Art Glossary

Alternative process photography uses 19th-century and experimental techniques like cyanotype, calotype, and chemigrams. Learn how contemporary artists revive these methods.

Bokeh is the visual quality of blurred areas in a photograph. Learn its Japanese origins, how lens design shapes it, and how AI bokeh rendering is transforming mobile photography in 2026.

The calotype was William Henry Fox Talbot's paper negative photographic process, introduced in 1841. Learn how it enabled reproducible prints and shaped photography's future.

Composite photography merges multiple negatives or digital images into one picture. From Rejlander to Photoshop, learn how this technique shaped art and propaganda.

A contact print is a photographic print made with the negative directly touching the paper. Learn how it works, its history, and why large-format photographers still prize it.

A contact sheet is a print of all negatives from a roll of film, used for editing and selection. From LIFE magazine to Peter Hujar's archive, learn its history and purpose.

The cyanotype is a cameraless photographic process producing white silhouettes on Prussian blue. Invented by Herschel in 1842, learn how Anna Atkins made the first photo book.

The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process, announced in 1839. Learn how it works, its history, and why its images still astonish.

A darkroom is a light-controlled room for developing and printing photographic film. Learn its history, chemistry, equipment, and how the analog revival is fueling new darkrooms in 2026.

Depth of field is the range of distance in a photograph that appears acceptably sharp. Learn how aperture, focal length, and sensor size control it, from f/64 to computational bokeh.

Digital photography captures images on electronic sensors instead of film. Learn how the medium evolved from a 0.01-megapixel prototype in 1975 to computational photography and AI.

Documentary photography chronicles real events, people, and conditions. From Jacob Riis and Dorothea Lange to Diane Arbus and Sebastiao Salgado, learn its history and power.

Exposure is the amount of light reaching the sensor or film when a photograph is made. Learn the exposure triangle, stops, the Zone System, and how exposure works in 2026.

Film photography uses light-sensitive chemical emulsions on plastic or paper. Learn how a medium declared dead in 2012 is thriving again, with 312 new labs opening in 2025 alone.

Fine art photography uses the camera as an expressive tool, not a recording device. From Stieglitz and Weston to Sugimoto and Sherman, learn what makes a photograph art.

Landscape photography uses the camera to capture natural scenery as art. From Watkins and Adams to Sternfeld and Misrach, learn its history, masters, and evolution.

Large format photography uses view cameras and individual sheets of film, 4x5 inches or larger. From Watkins and Adams to 2026's new cameras, learn the tradition.

Long exposure photography uses extended shutter speeds to blur moving elements while keeping stationary elements sharp. Learn its history from Daguerre to contemporary practice.

Medium format photography uses 120/220 roll film for negatives larger than 35mm but smaller than large format. From Rolleiflex to Hasselblad to 2026's new cameras, learn the format.

A photographic negative is an image with reversed tones on film or glass, from which positive prints are made. Learn its history from Talbot to 2026, and why it still matters.

Photomontage combines multiple photographs into a single composite image. Learn its history from Victorian tricks to Dada and Soviet propaganda to AI image generation in 2026.

Pictorialism was the movement that fought to make photography a fine art. Learn how Stieglitz, Steichen, and Cameron used soft focus and darkroom craft to rival painting.

Portrait photography uses the camera to capture the human face and presence as art. From Nadar and Cameron to Avedon, Arbus, and Opie, learn its history and masters.

The rule of thirds divides the frame into nine equal rectangles and places key elements along the lines or intersections. Learn its history, how artists use it, and what research says.

The silver gelatin print is the standard black-and-white photographic process of the 20th century. Learn its history, chemistry, and why it defined fine art photography.

Solarization is the partial reversal of photographic tones caused by re-exposing a developing image to light. Learn its history from Sabatier to Man Ray and Lee Miller.

Stereoscopy creates 3D images using paired photographs. Learn its history from Wheatstone's 1838 stereoscope to Victorian card views to VR and AI-driven 3D conversion in 2026.

Street photography is candid photography in public spaces. From Cartier-Bresson's decisive moment to Bruce Gilden's flash confrontations, learn its history, ethics, and practice.

The decisive moment is Henri Cartier-Bresson's concept of capturing the instant when form and meaning align. Learn its history, its masterworks, and its relevance in 2026.

The Zone System is Ansel Adams and Fred Archer's method for controlling exposure and development to translate light into specific print tones. Learn how it works and why it still matters.