This list includes 49 Photography words that start with D, from “Burning” to “Dynamic tone mapping”. Many are camera settings, lens effects, lighting terms, or editing techniques used across genres.
Photography words that start with D are terms used to describe camera settings, composition choices, lighting approaches, and editing methods. For example, “Daguerreotype” marks a major nineteenth-century photographic process that helped popularize the medium.
Below you’ll find the table with Term, Definition, and Further reading.
Term: Each entry shows the photography word beginning with D, helping you locate the specific concept quickly.
Definition: A concise one- to two-sentence explanation clarifies meaning and practical use so you can apply it.
Further reading: Links or references point to in-depth articles, tutorials, or manuals when you want to learn more.
Photography words that start with D
| Term | Category | Abbreviation / Alternate spellings | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depth of Field | Composition | DoF | Range of distances appearing acceptably sharp |
| Diffraction | Other | N/A | Light bending that reduces sharpness at small apertures |
| Diaphragm | Equipment | Aperture blades | Mechanical iris inside a lens that forms the aperture |
| Diopter | Equipment | N/A | Eyepiece optical adjustment for viewfinder focus |
| DNG | File format | Digital Negative | Open raw image file format created by Adobe |
| DSLR | Equipment | Digital SLR, D-SLR | Digital single-lens reflex camera type with mirror and prism |
| Digital zoom | Setting | N/A | Electronic image enlargement by cropping and resampling |
| Dynamic Range | Measurement | DR | Range between darkest and brightest recordable tones |
| Dynamic Range Compression | Post-processing | N/A | Reducing scene contrast to fit medium’s tonal limits |
| Demosaicing | Post-processing | Demosaic | Process reconstructing full-color image from sensor mosaic data |
| Denoise | Post-processing | Denoising | Removing random sensor noise or ISO grain from images |
| Deconvolution | Post-processing | N/A | Mathematical sharpening that reverses blur using a point-spread function |
| Dark Frame | Technique | Dark-frame | Exposure taken with lens cap to measure sensor noise |
| Dark-frame subtraction | Technique | N/A | Removing sensor noise by subtracting a dark frame from the image |
| Darkroom | Other | N/A | Controlled room for chemical film development and printing |
| Developer | Other | N/A | Chemical solution that develops exposed film or paper |
| Dodging | Post-processing | Dodge | Local brightening technique from darkroom transferred to digital tools |
| Burning | Post-processing | Burn, Burn-in | Local darkening technique opposite of dodging |
| Double exposure | Technique | Multiple exposure | Combining two or more exposures into a single image |
| Dehaze | Post-processing | Dehazer | Tool to reduce atmospheric haze and increase local contrast |
| Desaturation | Post-processing | N/A | Reducing color intensity toward neutral or grayscale |
| Distortion | Other | N/A | Lens-induced warping where straight lines curve |
| Distortion correction | Post-processing | N/A | Software adjustment to remove lens geometric distortion |
| Depth map | Other | N/A | Grayscale image encoding distance of scene points from camera |
| Depth of focus | Other | N/A | Range behind lens where image remains acceptably sharp on the sensor |
| Depth compositing | Technique | Focus stacking | Combining several images focused at different distances for greater DOF |
| Distance scale | Measurement | N/A | Lens markings indicating focus distance in meters and feet |
| Dead pixel | Other | N/A | Sensor pixel permanently stuck or non-responsive |
| Dust reduction | Setting | Dust delete, sensor cleaning | Camera systems or procedures to prevent dust on the sensor |
| Drop shadow | Post-processing | N/A | Shadow effect added behind subjects or text to suggest depth |
| D-Log | Setting | N/A | Logarithmic video picture profile preserving wide tonal range |
| Dual Native ISO | Setting | Dual ISO | Sensor design offering two base ISOs for cleaner high-ISO performance |
| Dual Pixel AF | Technique | DP AF, Dual Pixel CMOS AF | On-sensor phase-detect autofocus system providing fast, accurate AF |
| Dual Pixel RAW | File format | DPR | Raw file feature storing micro-shift data for post adjustments |
| Dmax | Measurement | D-max | Maximum optical density (deepest black) a film or paper can reproduce |
| Dmin | Measurement | D-min | Minimum optical density (lightest tone) or base fog level |
| DPI | Measurement | dots per inch | Printing or display resolution measuring dots per linear inch |
| Display P3 | Other | P3, Display-P3 | Wide-gamut color space used for modern displays and editing |
| Daylight white balance | Setting | Daylight | White balance preset (~5,500 K) matched to midday sun |
| Diffuser | Lighting | N/A | Material or tool that scatters light to soften shadows and highlights |
| Diffusion filter | Equipment | Softening filter | Optical filter that reduces contrast and softens highlights for a glow effect |
| Diffusion gel | Lighting | N/A | Thin translucent sheet used to soften or color light on flashes/fixtures |
| Dust spot removal | Post-processing | Spot healing, clone stamp | Retouching process to eliminate dark sensor dust artifacts |
| Dynamic range optimizer | Setting | DRO | Camera feature boosting shadow detail while preserving highlights |
| Dynamic tone mapping | Post-processing | N/A | Local tone mapping to retain detail across bright and dark areas |
| Diopter adjustment | Setting | N/A | Adjustment of the viewfinder eyepiece measured in diopters |
| Depth sensor | Equipment | N/A | Hardware that measures distance to subjects to create depth information |
| Depth priority AF | Technique | N/A | Autofocus mode prioritizing subject distance consistency for focus |
| DOF preview | Setting | Depth-of-field preview | Camera control stopping lens to selected aperture to preview depth of field |
Descriptions
Depth of Field
How much of a scene appears in focus from foreground to background; controlled by aperture, focal length, and subject distance (e.g., shallow at f/1.8, deep at f/16).
Diffraction
Optical effect when the aperture is very small (e.g., f/16–f/22), causing fine detail to soften even if focus is correct.
Diaphragm
The diaphragm is made of blades that open/close to set aperture size, affecting exposure, depth of field, and bokeh quality.
Diopter
A small adjustable lens near the viewfinder you twist to match the viewfinder focus to your eyesight without glasses.
DNG
DNG stores raw sensor data in a standardized file for compatibility and archival use across different software and cameras.
DSLR
A camera design using a mirror to route the lens image to an optical viewfinder; popular before mirrorless systems became mainstream.
Digital zoom
Zooming performed by the camera or phone processor that crops and interpolates pixels, usually lowering image quality versus optical zoom.
Dynamic Range
Specifies how much tonal information a sensor or film can capture across shadows and highlights, often expressed in stops or EV.
Dynamic Range Compression
Techniques such as tone mapping or local contrast adjustments that preserve shadow/highlight detail in high-contrast scenes.
Demosaicing
Raw converters interpolate neighboring sensor pixels (Bayer/RGGB) to generate RGB values for each pixel during raw processing.
Denoise
Software reduces luminance or color noise produced at high ISO or long exposures; balance needed to avoid loss of fine detail.
Deconvolution
Used to restore detail from motion or optical blur by estimating and reversing the blur pattern, often in astrophotography or microscopy.
Dark Frame
A same-length exposure shot with the lens cap to record hot pixels and thermal noise for subtraction from a long exposure.
Dark-frame subtraction
Cameras or software subtract the dark-frame data from long exposures to eliminate hot pixels and reduce thermal noise artifacts.
Darkroom
Traditional workspace for developing film and making prints using enlargers, trays, and chemical baths.
Developer
Different developers affect film grain, contrast, and tonal response during analog film processing.
Dodging
Selective lightening used to draw attention or balance exposures, performed with traditional paper dodging or software brushes.
Burning
Used to reduce brightness or add contrast to specific areas, helping shape the tonal balance in a print or digital image.
Double exposure
Can be done in-camera or in post to create creative overlays, ghosting effects, or composite storytelling.
Dehaze
Common in landscape editing to restore clarity and color in distant subjects while controlling contrast and saturation.
Desaturation
Used for stylistic muted looks or to convert parts of an image toward monochrome while keeping other areas in color.
Distortion
Optical aberration like barrel or pincushion distortion affects architectural lines; corrected in-camera or via lens profiles in post.
Distortion correction
Lens profiles or manual tools straighten curved lines and restore natural geometry in architectural and product photography.
Depth map
Used for selective focus effects, background blur, 3D compositing, or computational photography features like portrait mode.
Depth of focus
Technical counterpart to depth of field; important for sensor alignment and optical tolerance in lens design.
Depth compositing
Take multiple shots focused progressively through the scene and merge them to achieve sharpness from foreground to background.
Distance scale
Useful for zone focusing and calculating hyperfocal distance for street or landscape photography.
Dead pixel
Appears as a fixed black/bright/color dot; often corrected by camera pixel mapping or sensor repair.
Dust reduction
Includes ultrasonic sensor-shake cleaning, anti-static coatings, and manual sensor-cleaning to avoid dust spots on images.
Drop shadow
Common in compositing and product photography to separate subjects from backgrounds and add realism.
D-Log
Record flat-looking footage in D-Log to retain highlights and shadows for later color grading (common in drones and cameras).
Dual Native ISO
Switches between two analog gain circuits so higher sensitivity images have reduced noise compared with standard high-ISO amplification.
Dual Pixel AF
Enables smooth continuous autofocus and subject tracking in stills and video by using sensor pixels for phase detection.
Dual Pixel RAW
Canon feature that embeds additional phase/shift information enabling small-focus, bokeh or ghosting corrections in post-processing.
Dmax
Higher Dmax indicates deeper blacks and greater tonal richness in film negatives or prints.
Dmin
Lower Dmin means clearer highlights and less fog or base density in film or printing processes.
DPI
Common print spec; 300 DPI is frequently recommended for high-quality photographic prints.
Display P3
Wider color gamut than sRGB, useful when editing images for high-end monitors, phones, and HDR workflows.
Daylight white balance
Sets color temperature for neutral tones in sunny outdoor conditions without manual Kelvin adjustment.
Diffuser
Used over flashes or continuous lights (softboxes, diffusion panels) to produce flattering, even illumination on subjects.
Diffusion filter
Popular in portraiture and cinematic work to smooth skin textures and create a dreamy look.
Diffusion gel
Placed over lights to modify color temperature or soften beams without changing power significantly.
Dust spot removal
Use healing or cloning tools in Lightroom/Photoshop to remove sensor dust spots visible on uniform backgrounds or sky.
Dynamic range optimizer
On-camera processing that brightens shadows and tames highlights to reveal more information in a single exposure.
Dynamic tone mapping
Used in HDR and raw editors to compress dynamic range while maintaining local contrast and natural appearance.
Diopter adjustment
Quickly brings the viewfinder display into sharp focus for the photographer’s eyesight without wearing glasses.
Depth sensor
Found in phones and cameras to assist autofocus, portrait blur, and augmented reality by sensing subject distance.
Depth priority AF
Mode or algorithm that prefers focus solutions based on depth information to keep subjects consistently sharp.
DOF preview
Pressing the DOF preview button closes the aperture to show how much of the scene will be in focus at the chosen f-stop.