Motion blur

Motion blur is the apparent streaking of rapidly moving objects in a still image or a sequence of images such as a movie or animation.

When a camera creates an image, that image does not represent a single instant of time. Because of technological constraints or artistic requirements, the image represents the scene over a period of time. As objects in a scene move, an image of that scene must represent an integration of all positions of those objects, as well as the camera's viewpoint, over the period of exposure determined by the shutter speed. In such an image, any object moving with respect to the camera will look blurred or smeared along the direction of relative motion. This smearing may occur on an object that is moving or on a static background if the camera is moving. In a film or television image, this looks natural because the human eye behaves in much the same way.

Because the effect is caused by the relative motion between the camera, and the objects and scene, motion blur may be avoided by panning the camera to track those moving objects. In this case, even with long exposure times, the objects will appear sharper, and the background more blurred.

Light painting

Light painting, also known as light drawing is a photographic technique in which exposures are made usually at night or in a darkened room by moving a light source or by moving the camera.

The light can either be used to selectively illuminate parts of the subject or to "paint" a picture by shining it directly into the camera lens. Light painting requires a sufficiently slow shutter speed, usually a second or more. Like night photography, it has grown in popularity since the advent of digital cameras because it allows photographers to see the results of their work immediately.

Light painting can take on the characteristics of Tableaux Vivant or a quick pencil sketch. Pablo Picasso was photographed in 1924 doing a quick sketch in the air.

Lead room

In photography, filmography and other visual arts, lead room, or sometimes nose room, is the space in front, and in the direction, of moving or stationary subjects. Well-composed shots leave space in the direction the subject is moving. When the human eye scans a photograph for the first time it will expect to see a bit on front of the subject.

For example, moving objects such as cars require lead room. If extra space is allowed in front of a moving car, the viewer can see that it has someplace to go; without this visual padding, the car's forward progress will seem impeded.

Kite aerial photography

Kite aerial photography (KAP) is a hobby and a type of photography. A small camera is suspended from a kite on a Picavet and is used to take aerial photographs. The camera rigs can range from the extremely simple, consisting of a trigger mechanism with a disposable camera, to complex apparatuses using radio control and digital cameras. On some occasions it can be a good alternative (in many ways) to any other form of aerial photography.

The example image of San Francisco after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was taken by an early pioneer in KAP, George Lawrence using a large panoramic camera and stabilizing rig he designed.

The first kite aerial photograph was taken by Arthur Batut in Labruguière (France) in 1888.

Infrared photography

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Usually an "infrared filter" is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (and thus looks black or deep red).

When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting "in-camera effects" can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance known as the "Wood Effect."

The effect is mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. Chlorophyll is transparent at these wavelengths and so does not block this reflectance (see Red edge). There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is extremely small and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs.

The other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze, caused by reduced Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering (respectively) in the atmosphere compared to visible light. The dark skies, in turn, result in less infrared light in shadows and dark reflections of those skies from water, and clouds will stand out strongly. These wavelengths also penetrate a few millimeters into skin and give a milky look to portraits, although eyes often look black.

Harris Shutter

The Harris Shutter is a bit of a misnomer, being a technique, rather than a piece of photographic equipment.

The effect is produced by re-exposing the same frame of film through Red, Green and Blue filters in turn, whilst keeping the camera steady. This will generate a rainbow of colour around any object that moves within the frame. Some good candidates for subjects include waterfalls (pictured, right), clouds blowing over a landscape or people walking across a busy town square.

Traditionally, the technique is either achieved using a camera that allows in-register multiple exposures, and changing filters on the front of the lens. Another alternative was to make a drop through filter that consisted of the three coloured gels and two opaque sections that is literally dropped through a filter holder during exposure.

With the advent of digital photography, the process has become a lot simpler - the photographer can simply take three colour photographs on location, and then use software to take the Red channel from one exposure, combine with the blue and green channels from the other two photos to good effect - this even allows for correction of movement if the camera is inadvertently moved between exposures.

Photographic processing

Conventional photographic films and papers need to be chemically processed after they have been exposed in order to produce the desired negative or positive image. The general process is similar whatever the make of film or paper. The only obvious exceptions are a few proprietary makes such as Polaroid and other instant self-processing techniques; Kodachrome which cannot be processed except in Kodak laboratories. There are also a small number of relatively uncommon processes using dye decomposition technologies such as Cibachrome.

Development does three things: it transforms the latent image into a visible image that can be seen, it makes the visible image permanent and resistant to deterioration with time, and it renders the film insensitive to light.

Digiscoping

Digiscoping is a method of obtaining photos using a digital camera through a telescope or, less often, binoculars. Afocal projection is a method of astrophotography in which photographs are taken by holding or mounting the camera over the telescope eyepiece, with the camera taking the place of your eye. Afocal projection is the method most commonly associated with digiscoping.

Cyanotype

Cyanotype is an old monochrome photographic printing process that gives a cyan-blue print.

The English scientist and astronomer Sir John Herschel discovered this procedure in 1842. Though Herschel is perhaps the inventor of the cyanotype process, it was Anna Atkins, a British scientist, who brought the process into the realm of photography. She created a limited series of cyanotype books that documented ferns and other plant life. By using this process, Anna Atkins is regarded as the first woman photographer.

The process uses two chemicals:

* Ammonium iron(III) citrate
* Potassium ferricyanide

They result in a photo-sensitive solution when dissolved in water, which is used to coat a material (usually paper). A positive image can be produced by exposing it to a source of ultraviolet light (such as sunlight) with a negative. The UV light reduces the iron(III) to iron(II). This is followed by a complex reaction of the iron(II) complex with ferricyanide. The result is an insoluble, blue dye (ferric ferrocyanide) known as Prussian blue.

The developing of the picture takes place by flushing it with flowing water. The water-soluble iron(III) salts are washed away, while the non-water-soluble Prussian blue remains in the paper. This is what gives the picture its typical blue color. The process was popular in engineering circles well into the 20th century. The simple and low-cost process enabled them to produce large-scale copies of their work, referred to as blueprints.

Cross processing

Cross processing (sometimes abbreviated to xpro) is the procedure of deliberately processing photographic film in a chemical solution intended for a different type of film.

Cross processing usually involves one of the two following methods:

* Processing positive color reversal film in C-41 chemicals, resulting in a negative image on a colorless base
* Processing negative color print film in E-6 chemicals, resulting in a positive image but with the orange base of a normally processed color negative.

Astrophotography

Astrophotography ranges from simple images of bright objects to very complex exposures designed to reveal objects that are too faint to observe with the naked eye. With only a few exceptions, almost all astrophotography employs time exposures since both film and digital cameras can accumulate and sum light photons over long periods of time. This is just one of many distinct aspects of astrophotography that sets it apart from conventional photography.

Astrophotography poses challenges that are distinct from normal photography, because most subjects are usually quite faint, and are often small in angular size. Effective astrophotography requires the use of many of the following techniques:

* Mounting the camera at the focal point of a large telescope
* Film emulsions with low light sensitivity or specialized CCD cameras
* Very long exposure times and/or multiple exposures (often more than 20 per image).
* Accurate tracking of the subject to compensate for the rotation of the Earth during the exposure
* Use of filters to reduce background fogging due to light pollution of the night sky.

Aerial photography

Aerial photography is the taking of photographs of the ground while not supported by a ground-based structure. Cameras may be hand held or mounted, and photographs may be taken by an active photographer, or triggered remotely or automatically. Vehicles for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters; balloons, blimps and dirigibles; and rockets. kites can also be made into platforms, as can skydivers.

Aerial photography was first practiced by the French photographer and balloonist Nadar in 1858 over Paris, France. The use of aerial photography for military purposes was expanded during World War I by aviators such as Fred Zinn.

Aerial photography is used in cartography (particularly in photogrammetric surveys, which are often the basis for topographic maps), land-use planning, archeology, movie production, environmental studies, espionage, commercial advertising, conveyancing, and other fields. In the United States, aerial photographs are analyzed in preparation of many Phase I Environmental Site Assessments for real property analysis. Aerial photos are often processed by a GIS system.

Advances in radio controlled models has made it possible for radio controlled model aircraft to conduct low-altitude aerial photography. This has benefited real-estate advertising, where commercial and residential properties are the photographic subject. Full-size, manned aircraft are prohibited from low flyovers of populated locations. Miniature-size model aircraft offer full photographic access to these previously restricted areas. Miniature vehicles do not replace full-size aircraft, as full-size aircraft are capable of longer flight-times, higher altitudes, and greater equipment payloads.

Because anything capable of being viewed from a public space is considered outside the realm of privacy in the United States, aerial photography may legally document features and occurrences on private property.

For amateurs without a pilot license aerial photographs can be made using an Astrocam or an Oracle model rocket.

Wildlife photography

Wildlife photography is the act of taking photographs of wildlife. The art of good wildlife photography is regarded as being one of the more challenging forms of photography as it has several different requirements.

* Being a technically sound photographer, thus being able to expose correctly to have the desired effect of a wildlife photograph.
* Advanced photographic equipment. While wildlife photographs can be taken effectively using basic equipment it is facilitated by being able to use more sophisticated equipment. For example, 600mm lenses in conjunction with the latest autofocus camera bodies are generally required for bird photography. However different equipment is needed depending on the situation.
* Good field craft skills. Wildlife in general is difficult to approach thus a knowledge of the animal's behaviour will be needed in order to be able to predict actions. An ability to stalk animals effectively is often also required when attempting to get closer to wildlife. Hides are often required when photographing more timid subjects as these effectively conceal the photographer, although they prevent the photographer from moving in order to re-position a photograph.

VR photography

VR photography is the name the emerging field of virtual reality photography is being called.

VR photography is the art of capturing or creating a complete scene as a single image, as viewed when rotating about a single central position. Normally created by stitching together a number of photographs taken in a multi-row 360 degree rotation; the complete image can also be a totally computer generated effect, or a composite of real word photography and computer generated objects.

The composite image created is known as a VR Panorama and is a fully interactive digital image where "the viewer" is placed in the centre of a cylinder or a sphere onto which is projected a 360 degree wrap-around image; within which the viewer can rotate horizontally and vertically, as if they were immersed within the real world scene.

VR Panoramas are viewed through movie players such as Apple's QuickTime VR software which may be installed as part of a Web browser plug-in, or as a stand-alone player on a computers desktop or CD Rom. Whilst QuickTimeVR (QTVR) was the original player program there are now a growing number of different players and plug-ins, each with their own features, all helping to make VR Photography more popular than ever.

As of early 2007 the term "VR Photography" is still a fairly new one, but describes a process that has its foundation in the photography used in Virtual Tours since around 1995. However the ever increasing data speeds of internet connections now allow a much larger images to be published online, as such these larger file sizes allow VR Photographers to create higher resolution full-screen images with much more detail that helps to immerse the viewer into the scene.

Vernacular photography

Vernacular photography refers to the creation of photographs by amateur or unknown photographers who take everyday life and common things as subjects. Examples of vernacular photographs include travel and vacation photos, family snapshots, photos of friends, class portraits, identification photographs, and photobooth images. Vernacular photographs can also be considered types of "accidental" art, in that they often are unintentionally artistic in some way.

Closely related to vernacular photography is "found photography," which in one sense refers to the recovery of a "lost," unclaimed, or discarded vernacular photograph or snapshot. Found photos can be "found" at flea markets, thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales, in dumpsters and trash cans, between the pages of books, or on sidewalks.

Also, the use of vernacular photography in the arts is almost as old as photography itself. Vernacular photography has become far more commonplace in recent years as an art technique and is now a widely accepted genre of art photography. Artists who have made extensive use of vernacular photography in their work include Stephen Bull, Dick Jewell, Patrick McCoy, and Joachim Schmid.

Travel photography

Travel photography is a subcategory of photography that is characterized by documenting the landscapes, inhabitants, cultures, customs and history of a specific region of the world.

From the Photographic Society of America (PSA):

What is a Photo Travel Image?
It's an image that expresses the feeling of a time and place, portrays a land, its people, or a culture in its natural state, and has no geographical limitations.

Travel photography can be commercial in nature, done by professional photographers. The most well-known example is the pictures seen in the National Geographic magazine.

There is also amateur travel photography, represented by the kind of pictures taken by most tourists.

Street photography

Street photography uses the techniques of straight photography in that it shows a pure vision of something, like holding up a mirror to society. This genre of photography is present in contemporary times and is usually done as black and white photographs. Street photography tends to be ironic and distanced from its subject matter and often concentrates on a single human moment, caught at a decisive or poignant moment. In the 20th century, street photographers have provided an exemplary and detailed record of street culture in Europe and North America.

Many classic works of street photography were created in the period between roughly 1890 and 1975 and coincided with the introduction of small 35mm, rangefinder cameras. Classic practitioners of street photography include Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Alfred Eisenstaedt, W. Eugene Smith, William Eggleston, Brassaї, Willy Ronis, Robert Doisneau and Garry Winogrand.

Stock photography

Stock photography consists of existing photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. Book publishers, specialty publishers, magazines, advertising agencies, filmmakers, web designers, graphic artists, interior decor firms, corporate creative groups, and others use stock photography to fulfill the needs of their creative assignments.

A customer who uses stock photography instead of hiring a photographer can save time and money, but can also sacrifice creative control. Stock images can be presented in searchable online databases, purchased online, and delivered via download or email.

A collection of stock photography may also be called a photo archive, picture library, image bank or photo bank. As modern stock photography distributors often carry stills, video, and illustrations, none of the existing terminology provides a perfect match.

Still life photography

Still life photography is the practice or products of depicting inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made. Still life is the photography of small groups of objects, either found or put together for the purpose. Still life photography gives the photographer more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition than do photographs of other types of subjects such as landscape or portraiture.

Still life photography represents one of the most demanding aspects of photography. In this area the photographer is expected to have a highly refined sense of lighting coupled with superb compositional skills because the photographer is making pictures rather than taking them. Knowing where to look for propping and surfaces is also a valuable trait.

In addition to knowing the fundamentals of photography, successful still life photographers are intimately familiar with the tools of this field: tremendous studio lighting skills, ability to use large format view cameras, a strong visual technique, and distinctive stylistic approach.

Still life is one of the hardest of photographic genres to define. Portraits, nudes, architecture, lingerie, even special effects all raise certain expectations; but still life is another matter. It ranges from advertising shots to the most personal of work; from pictures that can take days to assemble in the studio, to those that are "found" compositions and are photographed by available light in a few moments; from subjects no bigger than the palm of your hand to those which fill a room.

Sports photography

The equipment used by a professional photographer usually includes a fast telephoto lens and a camera that has an extremely fast shutter speed that can rapidly take pictures.

Sport photography requires long lenses. In general, 200-600mm lenses are used for the reach. In professional sport photography work, Digital single-lens reflex cameras must be used, in order to achieve high rate of successive shots. That means using cameras with ability to take a minimum of 5 frames per second. In general, monopods are used as well, in order to support the camera and the heavy lenses. This minimizes the shaking of the camera.