Glosario

Alpha Channel

Alpha Channel (Transparency Mask)

An alpha channel stores transparency information for each pixel in an image, with values ranging from fully transparent to fully opaque. It is the fourth channel in RGBA color, enabling smooth blending of images over backgrounds.

Aspect Ratio

Aspect Ratio (Width-to-Height Proportion)

Aspect ratio is the proportional relationship between an image's width and height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. Common ratios include 16:9 (widescreen), 4:3 (classic), and 1:1 (square).

AVIF

AVIF (formato de imagen AV1)

Un formato de imagen de próxima generación basado en el códec de vídeo AV1 que ofrece una compresión excepcional con archivos hasta un 50 % más pequeños que JPEG, además de soporte para HDR, amplia gama de color y transparencia.

Chroma Subsampling

Chroma Subsampling (Color Resolution Reduction)

Chroma subsampling reduces the color resolution of an image while preserving full brightness (luminance) detail. Human eyes are less sensitive to color changes than brightness changes, making this an efficient compression technique.

Chromatic Aberration

A lens defect causing color fringing at edges where different wavelengths of light focus at slightly different points.

Color Grading (Image)

Image Color Grading

Adjusting color balance, contrast, and tone curves to achieve a desired mood or visual style in an image.

Compression Artifact

Compression Artifact (Visual Distortion)

Compression artifacts are visible distortions introduced by lossy compression algorithms. Common artifacts include blockiness (JPEG macroblocks), ringing around sharp edges, color banding in gradients, and mosquito noise.

Dithering (Image)

Image Dithering

A technique that simulates additional colors by arranging limited-palette pixels in patterns that blend visually.

Image Histogram

A graphical representation of pixel intensity distribution in an image, used to assess exposure and contrast.

Image Registration

Aligning two or more images of the same scene taken at different times, viewpoints, or by different sensors.

Metadata

Metadata (Image Descriptive Data)

Image metadata is information embedded within an image file that describes its properties, origin, and content. This includes EXIF camera data, IPTC editorial information, XMP descriptive tags, and ICC color profiles.

Resolution

Resolución (dimensiones en píxeles)

El número total de píxeles de una imagen digital, expresado como ancho por alto (por ejemplo, 1920 × 1080), que determina el nivel de detalle y la claridad de la imagen.

Alpha Compositing

Combining semi-transparent images by blending pixel colors according to their alpha channel values.

Image Pyramid

A multi-scale representation of an image at progressively lower resolutions, used in image analysis and blending.

Rasterization

Rasterization (Vector-to-Pixel Conversion)

Rasterization is the process of converting vector graphics (mathematical shapes) into raster images (pixel grids). This is necessary when displaying SVG, PDF, or font glyphs on pixel-based screens or exporting to bitmap formats.

Color Space

Color Space (Color Model)

A color space is a specific organization of colors that defines the gamut (range) of representable colors. sRGB is the web standard, Adobe RGB covers more greens and cyans for print, and Display P3 serves modern wide-gamut displays.

Lossy Compression

Lossy Compression (Perceptual Data Reduction)

Lossy compression achieves much smaller file sizes by permanently discarding image data that is less perceptible to human vision. JPEG, WebP lossy, and AVIF use this approach to achieve 10:1 to 50:1 compression ratios.

Bit Depth

Bit Depth (Color Depth / Bits Per Pixel)

Bit depth determines the number of possible color values each pixel can represent. Higher bit depths allow more colors and smoother gradients: 8-bit provides 256 values per channel (16.7M colors), while 16-bit provides 65,536.

Vector Graphics

Vector Graphics (Resolution-Independent Graphics)

Vector graphics represent images as mathematical descriptions of geometric shapes, paths, and text rather than pixel grids. They scale to any size without quality loss, making them ideal for logos, icons, and illustrations.

Raster Graphics

Gráficos rasterizados (imagen de mapa de bits)

Un tipo de imagen digital compuesta por una cuadrícula rectangular de píxeles coloreados individualmente. Las imágenes rasterizadas dependen de la resolución: ampliarlas más allá de sus dimensiones originales produce pixelación.

HDR

HDR (alto rango dinámico)

Una técnica de imagen que captura o representa un rango más amplio de niveles de brillo que las imágenes estándar, preservando detalles tanto en las sombras más oscuras como en las luces más brillantes.

WebP

WebP (formato de imagen web)

Un formato de imagen moderno desarrollado por Google que ofrece compresión con y sin pérdida más pequeña que JPEG y PNG, con soporte para transparencia y animación.

Sprite Sheet

Sprite sheet (atlas de imágenes)

Un archivo de imagen único que combina múltiples imágenes más pequeñas dispuestas en una cuadrícula, lo que permite que una aplicación web o juego cargue una sola imagen y muestre porciones individuales según sea necesario.

Thumbnail

Miniatura (imagen de vista previa)

Una versión pequeña y reducida de una imagen más grande que sirve como vista previa visual rápida, permitiendo a los usuarios explorar muchas imágenes antes de abrir la versión completa.

Crop

Recorte (selección de región de imagen)

La operación de seleccionar y conservar solo una porción rectangular de una imagen, descartando todo lo que queda fuera del área seleccionada para mejorar la composición o ajustar las proporciones.

Resize

Redimensionar (escalado de imagen)

La operación de cambiar las dimensiones en píxeles de una imagen escalándola hacia arriba (ampliar) o hacia abajo (reducir), utilizando algoritmos de interpolación para calcular los nuevos valores de los píxeles.

Image Optimization

Optimización de imágenes (rendimiento web)

El proceso de reducir el tamaño de los archivos de imagen al mínimo posible sin comprometer visiblemente la calidad, crucial para un rendimiento web rápido y una buena experiencia de usuario.

Image Interpolation

Image Interpolation (Pixel Resampling)

Image interpolation is the method used to calculate new pixel values when resizing an image. Different algorithms (nearest-neighbor, bilinear, bicubic, Lanczos) trade speed for quality when scaling images up or down.

ICC Profile

ICC Profile (International Color Consortium Profile)

An ICC profile is a standardized data file that characterizes a color device (monitor, printer, scanner) or color space. Embedding ICC profiles in images ensures that colors are reproduced accurately across different devices.

Convolution

Convolution (Image Filter Kernel Operation)

Convolution is the fundamental operation behind image filters like blur, sharpen, and edge detection. A small matrix (kernel) slides across the image, computing weighted sums of neighboring pixels to produce the output.

Canvas

Canvas (Image Working Area)

In image editing, the canvas is the total working area that defines the boundaries of the image. Resizing the canvas adds or removes space around the existing image content without scaling it.

DPI/PPI

DPI/PPI (Dots/Pixels Per Inch)

DPI (dots per inch) and PPI (pixels per inch) measure image resolution density. PPI describes screen display density, while DPI refers to print output resolution. 72 PPI is standard for web, 300 DPI for print.

Gamma

Gamma (Brightness Transfer Function)

Gamma describes the nonlinear relationship between pixel values and displayed brightness. A gamma of 2.2 (the sRGB standard) means that pixel value 128 is not 50% brightness but approximately 21.8%, matching human perception.

Histogram

Histogram (Tonal Distribution Graph)

An image histogram is a graph showing the distribution of pixel brightness values from shadows (left) to highlights (right). Photographers and editors use histograms to evaluate exposure, contrast, and tonal balance.

Noise Reduction (Image)

Image Noise Reduction

Techniques for removing unwanted grain or artifacts from images caused by high ISO or low-light conditions.

Panorama Stitching

Panorama Image Stitching

Combining multiple overlapping photographs into a single wide-angle or 360-degree panoramic image.

Image Segmentation

Partitioning an image into multiple regions or objects, used in computer vision for scene understanding.

Object Detection

A computer vision task that identifies and locates objects within an image using bounding boxes and class labels.

Feature Matching

Image Feature Matching

Finding corresponding keypoints between two images for alignment, stitching, or 3D reconstruction.

Mipmap

Mipmap (Multum In Parvo)

A set of pre-computed, progressively smaller versions of a texture used to improve rendering speed and reduce aliasing.

Texture Atlas

A large image containing many smaller sub-images, used in 3D graphics and games to reduce draw calls.

Morphological Operations

Morphological Image Operations

Image processing operations (erosion, dilation, opening, closing) that modify shapes based on a structuring element.

IPTC

International Press Telecommunications Council Metadata

A metadata standard for news photos including caption, creator, copyright, and keyword information.

Gamut Mapping

Color Gamut Mapping

The process of converting colors from one color space to another while handling out-of-gamut colors gracefully.

Tone Mapping

HDR Tone Mapping

Converting high dynamic range image data to a displayable range while preserving visual detail and contrast.

Vignetting

Image Vignetting

The darkening of image corners relative to the center, caused by lens optics or intentionally applied as a creative effect.

XMP

Extensible Metadata Platform

An Adobe-created XML metadata standard for embedding editing history, keywords, and rights information in files.

Focus Stacking

Combining multiple images shot at different focus distances to produce one image with greater depth of field.