This list includes 79 Photography words that start with C, from “C-41” to “Cyanotype”. They cover camera settings, printing methods, lighting techniques, and common accessories used by photographers.
Photography words that start with C are concise terms photographers use to describe gear, techniques, and processes. For example, “Cyanotype” names a 19th-century printing process prized for its deep blue tones.
Below you’ll find the table with Term, Definition, Category, Example, and Related.
Term: The word or abbreviation you can scan quickly to find the concept you want to learn about.
Definition: A concise one- or two-sentence explanation that gives you a clear practical understanding of each term.
Category: A short label that groups each term by type, helping you filter items by topic or use.
Example: A brief usage note or real-world example showing how the term applies in shooting or post-processing.
Related: Links or cross-references to similar terms you can follow to deepen your understanding or find alternatives.
Photography words that start with C
| Term | Category | Abbrev/Alt spellings | Typical units / example values |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camera | Equipment | N/A | N/A |
| Camera body | Equipment | Body | N/A |
| Camera sensor | Sensor/Technical | Image sensor | Megapixels, e.g., 24 MP |
| Camera obscura | Technique | N/A | N/A |
| Camera RAW | File format | RAW | .CR2; .CR3; .NEF examples |
| Camera firmware | Sensor/Technical | Firmware | N/A |
| Capture | Technique | Capture image | N/A |
| Capture rate | Measurement | Frame rate | e.g., 10 fps |
| C-mount | Equipment | C mount | N/A |
| Circle of confusion | Measurement | CoC | Typical 0.02–0.03 mm |
| Circle flash modifier? N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Close-up | Technique | N/A | N/A |
| Close-up lens | Equipment | Close-up filter | Diopters, e.g., +1 to +4 |
| C-stand | Equipment | Century stand | N/A |
| Color balance | Post-production | White balance related | N/A |
| Color cast | Post-production | Color shift | N/A |
| Color checker | Equipment | Color chart; ColorChecker | N/A |
| Color correction | Post-production | Color-corr | N/A |
| Color grading | Post-production | Grading | N/A |
| Color profile | Post-production | ICC profile | sRGB; Adobe RGB |
| Color space | Post-production | N/A | sRGB; Adobe RGB; ProPhoto |
| Color temperature | Lighting | CT | 2,000–10,000 K |
| Color gamut | Post-production | N/A | sRGB; ProPhoto examples |
| Color depth | Measurement | Bit depth | 8-bit; 16-bit |
| Compression | File format | Lossy/lossless | JPEG; ZIP examples |
| Compression ratio | Measurement | N/A | e.g., 2:1; 10:1 |
| Compression artifacts | Post-production | Artifacts | N/A |
| Contrast | Exposure | N/A | N/A |
| Contrast ratio | Measurement | N/A | e.g., 1,000:1 |
| Contrast detection AF | Technique | CDAF | N/A |
| Continuous autofocus | Technique | AF-C | N/A |
| Continuous shooting | Technique | Burst mode | e.g., 10 fps |
| Continuous lighting | Lighting | Constant light | Watts; lumens |
| Curves | Post-production | Tone curve | N/A |
| Cropping | Post-production | N/A | Aspect ratios e.g., 3:2, 4:3 |
| Crop sensor | Sensor/Technical | APS‑C; DX | Sensor size e.g., 22.3 × 14.9 mm |
| Crop factor | Measurement | Focal-length multiplier | e.g., 1.5×; 1.6× |
| Cross-processing | Technique | X-process | N/A |
| Chromatic aberration | Sensor/Technical | CA | N/A |
| Chrominance | Sensor/Technical | Chroma; CbCr | N/A |
| Chroma subsampling | File format | 4:4:4; 4:2:2; 4:2:0 | 4:2:2; 4:2:0 |
| Chroma key | Technique | Chroma keying | N/A |
| Channel | Post-production | RGB channel | R; G; B |
| Channel mixer | Post-production | N/A | N/A |
| Clipping | Post-production | N/A | N/A |
| Cloud storage | Post-production | Cloud backup | N/A |
| Color negative | Film | N/A | N/A |
| Color reversal | Film | Slide; Transparency | N/A |
| Colorimeter | Equipment | N/A | cd/m²; nits |
| Calibration | Technique | N/A | N/A |
| Camera shake | Technique/Exposure | N/A | N/A |
| Catchlight | Lighting | N/A | N/A |
| Center-weighted metering | Exposure | CWM | N/A |
| Cine lens | Equipment | Cinema lens | N/A |
| Clamshell lighting | Lighting | Clamshell | N/A |
| Click stop | Equipment | N/A | N/A |
| CMOS | Sensor/Technical | Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor | N/A |
| CCD | Sensor/Technical | Charge-coupled device | N/A |
| Color management | Post-production | N/A | N/A |
| Color moiré | Sensor/Technical | Chromatic moiré | N/A |
| Contact sheet | Post-production | N/A | N/A |
| Contact print | Technique | N/A | N/A |
| Compositing | Post-production | N/A | N/A |
| Convergence | Composition | N/A | N/A |
| Culling | Post-production | Cull | N/A |
| Curvature of field | Sensor/Technical | Field curvature | N/A |
| Cyanotype | Technique | Alternative process | N/A |
| Cyan | Color | N/A | N/A |
| Colored gel | Lighting | Gel; color gel | N/A |
| Cold shoe | Equipment | Cold shoe | N/A |
| Color lookup table | Post-production | LUT | 1D LUT; 3D LUT |
| CMOS rolling shutter | Sensor/Technical | Rolling shutter | N/A |
| Calibration target | Equipment | Test chart | N/A |
| Color sampling | Post-production | Eyedropper sampling | N/A |
| Color temperature meter | Equipment | CT meter | Kelvin |
| Color noise | Sensor/Technical | Chrominance noise | N/A |
| CR2 | File format | Canon RAW 2 | .CR2 |
| CR3 | File format | Canon RAW 3 | .CR3 |
| C-41 | Film | C‑41 process | N/A |
Descriptions
Camera
The device that records photographs, combining lens, sensor or film, controls, and storage to capture images.
Camera body
The main housing of a camera that contains controls, sensor, electronics and mounts for lenses and accessories.
Camera sensor
The light-sensitive chip (CCD or CMOS) that converts a projected image into electronic data in digital cameras.
Camera obscura
A historical pinhole-like device that projects an external scene onto a surface, demonstrating the basic optical principle of a camera.
Camera RAW
An unprocessed sensor file format preserving maximum data for flexible editing and higher-quality output than JPEG.
Camera firmware
Embedded software in a camera that controls functions; updates can add features, fix bugs, or improve performance.
Capture
The act of recording a photograph or video frame with a camera, including choices of exposure, focus, and timing.
Capture rate
How many frames per second a camera records during continuous shooting; important for action or sports photography.
C-mount
A screw-thread lens mount used on many machine-vision and older cine cameras, common for small-format lenses and adapters.
Circle of confusion
A technical value defining the largest point that appears acceptably sharp, used to calculate depth of field.
Circle flash modifier? N/A
N/A
Close-up
Shooting subjects at short distances to emphasize detail; often requires macro lenses or accessories for higher magnification.
Close-up lens
Screw-on lenses (filters) that reduce minimum focus distance to allow closer focusing without a dedicated macro lens.
C-stand
A sturdy studio stand used to hold lights, modifiers, reflectors, or backgrounds; a staple of professional lighting setups.
Color balance
Adjusting colors so neutral tones appear neutral, compensating for different light sources for accurate color rendition.
Color cast
An unwanted overall tint in an image caused by dominant lighting or incorrect white balance, requiring correction in editing.
Color checker
A printed reference target used to set white balance and create accurate camera profiles for consistent color.
Color correction
Adjusting an image’s color and exposure to achieve natural-looking results or consistent appearance across multiple shots.
Color grading
Creative alteration of colors and tones to set the mood or stylistic look of images or video after correction.
Color profile
A standardized description of how colors are represented for devices and files to ensure consistency across systems.
Color space
Defines the range of colors a file or device can represent; wider spaces preserve more colors.
Color temperature
A Kelvin scale measure describing a light source’s color appearance, from warm (low K) to cool (high K).
Color gamut
The complete range of colors a device or color space can reproduce.
Color depth
The number of bits per color channel determining color precision and smoothness of tonal transitions.
Compression
Reducing file size by encoding data; may be lossless (no quality loss) or lossy (some image detail discarded).
Compression ratio
A numeric expression of how much a file’s size has been reduced through compression.
Compression artifacts
Visual defects (blockiness, banding) that appear when lossy compression is applied too aggressively.
Contrast
The tonal difference between light and dark areas; high contrast yields strong highlights and shadows, low contrast looks flat.
Contrast ratio
A measure comparing the brightest to darkest reproducible tones, commonly used for displays and lighting.
Contrast detection AF
An autofocus method that looks for maximum contrast on the sensor to determine sharpest focus, common in mirrorless cameras.
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus mode that continuously adjusts focus to track moving subjects during shooting.
Continuous shooting
Shooting multiple frames rapidly while holding the shutter to capture fast action or decisive moments.
Continuous lighting
Lights that emit a steady output (LEDs, tungsten) so you can preview how light falls on subjects in real time.
Curves
A flexible tool for tonal and contrast adjustments that remaps brightness values using a graph of input vs output.
Cropping
Removing or reframing parts of an image to change composition, aspect ratio, or focus on the subject.
Crop sensor
A sensor smaller than full-frame 35mm, producing a narrower field of view with the same lens.
Crop factor
A multiplier describing how a smaller sensor changes the effective field of view compared to full-frame.
Cross-processing
Developing film in chemistry intended for a different type of film, producing unusual color shifts and contrast effects.
Chromatic aberration
An optical lens defect where different wavelengths focus at different points, causing color fringing at high-contrast edges.
Chrominance
The color component of a video or image signal, separate from luminance (brightness) information.
Chroma subsampling
A compression technique reducing color resolution relative to brightness to save bandwidth while preserving detail.
Chroma key
A compositing method that replaces a single-color background (usually green or blue) with another image or video.
Channel
A single color component (red, green, or blue) in an image that can be edited independently.
Channel mixer
An editing tool that remaps or mixes color channel contributions for correction or creative effects.
Clipping
Loss of detail where highlights or shadows become pure white or black due to overexposure or underexposure.
Cloud storage
Online services for storing, syncing, and sharing photos offsite to protect files and enable remote access.
Color negative
Color negative film yields an inverted color image on film that’s later printed or scanned and color-corrected to positive.
Color reversal
Also called slide film; produces a positive color image on film that’s viewed or scanned directly, commonly for projection.
Colorimeter
A device that measures and aids calibration of displays and lights to ensure accurate color and brightness reproduction.
Calibration
Adjusting devices (camera, monitor, printer) or workflows to a known standard so color and exposure remain consistent.
Camera shake
Blur caused by camera movement during exposure; countered by faster shutter speeds, tripods, or image stabilization.
Catchlight
A small highlight in a subject’s eye from a light source that adds sparkle and life to portraiture.
Center-weighted metering
A metering mode that measures exposure primarily from the center area while still considering the whole scene.
Cine lens
Lenses built for motion picture work, usually with geared focus rings, de-clicked apertures, and consistent optical performance.
Clamshell lighting
A portrait setup using a main light above and a reflector or fill below the subject for soft, flattering illumination.
Click stop
A tactile detent on aperture or focus rings that gives repeatable settings, handy for manual focus and consistent aperture steps.
CMOS
A dominant image sensor technology in modern cameras offering efficient power use and on-chip processing features.
CCD
An earlier image sensor technology known for particular image characteristics; less common in modern consumer cameras.
Color management
Workflow methods using profiles and calibration to maintain consistent color from capture through editing to final output.
Color moiré
Rainbow-like interference patterns caused by fine repeating details interacting with sensor pixel grid or demosaic processing.
Contact sheet
A print or digital grid of thumbnail images from a roll or folder used to review and select images quickly.
Contact print
A photographic print made by placing a negative directly onto light-sensitive paper, producing a life-size positive image.
Compositing
Combining multiple images or elements into a single final image for creative effects or to extend dynamic range.
Convergence
The appearance of parallel or receding lines meeting in an image, used as a compositional tool to suggest depth or lead the eye.
Culling
The process of selecting the best images and removing rejects from a shoot before detailed editing.
Curvature of field
A lens aberration where the plane of focus is curved, causing parts of a flat subject to be out of focus.
Cyanotype
A historic contact-printing process producing deep-blue images using iron-based chemistry, popular for artistic results.
Cyan
A subtractive primary color (cyan, magenta, yellow) used in printing and in color models like CMYK.
Colored gel
Transparent colored sheets placed over lights to change color temperature or create creative lighting effects.
Cold shoe
A non-electrical mount on top of a camera for attaching accessories like microphones or small lights.
Color lookup table
A preset mapping that remaps color values to achieve consistent grading or emulate film looks.
CMOS rolling shutter
A sensor readout method where rows are exposed sequentially, possibly causing skew when subjects move quickly.
Calibration target
Physical or printed references (gray card, color chart) used to calibrate exposure and color profiles.
Color sampling
Measuring a pixel’s color value in editing software to match or correct colors precisely.
Color temperature meter
A handheld device that measures the color temperature of light to set accurate white balance.
Color noise
Random colored speckles in an image, often visible in shadows or at high ISO due to sensor limitations.
CR2
A Canon proprietary RAW file format used by many Canon DSLR cameras to store unprocessed sensor data.
CR3
A newer Canon RAW file format offering improved compression, metadata handling, and features over CR2.
C-41
The standard chemical process for developing modern color negative film in labs around the world.