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Photography Basics

Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Tagged Image File Format - A standard digital image format for bitmapped graphics in an uncompressed state. The image files are much larger than compressed files - but can be opened in all image-processing programs.






2. Occurs when the photographer incrementally lights an otherwise darkened scene using a handheld flashlight or other small light source while the shutter remains open during a time exposure. The light is added to the scene in the manner of an artist us






3. A complementary color is one of a pair of primary or secondary colors that are in opposition to each other on a color wheel.






4. A digital camera analyzes a scene using its white balance mode to determine areas that should be recorded as pure white. The camera adjusts the overall scene's color balance so that the areas meant to be reproduced as white in the picture will be whi






5. Exchangeable Image File Format. Data produced by a digital camera that becomes attached to each image made by the camera - including make & model of camera - date & time - image format (e.g. jpeg - tiff - etc.)and dimensions - color & exposure modes






6. Occurs when saving a digital image file in a format that does not result in a loss of data. A TIFF and PSD documents are examples of lossless image formats






7. Existing light surrounding a subject; the light that is illuminating a scene without any additional light supplied by the photographer. This is also called 'available light'.






8. The range of distance in a scene that appears to be in focus and will be reproduced as being acceptably sharp in an image. Depth of field is controlled by the lens aperture - and extends for a distance in front of and behind the point on which the le






9. The time an hour or less before the sun goes down and around fifteen minutes after the sun has set. Sunlight is usually warmer and more complimentary to skin tones at this time - and the angle of the light can provide depth to portraits and landscape






10. Occurs when the photographer incrementally lights an otherwise darkened scene using a handheld flashlight or other small light source while the shutter remains open during a time exposure. The light is added to the scene in the manner of an artist us






11. A lens with the ability to focus from infinity to extremely closely - allowing it to capture images of tiny objects in frame-filling - larger-than-life sizes.






12. CMYK - An acronym for the ink colors Cyan (process blue) - Magenta (process red) - Yellow and Black used in four-color process printing.






13. When the lens is focused on infinity - the nearest point to the camera that is considered acceptably sharp is the Hyperfocal point. By focusing on the hyperfocal point - everything beyond it to infinity remains in acceptable focus - and objects halfw






14. A contract in which a model consents to the use of his or her images by the photographer or a third party. Sometimes referred to simply as a 'release.'






15. When the lens is focused on infinity - the nearest point to the camera that is considered acceptably sharp is the Hyperfocal point. By focusing on the hyperfocal point - everything beyond it to infinity remains in acceptable focus - and objects halfw






16. The primary colors of light (not of the inks used in printing) are red - green and blue - known by the acronym RGB.






17. An image that is mainly made up of light tones - with relatively few mid-tones or shadows.






18. An image that is mainly made up of light tones - with relatively few mid-tones or shadows.






19. In a studio - the main light is placed fairly high - directly in front of the face - aimed at the center of the nose. It casts a shadow shaped like a butterfly beneath the nose.






20. A contract in which a model consents to the use of his or her images by the photographer or a third party. Sometimes referred to simply as a 'release.'






21. Lens with a focal length approximately equal to the diagonal of the film format or of a digital camera's image sensor. A scene viewed through a normal lens appears to have the same perspective as if it was being viewed 'normally' without a lens - jus






22. Adding new pixels to a digital image between existing pixels. Interpolation software analyzes the adjacent pixels to create the new ones when enlarging an image file.






23. An image file type created in Adobe PhotoShop. It is uncompressed and contains data on editing that is done to the image. A PSD file is essentially PhotoShop's version of a TIFF file. It lets you save a picture you are working on with its layers - ch






24. CMYK - An acronym for the ink colors Cyan (process blue) - Magenta (process red) - Yellow and Black used in four-color process printing.






25. Also known as the 'Kodak neutral test card -' a gray card is an 8' X 10' (20 cm by 25.5 cm) card - about 1/8' thick - that is uniformly gray on one side. The gray side reflects precisely 18% of the white light that strikes it (corresponding to the ca






26. Refers to a million pixels - and is used in describing the number of pixels that a digital device's image sensor has.






27. An acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group that describes an image file format standard in which the size of the file is reduced by compressing it. JPEG - with its 16.7 million colors - is well suited to compressing photographic images. A 'JPEG'






28. Or - electronic noise. This is the grainy look you find in a digital image caused by image artifacts. It is usually noticeable in shadow areas - and generally produced when shooting in low light. Noise is almost always unwanted and unattractive.






29. A lens in which focal length is variable. Elements inside a zoom lens shift their positions - enabling the lens to change its focal length - in effect - providing one lens that has many focal lengths. (Also called a 'Variable focus lens.')






30. Adding new pixels to a digital image between existing pixels. Interpolation software analyzes the adjacent pixels to create the new ones when enlarging an image file.






31. Occurs when saving a digital image file in a format that does not result in a loss of data. A TIFF and PSD documents are examples of lossless image formats






32. (Graphics Interchange Format) is a small image file format that supports transparency and is constrained to a maximum of 256 colors - generally making it a poor choice for your digital images. When it was created - most computer video cards were able






33. Digital single lens reflex camera






34. Graininess occurs when clumps of individual grains are large and irregularly spaced out in the negative. They are visible to the naked eye in the finished print - particularly enlargements - as sand-like particles. When this occurs - the picture appe






35. The time an hour or less before the sun goes down and around fifteen minutes after the sun has set. Sunlight is usually warmer and more complimentary to skin tones at this time - and the angle of the light can provide depth to portraits and landscape






36. A function or shooting mode of a semi-automatic camera that permits the photographer to preset the aperture and leaves the camera to automatically determine the correct shutter speed. What does that mean? You select the aperture setting you want and






37. (Graphics Interchange Format) is a small image file format that supports transparency and is constrained to a maximum of 256 colors - generally making it a poor choice for your digital images. When it was created - most computer video cards were able






38. A complementary color is one of a pair of primary or secondary colors that are in opposition to each other on a color wheel.






39. If you're hand holding your camera - your shutter speed should not be slower than the reciprocal of your effective focal length (but not lower than 1/50th of a second) in order to avoid 'camera shake -' i.e. the blur that results from any slight move






40. A lens in which focal length is variable. Elements inside a zoom lens shift their positions - enabling the lens to change its focal length - in effect - providing one lens that has many focal lengths. (Also called a 'Variable focus lens.')






41. An accessory that attaches as a collar to the front of a lens to prevent stray light from striking the surface of the lens - causing flare






42. Sometimes called camera raw - raw format - raw image format and raw. A digital image storage format that contains the most information possible from a camera's sensor. RAW data ( a RAW image file) is unprocessed. Some folks consider it to be the digi






43. Digital single lens reflex camera






44. A fall-off in brightness at the edges of an image - slide - or print. Can be caused by poor lens design - using a lens hood not matched to the lens - or attaching too many filters to the front of the lens. It can also be applied after the image is ta






45. An acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group that describes an image file format standard in which the size of the file is reduced by compressing it. JPEG - with its 16.7 million colors - is well suited to compressing photographic images. A 'JPEG'






46. The visible light spectrum is scientifically described in terms of color temperature - and is measured in degrees Kelvin (K). The range for Kelvin on a pro digital camera is approximately 2000-10000.. These K settings are the scientific numbers behin






47. A function or shooting mode of a semi-automatic camera that permits the photographer to preset the aperture and leaves the camera to automatically determine the correct shutter speed. What does that mean? You select the aperture setting you want and






48. In a studio - the main light is placed fairly high - directly in front of the face - aimed at the center of the nose. It casts a shadow shaped like a butterfly beneath the nose.






49. Commonly abbreviated as 'TTL'. Refers to both exposure metering of the light passing through the lens (Through-the-lens metering - and TTL flash metering) and viewing a scene through the same lens that allows light to reach the sensor or the film (Th






50. Refers to a million pixels - and is used in describing the number of pixels that a digital device's image sensor has.