Welcome to the Life after Photoshop photo-editing A-Z. It’s very easy to use – just click a heading to expand a definition of that term. There are links to specific programs and many of the entries link to a tag which will show related articles. I hope you find it useful.
British vs American spellings
This A-Z uses British rather than American spellings, e.g. ‘colour’ rather than ‘color’. Apologies if this is confusing. This link may prove helpful.
D
- Dark Contrasts (Color Efex Pro)A tool in Color Efex Pro, part of the Nik Collection of plug-ins, which adds a dark, dramatic, low-key look to photos.
- DarksThe parametric Tone Curve panel in Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC splits the tonal range up into four sections: Shadows (the darkest), Darks, Lights and Highlights. This is slightly more precise than photographers' usual description of 'shadows', 'midtones' and 'highlights'.
- Daylight (white balance)This is a white balance preset designed to give neutral colours in fine weather near the middle of the day. You’ll find a preset for this on most cameras’ white balance menus, and you can choose this preset when processing RAW files – though RAW converters don’t always agree about what the precise temperature and tint values should be, and may vary their settings camera-by-camera.
- DehazeThis is a relatively new tool in Lightroom and other programs. What the Dehaze effect does is to split the image up into different tonal areas – such as the sky and the foreground in a landscape photo – and then maximise the contrast within these areas. The effect is strongest in areas which are quite pale and washed out, such as weak skies or distant hazy horizons.
- DemosaicProcess where the camera (or RAW conversion software) takes the ‘mosaic’ of red, green and blue pixel data from the sensor and converts it into full-colour information.
- Depth of fieldDepth of field is the distance in front of and behind your main subject that still looks sharp. With shallow depth of field it's only your subject that's sharp. Increased depth of field means a wider zone of sharpness in front of and behind your subject.
- Detail ExtractorA tool in some Nik plug-ins which simultaneously brightens shadow detail, brings out detail in highlights and increases local contrast to produce a more intense and dramatic image.
- DevelopA term used by some software companies, for example Serif in its Affinity Photo software, to describe the RAW conversion process, where a RAW file is processed into an editable image.
- DfineSoftware plug in for reducing noise in images and part of the Nik Collection. Like many other noise reduction programs, Dfine analyses the image and calculates a noise reduction profile. It’s also possible to define the areas used for analysis manually.
- DiffractionDiffraction is an image softening effect caused by very narrow lens apertures. It happens because light tends to bend when it passes over the edge of an aperture, and with small apertures a larger proportion of the light is diffracted (scattered).
- DistortionDistortion is a general term for when lenses fail to show straight lines as straight and instead show them as curve or bowed. You can get barrel distortion, where straight lines appear to bow outwards towards the edges of the picture, and pincushion distortion where they bow inwards. Fisheye distortion is an extreme example with extreme wideangle lenses where no attempt is made to correct the distortion.
- Distortion correctionMany lenses create distortion, where straight lines take on a slightly bowed appearance near the edges of the frame. Lens designers try to minimise distortion, but it's still common in zoom lenses. Many cameras and software applications now have distortion correction features, however, were the distortion is corrected digitally rather than optically.
- DNG Converter (Adobe)This is a handy free tool you can download from the Adobe website for converting digital camera RAW files into Adobe’s generic DNG format. It’s useful if you have a new camera but an older version of Photoshop, Elements or Lightroom that won’t open its RAW files.
- Dodging and burningDodging and burning is an old black and white technique for darkening or lightening different areas of a print while it's being developed. Dodging and burning is a creative process that's just as relevant with digital images. It's done to enhance the tones, the composition and the balance of a picture to create a visually satisfying image.
- DropboxAn online storage system for your files and photos. You copy photos to a Dropbox folder on your computer and they are synchronised with the online Dropbox servers so that you can access them from anywhere. You can get a free account with a small amount of storage, but it’s essentially a subscription-based service.
- Duplex (Color Efex Pro)Combines a soft-focus ‘glow’ effect with a colour tone in Color Efex Pro. It can prove useful for some effects, but it’s not a filter you’d use every day.
- Dust Off (Nikon)A system offered with Nikon DSLRs for dealing with dust spots on the sensor. You take a reference shot of a white card which highlights any dust spots, and then Nikon image-editing software can use this to target dust spots on your photos and process them out.
- DxOParis-based software company famous for its optical research, testing systems and software. It publishes DxO PhotoLab (previously known as DxO Optics Pro), FilmPack and ViewPoint, and has recently acquired the Nik Collection from Google.
- DxO FilmPackA software plug-in/add-on published by DxO software. It aims to replicate the appearance of classic films and darkroom processes using film simulations, grain simulation, light leaks, borders and more.
- DxO Optics ProDxO Optics Pro was a high-quality RAW processing and lens correction tool with some sophisticated global image adjustment tools and image effect presets. It's since been superseded by DxO PhotoLab, which now has local adjustment tools following DxO's purchase of the Nik Collection and its control point technology.
- DxO PhotoLabDxO PhotoLab is the replacement for the old DxO Optics Pro, adding in local adjustment tools when DxO bought the Nik Collection and its technologies from Google. PhotoLab is now a powerful all image browsing, raw processing, lens correction and editing tool, and is renowned for the image quality it can create.
- DxO ViewPointViewPoint is a software plug-in/add-on from DxO software which is designed specifically for correcting both lens distortions and perspective distortion, such as converging verticals and keystoning effects.
- Dynamic rangeThis is the brightness range the camera can capture before starting to lose detail in bright areas (like the sky) and dense, dark shadows. Generally, the larger the camera’s sensor, the better its dynamic range. RAW files capture a slightly wider dynamic range than JPEGs.