This is a list of definitions of photo editing terms, with links to articles that include them.
H
- HDR (26)HDR stands for 'high dynamic range', a technique that's used to capture scenes with a very high brightness range and employs shooting techniques and software tools to bring the brightest and darkest parts close enough together that they can both be seen in a single viewable image.
- HDR Efex Pro (Nik Collection) (2)HDR Efex Pro is a software plug-in for creating HDR (high dynamic range) effects from single images or bracketing sets of exposures. It's part of the DxO Nik Collection. You can apply preset HDR styles with a single click or adjust and make your own effects using extensive manual controls.
- Healing brush (1)A process or set of tools for removing an object from a picture or repairing a blemish simply by painting over it. It’s like cloning, except that you don’t have to define a nearby clone ‘source’ to use for the repair – the healing tool chooses and matches pixels automatically.
- HEIC (1)HEIC is Apple's version of HEIF, or High Efficiency Image Format, which could eventually replace the JPEG format with a higher-quality, more space-efficient alternative. A few cameras can now save in HEIF format as an alternative to JPEGs.
- HEIF format (2)The HEIF format (High Efficiency Image Format) is an alternative to the JPEG image format being pushed strongly by Apple in iPhones but starting to be adopted by camera makers like Canon and others. Its advantages are smaller file sizes and the ability to store 10-bit images, not just 8-bit.
- High key (1)A photo where the tones are predominantly bright or white. It’s partly the subject that makes a photograph high key – a white cat on a white cushion, for example, and partly the exposure technique – slight overexposure will give a high key look.
- Highlight recovery (8)Highlight recovery is a common requirement in digital images. Typically a RAW file will hold on to around another stop (1EV) of highlight detail than an in-camera JPEG, and any decent RAW converter will have highlight recovery tools to bring that detail back.
- Histogram (4)The histogram is a graphical display of the brightness values in the picture. The darkest tones are at the left and the brightest on the right, and the vertical bars show the number of pixels for each brightness value. Histograms are an invaluable exposure aid when taking pictures, and when editing them later.
- History (1)Many programs can store a ‘history’ of all the editing changes you’ve made since you opened an image. Using this you can check what you’ve done and even backtrack to an earlier image state if you realise you’ve made a mistake. Some programs can store the history as part of the saved image file, while non-destructive editors like Lightroom will store it indefinitely as part of the image’s adjustment metadata.
- HSL adjustments (8)HSL stands for 'hue', 'saturation', 'lightness', and it's a way of displaying different color ranges in photographs. HSL adjustments let you change the brightness, saturation and hue of individual colors or color ranges.
- Hue (1)A way of describing a particular color, mostly when working with hue, saturation and lightness (HSL) adjustments in a photo editor. Every color has a specific hue value which identifies it on the spectrum, while the lightness and saturation values control how light or dark it appears and how strong it is.