Why Do We Use the Term Portrait vs Landscape?

Before we started using the terms "portrait" and "landscape" we used to use the terms "vertical" and "horizontal". The switch to portrait and landscape probably came into play when we started manufacturing copy machines. In this instance the manufacturers had to come up with a graphic symbol that would be recognized worldwide to represent vertical and horizontal. And since most landscape images are photographed as horiztontals and most portrait images are photographed as verticals...

Unfortunately, the use of these terms in the common English vernacular has helped to reinforce the idea that portraits must be photographed as a vertical while landscapes must be photographed as a horizontal.

Quiz to be continued next week. .