyanotype

    Cyanotype is a photographic process that gives a cyan print.The English scientist and astronomer Sir John Herschel discovered this procedure in 1842....
  • Digiscoping
    Digiscoping

    Digiscoping is a method of obtaining photos using a digital camera through a spotting scope, telescope or, less often, binoculars. Afocal projection is a method of astrophotography in which photographs are taken by holding or mounting the camera over the telescope eyepiece, with the camera taking the place of your eye....
  • Film developing
    Photographic processing

    Photographic processing is the chemical means by which photographic film and photographic paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive ....
  • Full spectrum photography
    Full spectrum photography

    Full-spectrum photography is a subset of full-spectrum imaging, defined currently among photography enthusiasts as imaging with consumer cameras the full, broad spectrum of a film or camera sensor bandwidth....
  • Harris Shutter
    Harris Shutter

    The Harris Shutter is a bit of a misnomer, being a technique, rather than a piece of photography equipment.The effect is produced by re-exposing the same frame of film through Red, Green and Blue filters in turn, whilst keeping the camera steady....
  • High dynamic range imaging
    High dynamic range imaging

    In , computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range#Photography of luminances between light and dark areas of a scene than normal digital imaging techniques....
  • High speed photography
    High speed photography

    High Speed Photography is the science of taking pictures of very fast phenomena. In 1948, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers defined high-speed photography as any set of photographs captured by a camera capable of 128 frames per second or greater, and of at least three consecutive frames....
  • Infrared photography
    Infrared photography

    In infrared photography, the film or used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the visible spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging....
  • Kinetic photography
    Kinetic photography

    Kinetic photography is an experimental photography photographic technique in which the photographer uses movement resulting from physics to create an image....
  • Kite aerial photography
    Kite aerial photography

    Kite aerial photography is a hobby and a type of photography. A camera is lifted using a kite flying and is triggered either remotely or automatically to take Aerial photographys....
  • Lead room
    Lead room

    In photography, filmography and other visual arts, lead room, or sometimes nose room, is the space in front, and in the direction, of moving or stationary subjects....
  • Light painting
    Light Painting

    Light painting, also known as light drawing is a photography technique in which exposure are made usually at night or in a darkened room by moving a hand-held light source or by moving the camera....
  • Lith-Print
    Lith-Print

    A lith print is a Photography printing process that uses standard black-and-white, photographic paper with lithographic developer to produce a grainy print with dark shadows and soft delicate highlights....
  • Macro photography
    Macro photography

    Macro photography is close-up photography. The classical definition is that the projected on the "film plane" is close to the same size as the subject....
  • Monochrome Photography
    Monochrome photography

    Monochrome photography is strictly the recording of light of a single color or wavelength. Monochrome photography generally refers to all forms of black and white photography; the making of a photograph in neutral tones of grey ranging from black to white....
  • Motion blur
    Motion blur

    Motion blur is the apparent streaking of rapidly moving objects in a Photography or a sequence of images such as a film or animation....
  • Night photography
    Night photography

    Night photography refers to photographs taken outdoors between dusk and dawn. Night photographers generally have a choice between using artificial light or using a long exposure, exposing the scene for seconds or even minutes, in order to give the film enough time to capture a usable image, and to compensate for Reciprocity ....
  • Panning
    Panning (camera)

    In photography, panning refers to the horizontal movement or rotation of a still camera or video camera, or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device....
  • Panoramic photography
    Panoramic photography

    Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialised equipment or software, that captures images with elongated field of view....
  • Photogram
    Photogram

    A photogram is a Photography image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a photo-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light....
  • Photographic mosaic
    Photographic mosaic

    In the field of photographic imaging, a photographic mosaic is a picture that has been divided into rectangular sections, each of which is replaced with another photograph of appropriate average color....
  • Photographic print toning
    Photographic print toning

    File:Photograph.sept1895.jpgIn photography, toning is a photographic process carried out on silver-based Photographic printing to change their colour....
  • Push printing
    Push printing

    In photography, push printing and push developing refer to a process where a picture is printed as if it were a film speed higher than intended by the film manufacturer....
  • Push processing
    Push processing

    Push processing is a term from photography, referring to a Photographic processing technique that increases the film speed of the film being processed....
  • Rephotography
    Rephotography

    Rephotography is the act of repeat photography of the same site, with a time lag between the two images; a "then and now" view of a particular area....
  • Rollout photography
    Rollout photography

    Rollout photography, a type of peripheral photography, is a process used to create a two dimensional photographic image of a three dimensional object....
  • Sabatier Effect
  • Schlieren photography
    Schlieren photography

    Schlieren photography is a visual process that is used to photograph the flow of fluids of varying density. Invented by the Germany physicist August Toepler in 1864 to study supersonic motion, it is widely used in aeronautical engineering to photograph the flow of air around objects....
  • Stereoscopy
    Stereoscopy

    Stereoscopy, stereoscopic imaging or 3-D imaging is any technique capable of recording three-dimensional visual information or creating the stereopsis in an image....
  • Sun printing
    Sun printing

    Sun Printing can be done through three processes, most commonly it is a photographic process in which the final print is produced by conventional lithographic printing processes....
  • Ultraviolet photography
    Ultraviolet photography

    Ultraviolet photography is a photographic process of recording s by using light from the ultraviolet spectrum only....
  • Tilted plane focus
    Tilted plane focus

    Limits to focus in imaging Focus is relative to spatial depth. Selective focus in photography is usually associated with depth of focus. A pinhole generates an image of ?infinite? relative focus from a point just outside the opening out to infinity....
  • Time-lapse
    Time-lapse

    Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby each film frame is captured at a rate much slower than it will be played back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing....
  • Zoom burst
    Zoom burst

    Zoom burst is a photographic technique, attainable with zoom lenses with a manual zoom ring. The term is sometimes attributed to Peter Bargh in his article ....


Photographers and photographs

  • List of photographers
    List of photographers

    This is a list of notable photographers who already have articles.Key:abs:Abstract art photographeradv:Advertising photographeraer:Aerial photography...
  • List of most expensive photographs
    List of most expensive photographs

    This is a list of the highest prices paid for photographs .# Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent II Diptychon , $3,346,456, February, 2007, Sotheby's London auction....


Historical

  • Daguerreotype
    Daguerreotype

    A daguerreotype is an early type of photograph, developed by Louis Daguerre, in which the image is exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver bearing a coating of silver halide particles deposited by iodine vapor....
  • Timeline of photography technology
    Timeline of photography technology

    Timeline of photography technology* 1826 - Nic?phore Ni?pce takes the first permanent photograph, a landscape that required an eight hour exposure....


Cameras and related equipment

  • Camera
    Camera

    A camera is a device that records images, either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies. The term comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room functioned as a real-time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscura....
  • Camera Phone
    Camera phone

    For the song performed by The Game Feat. Ne-Yo from the album LAX see Camera Phone .A camera phone is a mobile phone which is able to capture either still photographs or motion video....
  • Color chart
    Color chart

    In color-related fields, a color chart is a physical arrangement of standardized color samples, used for color comparisons and measurements such as in checking the color reproduction of an imaging system such as a camera....
  • Digital camera
    Digital camera

    A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording digital image via an electronics .Many compact digital still cameras can record sound and moving video as well as still photographs....
  • Digital single-lens reflex camera
    Digital single-lens reflex camera

    A digital single-lens reflex camera is a digital camera that uses a mechanical mirror system and pentaprism to direct light from the photographic lens to an optical viewfinder on the back of the camera....
  • Dry box
    Dry box

    A dry box is a container that is used to keep material dry.One kind of dry box is used by underwater diving and, typically, is good to 30 meters of depth....
  • Film
    Photographic film

    Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and of the film....
  • Film base
    Film base

    A film base is a Transparency substrate which acts as a support medium for the photosensitive emulsion that lies atop it. Despite the numerous layers and coatings associated with the emulsion layer, the base generally accounts for the vast majority of the thickness of any given film stock....
  • Film format
    Film format

    A film format is a technical definition of a set of standard characteristics regarding image capture on photographic film, for either stills or movies....
  • Film holder
    Film holder

    A film holder is a device which holds one or more pieces of photographic film, for insertion into a camera or optical scanning device such as a dedicated film scanner or a flatbed scanner with film scanning capabilities....
  • Film scanner
    Film scanner

    A film scanner is a device made for scanning photographic film directly into a computer without the use of any intermediate printmaking. They provide several benefits over using a flatbed scanner to scan in a print of any size — the photographer has direct control over cropping and aspect ratio from the original unmolested image on fi...
  • Film stock
    Film stock

    Film stock is photographic film on which Film are shot and reproduced....
  • Filter
  • Flash
    Flash (photography)

    A flash is a device used in photography that produces an instantaneous flash of Lighting light at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene....
  • Gray card
    Gray card

    Gray cards are used, together with reflective light meters, as a way to produce consistent images in film and photography.A gray card is a flat object of a neutral gray color that derives from a flat reflectance spectrum....
  • Lenses for SLR and DSLR cameras
    Lenses for SLR and DSLR cameras

    This article is about photographic lenses for Single-lens reflex camera and Digital single-lens reflex camera. Furthermore, the emphasis is on modern lenses for 135 film SLRs and for DSLRs with less than or equal to 35 mm ....
  • Monopod
    Monopod

    A monopod, also called a unipod, is a single staff or pole used to help support cameras, video cameras, binoculars, hand compass, or other precision instruments in the field....
  • Movie projector
    Movie projector

    A movie projector is an optics-mechanics device for displaying Film by projecting them on a movie screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras....
  • Perspective control lens
  • Photographic film
    Photographic film

    Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and of the film....
  • Photographic lens
    Photographic lens

    A photographic lens is an optics lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically....
  • Rangefinder camera
    Rangefinder camera

    A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus....
  • Single-lens reflex camera
    Single-lens reflex camera

    The single-lens reflex camera uses an automatic moving mirror system which permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging system, as opposed to non-SLR cameras where the view through the viewfinder could be significantly different from what was captured on film....
  • Slide projector
    Slide projector

    A slide projector is an opto-mechanical device to view Photography Transparency . It has four main elements: a fan-cooled electric light bulb or other light source, a reflector and "condensing" lens to direct the light to the slide, a holder for the slide and a focusing lens ....
  • Still camera
    Still camera

    A still camera is a type of camera used to take photographs. Traditional cameras capture light onto photographic film. Digital cameras use electronics, usually a charge coupled device to store digital images in random Access Memory inside the camera....
  • Toy camera
    Toy camera

    Toy cameras are simple, inexpensive film box cameras made almost entirely out of plastic, often including the Photographic lens. The term is misleading, since they are not 'toys' in the sense that these cameras are actually capable of taking photographs....
  • Tripod
    Tripod (photography)

    A tripod is a three-legged stand for an instrument, used for stabilisation and support.In astronomy, a tripod is a three legged stand used to support and stabilize a telescope, binoculars, or other optical or recording instrument....
  • Video camera
    Video camera

    File:Sonyhdrfx1.jpgA video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the television industry but now common in other applications as well....
  • View camera
    View camera

    The view camera is a type of camera first developed in the era of the Daguerreotype and still in use today, though with many refinements. It comprises a flexible bellows which forms a light-tight seal between two adjustable standards, one of which holds a Photographic lens, and the other a viewfinder or a photographic film holder....
  • Zone plate
    Zone plate

    A zone plate is a device used to Focus light. Unlike lens however, zone plates use diffraction instead of refraction. Created by Augustin-Jean Fresnel [fre?'nel], they are sometimes called Fresnel zone plates in his honor....
  • List of photographic equipment makers
    List of photographic equipment makers

    This list of photographic equipment makers lists companies that manufacture equipment for photography....


Basic concepts

  • Camera obscura
    Camera obscura

    The camera obscura is an optical device used, for example, in drawing or for entertainment. It is one of the inventions leading to photography....
  • Composition
    Composition (visual arts)

    In the visual arts ? in particular painting, graphic design, photography and sculpture ? composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art....
     in visual arts
    Visual arts

    The visual arts are Art#Art forms that focus on the creation of works which are primarily visual in nature, such as drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and filmmaking....
  • Diana camera
    Diana camera

    The Diana camera is a simple, low-quality plastic-bodied box camera. The Diana takes sixteen 4 ? 4 cm pictures on 120 film, leaving a large part of the film surface unused....
  • Early photographers of York
    Early photographers of York

    Early photographers of York include:* Fox Talbot* William Hayes * Roger Fenton* William Pumphrey* George Fowler Jones architect* W. P. Glaisby...
  • Gelatin-silver process
    Gelatin-silver process

    The gelatin-silver process is the photography process used with currently available black-and-white films and printing papers. A suspension of silver salts in gelatin is coated onto acetate film or fiber-based or resin coated paper and allowed to dry ....
  • Gum printing
    Gum printing

    Gum printing is a way of making photographic reproductions without the use of silver halides. The process used salts of dichromate in common with a number of other related processes such as sun printing....
  • Hand-coloring
  • Holography
    Holography

    A hologram is a picture that changes when looked at from different angles.Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that it appears as if the object is in the same position relative to the recording medium as it was when recorded....
  • Kirlian photography
    Kirlian photography

    Kirlian photography refers to a form of photogram made with a high voltage. It is named after Semyon Kirlian, who in 1939 accidentally discovered that if an object on a photographic plate is connected to a source of high voltage, small corona discharges create an image on the photographic plate....
  • Lomography
    Lomography

    Lomography is the commercial trademark of Lomographische AG, Austria for products and services related to photography. The name is inspired by the former state-run optics manufacturer LOMO PLC of Saint Petersburg, Russia....
  • Mourning portraits
  • Negative
    Negative

    The term negative refers to a property of negativity and may refer to:...
  • North American Nature Photography Association
    North American Nature Photography Association

    The North American Nature Photography Association or NANPA is an organization dedicated to photography of nature. It has several categories of membership, including discounts for students....
  • Photograph
    Photograph

    A photograph is an created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a Charge-coupled device or a Complementary metal?oxide?semiconductor chip....
  • Print permanence
    Print permanence

    Print permanence refers to the longevity of printed material, especially photographs, and preservation issues. Over time, the optical density, color balance, lustre, and other qualities of a Photographic print will degrade....
  • Vignetting
    Vignetting

    In photography and optics, vignetting is a reduction of an image's brightness or saturation at the periphery compared to the image center. A similar effect occurs when filming projected images or movies off a projection screen, the so-called hotspot, defining a cheap home-movie look where no proper telecine is used....

Cited references

  • Bissell, K.L., Photography and Objectivity (2000) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3677/is_200007/ai_n8895320 (accessed 24/10/2008)
  • Campbell, J.E., and Carlson, M., Panopticon.com: Online Surveillance and the Commodification of Privacy (December 2002) Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 586
  • Levinson, P., The Soft Edge: a Natural History and Future of the Information Revolution, Routledge, London and New York (1997), pp 37-48
  • Sontag, S., On Photography, Penguin, London (1977), pp 3-24


General references


  • Freeman Patterson, Photography and The Art of Seeing, 1989, Key Porter Books, ISBN 1-55013-099-4.
  • The Oxford Companion to the Photograph, ed. by Robin Lenman, Oxford University Press 2005
  • Image Clarity: High Resolution Photography by John B. Williams, Focal Press 1990, ISBN 0-240-80033-8


External links


  • A non profit organization dedicated to promoting Photography as an Art Form.
  • From The History of Art.
  • From the State Library & Archives of Florida.
  • Guide for collectors and historians
  • Pioneers of Soviet Photography.
  • A not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of photography.
  • - uses pictures from the Smithsonian's collections to show the development of the technology through the nineteenth century.
  • the online version of the original Shades of Light published 1998, Gael Newton, National Gallery of Australia.
  • Promotes the art and science of photography in the U.K.
  • Quotations from the world of photography.
  • International contemporary photography archives, including audio interviews with photographers