How does flash photography ‘stop motion’ (more than ambient light)

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I don’t understand how using a flash can freeze motion better than ambient light. In the end, isn’t it all just light hitting the sensor?

I don’t understand why it would do this. I mean it’s not necessarily like the camera knows and is like “Oh they’re using flash, I’ll be nice and give them a sharper picture’. I mean obviously they don’t think like that, but all in all it’s light luminating the subject and hitting the sensor, why does something like the source of the light affect how much motion can appear in your image?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Cameras have 2 main settings that affect picture quality: Aperture size (how much light gets in) and Shutter speed (how long the film or sensor is exposed).

A larger aperture lets in more light, as does a slower shutter speed. The tradeoff is that larger apertures allow less of the photo to be in focus, and slower shutters allow motion blur.

By using the flash, you increase the amount of available light, allowing smaller apertures and faster shutters to achieve the same brightness as larger and slower without flash. In return you get more of the photo in focus, and less motion blur, which overall creates much sharper images.

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