The language of photography - Glossary

Framing involves choosing the boundaries of a photograph—what you want to include and, conversely, what you want to leave out. What is included is arranged within the frame, while the rest disappears “out of frame.” When we talk about a frontal composition, all the elements that make up the image are facing the photographer and are on the same plane. 

In the arts and culture sector, a “carte blanche” refers to an invitation extended to an artist or a group of artists to develop a creative project on a subject of their choice, within a specific context and geographical area. 

This term refers to the choices a photographer makes in organizing and bringing together the various elements in a photograph. 

This term indicates that the photographer positioned himself below his subject. 

Under the right to privacy as set forth in Article 9 of the Civil Code, an individual’s image may not be published without his or her consent. 

Copyright is the set of rights held by an author (writer, photographer, visual artist, etc.) over their works, and which—particularly in the case of photographs—allows for the regulation of their distribution, any cropping, and accompanying captions, and ensures that photographers are compensated. 

This is the part that the image does not show (such as what is around the subject), but which can still affect the frame—a term that refers to what is included in the shot. 

A staged photograph is an image in which the elements (people, settings, objects, etc.) are deliberately arranged and organized before the shot is taken. 

A negative film is a type of photographic film in which the recorded images have their luminance and chrominance values inverted relative to the original image, unlike slide film. A print is made from the negative. 

A lens is the optical system of a camera. Composed of lenses, it allows you to bring the subject closer or move it farther away. There are different types of lenses, also known as “optics”: wide-angle, fisheye, telephoto, and so on.

Documentary photography aims to depict the world as objectively and neutrally as possible, without, however, neglecting the genuine aesthetic and ideological commitment of its creators. 

This term refers to the image defined by the distance of the lens and the framing in relation to the subject. The “foreground” is the part closest to the camera, and the “background” is the part farthest away. We can also refer to an “American shot” when a subject is framed at mid-thigh level, a “close-up” when an image isolates and highlights a detail, and a “close-up shot”—often used in portraiture—when the image shows the subject’s face and upper body. Finally, we refer to a “wide shot” when an image shows a subject in full within their surroundings. 

This term indicates that the photographer positioned himself or herself above the subject. 

Generally speaking, this term refers to the depiction of a person. Photographic portraits have existed since the dawn of photography. Initially reserved for the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie, they gradually made self-portraiture more accessible to the general public. 

"Taking a photograph" refers to the act of capturing the image of the subject on a photosensitive medium. 

A series is a collection or sequence of photographs that, through shared narrative or aesthetic elements, form a coherent whole. 

A photograph is taken on the spot when the subject is not posing but is photographed in the midst of an action, or even in motion. 

This is a process that allows you to produce a print from an image captured on film or a digital sensor. The word “print” also refers to the resulting photograph.