The use of an artificial light source, such as daylight lamps or flash, to soften a subject or to fill in shadows. See also bounce lighting, color temperature, white balance.
film
A flexible transparent base coated with a light-sensitive emulsion capable of recording images. See also emulsion.
filmstrip
In Aperture, a panel along the bottom or side of the display that is seen in Full Screen mode. It shows thumbnails of all the images being reviewed.
filters
(1) Modifiable search criteria used in Smart Albums to return a specific selection of images. (2) Effects that change the visual quality of the image or clip to which they're applied. (3) A colored piece of glass or plastic designed to be placed in front of the lens to change, emphasize, or eliminate density, reflections, or areas within the scene. See also compositing, density, effects, Smart Album.
finishing
Applying the final adjustments to a digital image just prior to distribution. Finishing may involve exporting a RAW image file as a JPEG for publication on a website. Finishing may also involve applying an additional gamma adjustment upon export. See also export.
FireWire
Apple trademark for the IEEE 1394 cabling technology used to connect external devices to computers. Well suited to moving large amounts of data quickly, it is the most common connection for vaults in Aperture.
fixed lens
See prime lens.
flash
A device either on a camera or attached to the camera that emits a brief intense burst of light when the shutter-release button is pressed. Flashes are synchronized with the shutter to obtain a correctly exposed image in lowlight situations. See also exposure, hot-shoe bracket.
flat
The lack of density in an image due to a low contrast. See also contrast, density.
focal length
The distance from the rear nodal point of the lens to the point where the light rays passing through the lens are focused onto the image plane. Focal lengths are measured in millimeters (mm). It determines how much of the scene is included in the image and how large the objects are.
foreground
The area of the image between the subject and the camera. See also background, depth of field.
frontlighting
Refers to a light source that faces toward the subject emanating from the direction of the camera. See also backlighting, sidelighting.
f-stop
The ratio of the focal length of the lens to the diameter of the opening of the aperture. See also aperture.
Full Screen mode
Aperture's feature that displays images as large as the screen permits.