Ablichten

Ablichten is a German verb meaning to photograph someone or something or to produce a photographic image of a subject. It is widely used in photography, journalism, and archival contexts and can refer to capturing a person, a scene, an object, or a document with a camera. The prefix ab- combined with lichten (linked to Licht) gives the sense of creating a photographic record of something.

The action is transitive and often used with a direct object: for example, der Fotograf hat den Mann abgelichtet (the photographer photographed the man) or wir haben die Szene abgelichtet (we photographed the scene). The phrase ablichten lassen is common when a client or subject hires a photographer to take the image.

Noun forms include Ablichtung (die Ablichtung) and Ablichtungen. Eine Ablichtung kann both the photograph itself and the act of photographing denote, and is frequently used when the emphasis is on documentary reproduction, archival copies, or illustrations for publications. In historical or technical writing, the terms Lichtbild or Ablichtung are sometimes preferred to distinguish photographic reproduction from artistic imagery.

Differences from related terms: fotografieren is the broader verb for taking photographs of people or things, while ablichten often stresses the creation of a documentary or reproducible image, such as a portrait for records or a reproduced page from a document. Ethically and legally, publishing photographs of people usually requires consent via model release, especially for commercial use.