Color photography is the technology by which the visual appearance of a three‐dimensional subject may be reproduced on a two‐dimensional surface having a pleasing balance of brightness, hue, and color. Light capture is primarily effected by silver halide crystals. Integral tri‐color film packs also contain spectral sensitizing dyes and colored masking couplers appropriate to the subtractive primary dyes, filters, and an overcoat. The chromogenic chemistry of the color photography process involves the reactions of p ‐phenylenediamine developers and various couplers. Prototype dye couplers, which often contain an organic ballast to enhance solubility in hydrophobic solvents, colored masking couplers, and development‐inhibitor‐releasing couplers, which carry a silver development inhibitor linked to the film coupling site, are given. Both chromogenic and post‐development film chemistries are described as are the relationships between film speed, light sensitivity, dye stability, image structure, and color reproduction.

Color photography is the technology by which the visual appearance of a three‐dimensional subject may be reproduced on a two‐dimensional surface having a pleasing balance of brightness, hue, and color. Light capture is primarily effected by silver halide crystals. Integral tri‐color film packs also contain spectral sensitizing dyes and colored masking couplers appropriate to the subtractive primary dyes, filters, and an overcoat. The chromogenic chemistry of the color photography process involves the reactions of p ‐phenylenediamine developers and various couplers. Prototype dye couplers, which often contain an organic ballast to enhance solubility in hydrophobic solvents, colored masking couplers, and development‐inhibitor‐releasing couplers, which carry a silver development inhibitor linked to the film coupling site, are given. Both chromogenic and post‐development film chemistries are described as are the relationships between film speed, light sensitivity, dye stability, image structure, and color reproduction.

Color photography is a technology by which the visual appearance of a three‐dimensional subject may be reproduced on a two‐dimensional surface with a pleasing balance of brightness, hue, and color saturation. There are two essentials in the practice of color photography: the camera and the light‐sensitive sensor. The task of the camera is to present an undistorted image to the plane of the sensor with an intensity level and exposure time appropriate to the sensitivity of the sensor being used. The sensor can either be silver‐halide based photographic film or an electronic sensor such as a charge couple device (CCD). A digital record of the scene may also be obtained by scanning the processed film. The technology of silver halide color photography is discussed in this article. The physical record of the image is expected to have high permanence. The image may be viewed directly as a reflection color print, by projection as a color slide, or by back‐illumination as a display transparency. In the case of a digital image, it may also be viewed on a video monitor. References cited are general sources of information on the science and technologies supporting color photography.