sean.photo - Glossary

-—GLOSSARY—-

Resolution: Simply put Resolution is the amount of pixels (detail) in an image. Digital images are measured by the number of pixels per inch (ppi) a good ppi is over 300 by today's standards. Obviously, the higher the resolution, bigger the image file size. You generally want your image to be over 3mb(megabytes) with high quality 4K resolution images being over 10mb.

The resolution of the top image is 60 pixels per inch (ppi). The resolution of the bottom image is 240 pixels per inch (ppi). To create more detailed images, increase the resolution setting in your camera.

Exposure: The amount of light in a photo. Underexposed photos are dark with little detail; overexposed photos are too bright with lost detail.

An overexposed image is too light overall (left). A properly exposed image with detailed highlight and shadow areas (center). An underexposed image is too dark overall (right).

Contrast: The difference in brightness between light and dark areas of an image. Contrast determines the number of shades in the image.

A low-contrast image (left) retains detail, but tends to lack dimension and look soft. An image with normal contrast (center) retains detail and dimension, and looks crisp. A high-contrast image (right) loses detail, especially in areas with gradated tones, and can look cartoony.

Highlight & Shadow: Highlights are the brightest elements in an image; shadows are the darkest parts.

The black arrow indicates the shadow areas of the images. In a color image, look for the darkest colors. In a gray-scale image, look for the darkest gray or black areas.

The white arrow indicates the highlight areas of the images. In a color image, look for the lightest colors. In a gray-scale image, look for the lightest gray or white areas.

Saturation and desaturation: Increased Saturation makes colors more vibrant (less black or white added). De-saturation makes colors less vibrant (more black or white added).

Original color image (center). The desaturated version (left) has no color. In the oversaturated version (right), tonal detail is lost.

Image Credits to Adobe Tutorials (Works Cited)