This list includes 52 Photography words that start with L, from “LUT” to “Lux”. They range from technical camera terms to lighting and exposure concepts used in shooting, editing, and teaching.
Photography words that start with L are specific terms and abbreviations photographers use to describe gear, settings, and light. Many trace back to Latin roots or practical inventions, like “Lux” for illuminance measurement.
Below you’ll find the table with the columns: Term, Definition, Example, and Related article.
Term: The photography word or abbreviation, so you can scan the list and locate items quickly.
Definition: A concise explanation that clarifies meaning and helps you apply the term in shooting or editing situations.
Example: A short use-case or context so you see how the term appears in real projects or instructions.
Related article: Links to deeper guides or tutorials so you can explore topics and improve specific skills.
Photography words that start with L
| Term | Category | Abbreviation / Alt spelling | Typical units / examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lens | equipment | — | mm focal length; f/1.8–f/22 |
| Lens hood | accessory | lens shade | petal or round; plastic or metal |
| Lens element | optics | element | 3–20 elements per lens |
| Lens mount | equipment | mount | e.g., F, EF, E mounts; bayonet types |
| Lens flare | optics | flare | streaks, ghosts, circles |
| Lens coating | optics | coating; multi-coating | multi-coating, nano coating |
| Lens speed | optics | speed | max aperture e.g., f/1.2–f/4 |
| Lens resolution | optics | resolvability | lp/mm; MTF graphs |
| Lens distortion | optics | distortion | barrel, pincushion, mustache types |
| Leaf shutter | equipment | between-the-lens shutter | speeds up to 1/500s |
| Live View | technique | LV | rear LCD or EVF preview |
| Live histogram | exposure | live hist | RGB or luminance graphs |
| Light | lighting | illumination | sun, flash, continuous lights |
| Lighting | lighting | light setup | key, fill, rim, background lights |
| Light meter | measurement | meter; exposure meter | incident or reflected; handheld devices |
| Lux | measurement | lx | illuminance unit; <10 lx for very low light |
| Lumen | measurement | lm | bulb output e.g., 100–2,000 lm |
| Luminance | measurement | Y; luminance | nits; cd/m² display brightness |
| Luma | measurement | Y’ | video brightness channel; Y’CbCr |
| LUT | post-production | Lookup table; LUTs | 3D LUTs; .cube files |
| Lab color | post-production | LAB; L*a*b* | L*, a*, b* channels |
| Layer | post-production | layers | adjustment, pixel, mask layers |
| Local contrast | post-production | micro-contrast | clarity, midtone contrast |
| Latent image | technique | latent | invisible until development |
| Leading lines | composition | leading-lines | roads, fences, rails guide eye |
| Landscape | composition | landscape photography | wide-angle, panoramas |
| Low-key | lighting | low key | predominantly dark tones; high contrast |
| Low-light | lighting | low light | night, indoor; ISO 800–51,200 |
| Long exposure | technique | long-exposure | seconds to minutes; bulb mode |
| Long exposure noise reduction | exposure | LENR; Long-exposure NR | in-camera subtraction, doubles exposure time |
| Light painting | technique | painting with light | flashlight, LEDs during long exposure |
| Light tent | accessory | shoot-through tent | product photography; diffused soft light |
| Lightbox | accessory | light box | LED panel; softbox alternatives |
| Light ratio | lighting | key/fill ratio | 2:1, 4:1 common ratios |
| Low-pass filter | optics | anti-aliasing filter; OLPF | reduces moiré; may soften detail |
| Longitudinal chromatic aberration | optics | axial CA; LoCA | color fringing in bokeh |
| Lateral chromatic aberration | optics | transverse CA; TCA | color fringing at edges |
| Line pair | measurement | lp/mm; line pairs | resolution metric; e.g., 20 lp/mm |
| Lines per inch | measurement | LPI | printing halftone resolution; typical 85–300 LPI |
| Live composite | technique | live-composite | built-up exposures in-camera |
| Lens calibration | technique | microadjustment | AF microadjust; collimator use |
| Lens adapter | accessory | mount adapter | mechanical, smart adapters with electronics |
| Light diffuser | accessory | diffuser | softbox, scrim, umbrella |
| Light modifier | accessory | modifier | softboxes, grids, snoots, gels |
| Log | post-production | log profile | S-Log, C-Log; flat footage |
| Local adjustment | post-production | local edit | brush, graduated filter, radial tool |
| Latitude | exposure | exposure latitude | dynamic range tolerance; stops of recovery |
| LUT cube | post-production | .cube file | 3D LUT file format for grading |
| LUT preview | post-production | LUT preview | apply LUT before final render |
| Layer mask | post-production | mask | black/white mask; opacity control |
| Live view AF | equipment | LV AF | contrast-detect or phase-detect on sensor |
| Lumen output | measurement | light output | lm per fixture; 500–5,000 lm common |
Descriptions
Lens
Optical assembly that focuses light onto the sensor or film; focal length and maximum aperture determine field of view and light-gathering ability.
Lens hood
Accessory that mounts to the front of a lens to block stray light and reduce flare, improving contrast and protecting the front element.
Lens element
Individual glass or plastic pieces inside a lens; combinations and shapes control focus, aberrations, and image quality.
Lens mount
The mechanical and electronic interface between a lens and camera body, determining compatibility and communication.
Lens flare
Artefacts caused by stray light scattering inside the lens or hitting the sensor, producing streaks, haze, or colored ghosts.
Lens coating
Thin films applied to lens elements to reduce reflections, improve contrast, and minimize ghosting.
Lens speed
Informal term for a lens’s maximum aperture; faster lenses (lower f-number) allow shooting in lower light and produce shallower depth of field.
Lens resolution
Measure of a lens’s ability to render fine detail, often expressed in line pairs per millimeter or shown by MTF charts.
Lens distortion
Optical deviation causing straight lines to appear curved or bowed, most noticeable in wide-angle or inexpensive lenses.
Leaf shutter
Shutter built into the lens that opens and closes with blades, allowing flash sync at higher speeds and quieter operation.
Live View
Camera mode that uses the sensor to display a real-time image on an LCD or electronic viewfinder for composition and focusing.
Live histogram
On-screen graph showing tonal distribution in real time to judge exposure and avoid clipped highlights or shadows.
Light
Fundamental element of photography; its direction, quality, and color determine mood, exposure, and image clarity.
Lighting
Arrangement and control of light sources to shape subjects, set mood, and create depth in a scene.
Light meter
Device that measures scene brightness to help set correct exposure, using incident or reflected light readings.
Lux
SI unit for illuminance, describing how much luminous flux hits a surface; used to quantify ambient lighting levels.
Lumen
Unit of luminous flux that describes total visible light emitted by a source; helpful for comparing bulbs and LED panels.
Luminance
Photometric measure of brightness as perceived by the eye, used in exposure, display calibration, and HDR processing.
Luma
The brightness component in video and some color spaces; separates perceived luminance from chrominance (color) information.
LUT
A file that remaps color and tone values to apply consistent grading or film looks across images and video.
Lab color
Color space separating lightness (L*) from color channels, useful for precise color edits and global tonal adjustments.
Layer
Stacked elements in editing software allowing nondestructive adjustments, compositing, and selective edits using masks and blend modes.
Local contrast
Adjustment that enhances fine tonal differences in midtones to make textures and detail appear more defined.
Latent image
In film photography, the invisible change in emulsion after exposure that becomes visible when the film is developed.
Leading lines
Compositional technique using lines that draw the viewer’s eye toward a subject or into the scene, enhancing depth and focus.
Landscape
Genre focused on natural or outdoor scenes; often uses wide-angle lenses, small apertures, and careful composition.
Low-key
Lighting style and exposure where most of the image is dark, with isolated highlights to create mood and drama.
Low-light
Shooting conditions with limited illumination that require higher ISO, wider apertures, or slower shutter speeds.
Long exposure
Technique using slow shutter speeds to blur motion, smooth water, capture light trails, or record star movement.
Long exposure noise reduction
Camera setting that reduces thermal noise by taking a second dark frame and subtracting it from the long exposure.
Light painting
Creative technique where moving light sources are used during a long exposure to “paint” or draw in the frame.
Light tent
Portable enclosure with translucent sides used to evenly diffuse light around small subjects for clean product shots.
Lightbox
Enclosed, often flat, illuminated surface used to evenly light subjects or backgrounds for controlled product and portrait photography.
Light ratio
Measurement of relative brightness between main (key) and fill lights, influencing contrast and shadow detail in portraits and still life.
Low-pass filter
Optical filter placed over a sensor to slightly blur fine detail to prevent aliasing and moiré patterns in digital images.
Longitudinal chromatic aberration
Type of chromatic aberration where different wavelengths focus at different distances, producing color fringing in out-of-focus areas.
Lateral chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration that varies across the frame, causing color fringing towards the image periphery.
Line pair
Unit for measuring optical resolution as alternating black and white line pairs per millimeter, used in lens and sensor testing.
Lines per inch
Printing and halftone measure that defines how many halftone lines appear per inch, relevant when preparing photos for print.
Live composite
Camera mode that progressively accumulates only new light from multiple exposures to build light trails while preserving highlights.
Lens calibration
Process of adjusting a lens and camera body pairing to correct front-or back-focusing for optimal autofocus accuracy.
Lens adapter
Accessory that lets photographers use lenses from one mount on a different camera body, sometimes with automatic functions.
Light diffuser
Material or device that scatters light to soften shadows and reduce specular highlights for more flattering illumination.
Light modifier
Tools attached to or used with lights to shape, soften, color, or direct illumination for creative control.
Log
Gamma curve used in video capture that preserves shadow and highlight detail for grading; footage looks flat before color correction.
Local adjustment
Targeted edits applied to specific parts of an image rather than globally, allowing selective exposure, color, or sharpness changes.
Latitude
How much over- or under-exposure can be corrected in post; higher latitude means more flexibility with exposure errors.
LUT cube
Common file format for 3D LUTs that map input color values to output values for consistent look application across software and cameras.
LUT preview
Technique or camera feature that shows how a LUT will affect footage in real time to aid exposure and grading decisions.
Layer mask
Bitmap attached to a layer that controls visibility of layer areas; black hides, white reveals, gray gives partial transparency.
Live view AF
Autofocus mode using the camera’s sensor during live view, often better for manual focus assist and video focusing.
Lumen output
Specification of a light source’s brightness, helping photographers choose lights for studio and on-location work.