Photo Editing Glossary

Help overcome the challenge of adopting a new technology by learning the jargon associated with it. This photo editing glossary containing typical terms you'll encounter in your high-tech hobby serves as an introduction to digital image editing.

Cloning Tool

This fundamental copying tool gives you the ability to reproduce part of an image as a kind of "brush" that can be used to paint in a manner similar to digital paint programs. This tool is helpful if a your photo has a textural flaw. By painting over this flaw, you can recreate the original, correct texture.

Fill-Flash

Often termed a shadow-adjustment or highlighting tool, fill-flash enables you to repair an overly dark or overly light impression, whether in the foreground, background or main subject. Often, software downloads include this as an automatic function if you choose that option.

Adjustment Layers

This relatively sophisticated function lets you edit images using photo effects in layers without making changes to the actual photo. These effects are superimposed over your original image.

Use Type Effects

This phrase refers to effects rendered on text and applied to your digital image. A text mechanism may be required in order to enter text, based on your particular software. Using type effects, photo editors can embellish text with shadow or 3D effects, for instance.

Selection Tools

These tools are utilized in order to choose a portion of the image that you wish to tweak. Rudimentary selection tools typically take the form of simple geometric shapes. But in addition, you'll find more sophisticated selection tools which permit highly creative interplay as you edit photos.