latent image

American  

noun

Photography.

1. an invisible image, produced on a sensitized emulsion by exposure to light, that will emerge in development.

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latent image British  

noun

1. photog the invisible image produced by the action of light, etc, on silver halide crystals suspended in the emulsion of a photographic material. It becomes visible after development

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Example Sentences

The acidity of the beer, combined with the added ingredients, creates a solution that can reveal the latent image on the film.

From BBC • Aug. 3, 2025

As the chemicals go to work, one of them "develops" the latent image in the film, turning its silver bromide into metallic silver.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the silver bromide outside the latent image remains soluble.

From Time Magazine Archive

The strength of Aaron's work owed everything to his belief that his task was to release the latent image from the log, where it was trapped.

From Time Magazine Archive

I did not realize the master fact that the latent image which had been developed was the basis of photographic manipulation.

From The Evolution of Photography With a Chronological Record of Discoveries, Inventions, etc., Contributions to Photographic Literature, and Personal Reminescences Extending over Forty Years by Werge, John