| ACCENT LIGHT |
Used to draw extra attention to one section of the subject, and add interest and sparkle |
| BACK LIGHT |
Used behind the subject and pointing toward the camera for separation |
| BACKGROUND LIGHT |
Aimed at the background for separation of subject and background |
| BARNDOORS |
Accessory mounted to the light, with adjustable
leaves to block and confine light beam |
| BEAM SPREAD |
The width of the light beam from a reflector, the
edge defined by the point at which light intensity
is 50% of the maximum |
| BLUE BULB |
Common term for daylight balanced lamps
- because they're coated with a blue film. |
| BOUNCE |
Lighting that strikes your subject after reflecting
off another surface, so that it's softer and less
directional |
| BROAD LIGHT |
A light unit with a wide beam spread. |
| CAMERA SHOE |
Also called "accessory shoe" or
"hot shoe", a light mount on the top of the camera |
| COLOR TEMPERATURE |
The color quality of a light source. Higher degree kelvin sources -- such as the sun -- are bluer, and lower
degree kelvin sources are more red. Films are designed
to have true whites when exposed to light of a
given color temperature |
| COPY WORK |
Photographing another photograph, painting or
other 2-dimensional work |
| DAYLIGHT |
The color temperature of natural sunlight--
referring to light at about 5600 degrees K |
| DICHROIC FILTER |
A filter that alters the color balance of the light,
generally to daylight |
| DIFFUSED LIGHT |
The scattering of light rays so that light is less
directional and shadows are softer. |
| DIRECT LIGHTING |
Strong lighting in which the beams all travel in
one direction and defined shadows are cast |
| DOUBLE EXPOSURE |
Exposing the same frame of film twice |
| FILL LIGHT |
Used from the side opposite that of the key light,
this light softens the shadows created by the key
and evens out the lighting ratio |
| FILTER |
Any material used on the lens or light to alter the
quality of the light |
| FLAGS |
Dark cards placed between the light and subject
to prevent light from striking certain areas |
| FLASH |
A light that fires only for an instant; as opposed to
continuous lighting |
| FOCUSING SPOT |
A narrow-beam light with a variable-beam spread |
| FOOT-CANDLES |
A unit of illuminance, equals one lumen per
square foot |
| GEL |
Translucent sheet of colored material placed in
front of a light source to alter the color or
intensity of the light |
| GUIDE NUMBER |
Number used to indicate the light output of a
flash unit, affected by the type of reflector used |
| HAIR LIGHT |
Light source aimed at the subject's hair to create
separation from the background and add sparkle
& highlights |
| HARD LIGHT |
A very focused, directional light source |
| HONEYCOMB |
Accessory placed on the front of a light to make
the beam very directional. |
| HOT LIGHT |
Common term for continuous light sources |
| INCANDESCENT |
A light bulb that puts off light by heating a
filament -- your standard "lightbulb" |
| KELVIN |
The temperature scale used to measure the
"color temperature" of light |
| KEY LIGHT |
Also "main light" -- the source providing the
primary illumination and sense of the
direction of the light |
| LIGHT BALANCING |
Controlling or altering the color temperature of a
light source, so that true color renditions are
achieved in an image |
| LIGHTING RATIO |
The ratio of the contrast from the most brightly lit
area of the subject to the darkest area |
| LUMENS PER WATT |
The efficiency of a given lamp - the amount of
light generated per unit of energy used |
| MASTER |
A flash unit used to trigger other flash units,
which are called "slaves" |
| MODELING LIGHT |
A continuous burning light in the center of a
flash unit used to preview the location of the
illumination and shadows from the flash burst |
| MONOLIGHT |
AC flash unit with a modeling light |
| PC CORD |
The cord that connects a flash unit to the camera,
allowing the release of the camera shutter to
trigger the flash - also called synch cord |
| PHENOLIC |
A high-impact, temperature-resistant plastic used
in some sockets and fixtures |
| PHOTOFLOOD |
Continuous burning lights (as opposed to flash) --
usually with incandescent lamps |
| QUARTZ HALOGEN |
High pressure incandescent lamps containing
halogen gases. The filaments burn at higher
temperatures with higher efficiency, producing
more lumens per watt than a regular
incandescent lamp |
| READY LIGHT |
The indicator on a flash unit that the unit
is ready to fire |
| RECYCLE TIME |
The amount of time it takes a flash unit to fully
recharge after firing |
| SAFETY GLASS |
Non-diffusing, heat-resistant glass in front of
quartz lamps to protect subjects from flying glass
should the lamp shatter |
| SAFETY WIRE |
A loop of wire used to secure the light when
mounting overhead |
| SCRIM |
A wire screen that is used to decrease light
output without diffusing it |
| SEPARATION LIGHT |
Light source used to create a visual distinction
between the subject and the background |
| SKIM LIGHT |
A separation light striking the extreme side of
the subject |
| SLAVE |
A flash unit that uses an infrared sensor to
sense any other flash burst in the vicinity and
flash simultaneously |
| SNOOT |
Cone-shaped accessory that mounts on the light
to confine the beam to a very small spot |
| SOCKET |
The part of the light unit that accepts the lamp |
| SOFT LIGHT |
A light source that generates diffused lighting |
| SPILL |
Light that strikes areas where it's unwanted |
| SPOT LIGHT |
A light source with a narrow-beam pattern |
| TABLETOP |
Common term for product or small still life
photography |
| TEST BUTTON |
A button on some AC flash units that allows you
to manually trigger the flash |
| THREE-POINT LIGHTING |
The standard lighting system of key, fill and back lighting from which all other lighting set-ups
evolve |
| TUNGSTEN LIGHT |
An incandescent lamp that generates light when
a tungsten filament is heated by an electrical
current. Emits light at 3200 degrees K, the color temperature
to which "tungsten" film is balanced |
| UMBRELLA |
An accessory for bouncing light to create
diffused lighting |
| WATT |
A unit of electrical power. A 250-watt light
consumes 250 watts of power -- the light output
depends on the type of lamp being used |
| WHITE BALANCE |
Electronic adjustment in video or
digital cameras to achieve correct
colors and whites in varying light
conditions. Set manually by aiming
the lens at a white card |
