tonal range

n. PhotographyThe number of shades between the lightest and darkest areas of an image.

Notes

Tonal range is often measured in stops, or factors or two. If the darkest part of a print reflects 3% of light and the brightest portion reflects 98%, the tonal range is approximately five stops (3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96).Even though the tonal range is only five stops, the print may have a near infinite number of shades between the lightest and darkest portions of the print.