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Glossary

 

Action - is a set of one or more commands that are recorded and can be played back against one or more files. Used to automate tasks. Scripts Event Manager - Automation

 

Alpha Channels "store selections as grayscale images" and are added "to create and store masks, which let you manipulate or protect parts of an image. Ctrl click a channel to load it as a selection.

 

Anti-aliasing - refines the jagged sawtooth edge of a selection making it look relatively smooth. Edges are rendered smoother by anti-aliasing. Adds a subtle transition between pixels.

Select>Feather to soften edges of a selection (Ctrl Alt D)

Blur Tool - to soften an edge

 

Bitmapped, Digitized Images - continuous tone images consisting of pixels

 

Blending Modes – determines how pixels are blended with an underlying layer to create a variety of effects. Include Normal, Darken, Lighten, Multiply, Screen, Hue, Saturation, Overlay, Luminosity, Color, Soft and Hard Light…

 

Channels contain information automatically created about the color of an image. One channel is created for each color.

 

Chromatic Aberration – colored fringes along high contrast edges

 

Color Management – how color profiles are managed

 

Desaturate - command to remove color from a selection or image. Image>Adjustments>Desaturate

 

DNG – Digital Negative designed as an archival format

 

DPI - Dots Per Inch: a resolution measure of a digital printer

 

EXIF – Exchangeable Image File Data or Camera Data

 

Feathering - the process of  softening the edge of a selection by creating a transition to transparent pixels. Select>Feather

 

File Formats (8 bits per channel - 256 shades of gray, 16-bit images - 32,768 shades of gray)

                JPEG - for low end reproduction, internet or email

                RAW - 16x brightness levels of a JPEG (4096 versus 256) unprocessed digital camera files

                .PSD – Adobe Photoshop file format that preserves layers and channels

                .PDF - Photoshop

                .PNG – supports millions of colors with transparency

                .PSB - Large Documents

                TIFF - for high quality printing

                .EPS –

                GIF – for simple web images with only 256 colors

 

Filters – apply special effects (blurring/sharpening etc.) to images

 

Fly Out Menus - display additional options

 

Gamut - the range of colors that can be reproduced on any device. Out of Gamut colors will not be printed accurately.

 

GIF – Graphics Interchange Format is a 256 color low resolution graphic format that supports simple animation and transparency.

 

High Dynamic Range (HDR) - high dynamic range is a computational imaging technology that creates a new 32-bit per channel  image from multiple photographs exposed for different light settings

 

Histogram - a bar chart that graphically represents the shades of tone that make up a digital photo

 

ICC - International Color Consortium

 

Interpolation – process of creating or deleting pixels when resizing an  image

 

IPTC – International Press and Telecommunications Council

 

JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group supports 24 bits of color information and uses compression to reduce file size.

 

Layers – alterations stacked on top of an original image to alter the appearance of the original without actually changing the pixels of the original image.

 

Layer Style - "a collection of settings that can radically transform the look  of a layer by adding dimension, shadows, and other effects to the layer."

 

LPI - Lines Per Inch

 

Marquee – the “marching ants” dotted outline of a selection

 

Masks – used to reveal or hide specific parts of a layer

 

Metadata – information embedded into a photo

 

Metamerism – color perception changes under different light

 

Montage Work - make composite photographs from different image elements

 

Opacity - Controls transparency the opposite of opaque

                                Use a layer's opacity setting to change the opacity of an entire layer.

                                Use a tool's opacity setting to change the opacity of part of a layer

                                Lower the opacity of the Eraser Tool and brush across a specific area of the image to make it more transparent after painting.

 

PANTONE Matching System (Color Libraries) - spot colors used to match specific colors and extend color range. Select New Spot Channel from the flyout menu of Channels Palette. Name the Spot Channels with the PMS color.

 

Parametric Image Editing Software (Adobe Camera Raw) reinterprets an image file without actually changing the original photograph.  Adobe Lightroom is a catalog PIEware system.

 

Paths - use mathematical descriptions to define lines, shapes, outlines (Use the Pen Tool to create paths, define intricate outlines for later conversion to an active selection or mask)

 

Perspective Distortion – the convergence of vertical lines Corrected with Edit>Transform>Perspective or the Lens Correction Filter

 

Photoshop – a raster image editor

 

Photosynth – a Microsoft program that constructs a three dimensional image from thousands of different images

 

Pixel – a picture element or single dot in an image

 

PNG – Portable Network Graphics supports millions of colors with transparency

 

Posterization – a reduction in the range of colors in an image producing significant bands of bright colors. Produces gaps in a histogram.

 

PPI - pixels per inch

 

Printing - Dye Sub, Inkjet, Laser

 

Raster Information

 

Resolution – a measure of pixel density. 300 pixels per inch for quality printing 72ppi for web images

 

Selections – limit edits/alterations to a specific part of  an image. Photoshop selections are grayscale channels with black representing unselected areas, shades of gray are partially selected areas, and fully selected areas are represented in white.

 

Smart Objects - a mechanism for non-destructive pixel adjustment layers

 

Soft Proofing – simulating a print on a monitor

 

Spectacular Highlights - extremely bright highlights in images containing glass, metal, or other shiny objects.

 

Thumbnails – smaller images designed for review purposes

 

Vector graphics - resolution independent, mathematically defined lines and curves that can be scaled to any size.. - drawing of smooth lines.

 

Vector Information - a path made out of points and directional handles

 

Vignetting -  image corners that are darker than the image center due to a lens defect

 

Working Space – color quality

(North America Prepress 2)

Adobe RGB (1998) – largest color gamut of standard spaces

Apple RGB – based on 13-inch Apple monitor

ColorMatch RGB – for press reproduction

sRGB – typical monitor color gamut

ProPhoto RGB – wide gamut working space for RAW files

CMYK – output specific

Gray Gamma 2.2 – for printing black & white images

Spot – prepress custom inks

 

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