Flash (photography)

Device producing a burst of artificial light / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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A flash is a device used in photography that produces a brief burst of light (typically lasting 1/1000 to 1/200 of a second) at a color temperature of about 5500 K[citation needed] to help illuminate a scene. A major purpose of a flash is to illuminate a dark scene. Other uses are capturing quickly moving objects or changing the quality of light. Flash refers either to the flash of light itself or to the electronic flash unit discharging the light. Most current flash units are electronic, having evolved from single-use flashbulbs and flammable powders. Modern cameras often activate flash units automatically.

Macrogl_Stellat.jpg
The high-speed wing action of a hummingbird hawk-moth is frozen by flash. The flash has given the foreground more illumination than the background. See Inverse-square law.
Video demonstration of high-speed flash photography.

Flash units are commonly built directly into a camera. Some cameras allow separate flash units to be mounted via a standardized accessory mount bracket (a hot shoe). In professional studio equipment, flashes may be large, standalone units, or studio strobes, powered by special battery packs or connected to mains power. They are either synchronized with the camera using a flash synchronization cable or radio signal, or are light-triggered, meaning that only one flash unit needs to be synchronized with the camera, and in turn triggers the other units, called slaves.