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Photography vocabulary · Files & Image Quality

Histogram

Meaning in photography, with examples

/ˈhɪstəɡræm/nounCommon term

In photography, histogram means: A graph that shows how the tones in a photo are spread out, from pure black on the left to pure white on the right.

In Turkish: histogram

How it is used

More reliable than judging brightness on the camera screen. Photographers check the histogram on location and in editing software. A graph pushed against the right edge warns of clipped highlights; one crowded at the left edge means lost shadow detail.

Example sentences

  1. The histogram is touching the right edge, so we're losing detail in the sky.

  2. Turn on the live histogram in the viewfinder.

Common collocations

  • check the histogram
  • live histogram
  • RGB histogram
  • read a histogram
  • exposureThe amount of light that reaches the camera's sensor or film when you take a picture; it decides how bright or dark the final image looks.
  • clippingThe loss of all detail in the brightest or darkest parts of an image, which become pure white or pure black.
  • overexposedToo bright because too much light reached the sensor, so light areas lose detail and may turn completely white.
  • underexposedToo dark because not enough light reached the sensor, so shadow areas lose detail and brightening them later adds noise.
  • dynamic rangeThe range of brightness, from the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights, that a camera can record with detail, or that exists in a scene.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Files & Image Quality

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