What is the term for the area a lamp or flashlight illuminates?
Asked 2/11/2016
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Is there a standard lighting or photography term for the area covered by a light source, such as a lamp, headlight, or flashlight beam? For example, when you point a flashlight at a wall, the illuminated area gets smaller as you move closer and larger as you move farther away. I know distance affects it, but what is that illuminated coverage area usually called?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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Useful light is the area directly illuminated by the light source. Spill light is the area lit indirectly by the light source.
At least that is the terminology I've always used. You can probably find at least a few other names to call them here: http://lowel.tiffen.com/edu/glossary/
Originally by user4892. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4892
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A common term is beam spread or simply spread. It describes how wide the light projects, which determines the size of the illuminated area at a given distance.
In practical use, the lit area gets larger as the light moves farther from a surface and smaller as it moves closer. The exact size depends on both the light’s spread and the distance to the subject.
You may also hear spill light, which usually means light falling outside the main intended beam, often indirect or less controlled light. So if you mean the main coverage of the light itself, beam spread is the clearest term.
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