1 Important Terms & Concepts

There’s an old joke in computer graphics circles. The biggest geek in the room utters a long sentence referencing PDF, EPS, PSD, GIF, RAM, HDR, DNG, ACR, RGB, L*a*b, “and other TLAs.”

“What’s a ‘TLA?’” someone asks.

“Three Letter Acronym,” replies the geek, to groans from those still listening.

A challenger pipes up, “What about CMYK?”

“Oh, that’s an ETLA—Extended Three Letter Acronym.”

Despite the fact that this is intended as a joke, the language of computer graphics, even when restricted to digital photography, is still specialized. Of course, photographers have used special words, or common words in novel ways, for almost two centuries.

“Sharp” to a medical technician is a biohazard, but to an imagemaker, it’s something to embrace. “Flat” may describe an easy path to walk, but it could also be the descriptive characteristic of a boring photo. In this chapter, I hope to decipher many of the terms one encounters while perfecting images.

I also intend to answer some of the most common questions about digital imaging: Is shooting digitally more like slide or negative film? What is “bit depth” and why should one care? What’s a color profile? Hopefully, by the end of this chapter, you’ll feel ready to take on the software.