refers to the difference between light and shadow, or between maximum and minimum amounts of light, in a particular film image; can be either high contrast (with a sharp delineation between the bright and dark areas) or its opposite low contrast; color can also be contrasted; see also chiaroscuro
The degree of difference between light and dark extremes of color on a monitor, device screen, or printed output, or between the darkest and lightest areas in a photo. The greater the difference, the higher the contrast.