1 Important Terms & Concepts

There’s an old joke in computer graphics circles. The biggest geek in the room utters a long sentence referencing PDF, EPS, PSD, GIF, RAM, HDR, DNG, ACR, RGB, L*a*b, “and other TLAs.”

“What’s a ‘TLA?’” someone asks.

“Three Letter Acronym,” replies the geek, to groans from those still listening.

A challenger pipes up, “What about CMYK?”

“Oh, that’s an ETLA—Extended Three Letter Acronym.”

Despite the fact that this is intended as a joke, the language of computer graphics, even when restricted to digital photography, is still specialized. Of course, photographers have used special words, or common words in novel ways, for almost two centuries.

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