Optic neuritis is a disorder of the optic nerve that causes swelling and inflammation. The swelling and inflammation can cause flashing lights in the eye and even lead to vision loss or blindness. Other common symptoms include eye redness, blurred vision, double vision, and headaches.

Have you ever noticed that on most cameras, the ISO values double with each increment?  Most cameras start at ISO 100, then jump to 200, then 400, 800, 1600, and so on.  It makes sense that a camera set at ISO 800 is twice as sensitive to light as a camera set at ISO 400, which means that going from 400 to 800 adds a stop of light.  Shutter speed works the same way: going from a shutter speed of 1/30 of a second to 1/60 of a second takes away a stop of light and vice versa.  Aperture is the same, although the numbers aren’t quite as logical: you double amount the light going from f/1 to f/1.4, then f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, and finally f/22.

Both seeing floaters and flashing lights in the corner of your eye are a result of shrinking vitreous. The vitreous is fluid in the back of the eye that protects the retina and helps the eye maintain its shape.

Contrastsensitivity

We offer treatments for retinal detachments that can be performed in-office—such as laser retinal detachment surgery and retinal cryopexy. We use the most advanced equipment and techniques to perform these procedures, which enables us to produce optimal vision results for our patients.

Has this ever happened to you? You’re going about your day—running errands, grocery shopping, taking care of yard work—when you suddenly see flashing lights in your eye that take you by surprise. You know it wasn’t a camera flash or a strike of lightning, but you’re not sure how to explain the phenomenon. To your luck, there’s a medical explanation for seeing flashing lights in the corner of your eyes.

Depending on the sun’s location, it will cast shadows on one side of your face or the other, but these shadows are softened by the other lights in the environment: either light from the sun that has been reflected off of other objects or other sources of nearby illumination.  These softening lights are the fill.

Lighting contrastmeaning

A low contrast ratio is often used on films that are meant to be lighthearted, such as comedies.  Since low contrast lighting is usually flattering, it’s also used on romances.  Look at how even the lighting is in this shot from Mean Girls.

When we talk about contrast ratios, we are generally talking about the ratio of light between the key side and the fill side of a subject’s face.  To measure the contrast ratio, you can take a reading with a light meter on the key side with the fill off, then on the fill side with the key off.  Here’s another video from light guru wolfcrow about contrast ratios.  He has some specific ideas about measuring contrast ratio in aperture stops that I don’t find totally logical, but the general idea is the same.

This friction in the eye can be caused by a few different factors, and not all are vision-related. Health conditions such as migraines and diabetes along with medications can create flashing lights in the eyes.

We have two light meters in our equipment collection: a digital meter and an analog meter.  The both do the same thing, but you operate them in slightly different ways.  Here are video instructions for both:

Let’s explore the vision-related causes of these flashing lights and floaters in the eye along with when you need to schedule an appointment with your eye doctor.

Lighting contrastexamples

Four main vision-related conditions cause flashing lights to appear. Take a look at what those conditions are, what causes them, and what their effects are:

Find a Specialty Eye Institute doctor at one of our convenient locations in Michigan or Ohio to receive the professional eye care you deserve. Schedule your appointment online or by calling (866) 435-8935 today.

You don’t need to go far to find this “natural three point lighting” – the next time you are outside, just take some time to look at the patterns of light and shadow on the people around you.

Three point lighting isn’t a basic technique, it’s a fundamental technique – the fundamental technique – for lighting a subject.  There may be dozens of lights set up for a shot, but the subject (the actor, generally speaking) will still be lit using three point lighting.  That’s because three point lighting describes how we see other people every day, with different levels of light and shadow.

Lighting contrastphotography

Posterior vitreous detachment is one of the more common vision-related causes of flashing lights and floaters in the eye. As you age, the vitreous can detach. If this detachment occurs suddenly, the resulting friction can cause floaters and flashing lights to appear in the corner of your eye. This condition occurs naturally in people over the age of 40. While it cannot be prevented, it can be treated.

In the studio, we don’t have access to the natural three point illumination of the sun, so we replicate it as best we can.  We use a key light to illuminate the face, a fill light to soften the shadows, and a back light to illuminate from behind.  This method looks natural because it replicates what we see in nature.

When it’s time to visit an eye doctor to discuss the floaters and flashing lights in your vision, go to the experts at Specialty Eye Institute. Our team of ophthalmologists and eye doctors will accurately diagnose your condition and provide a treatment plan designed for your unique vision needs.

In the first lesson, we discussed the basic properties of light: its color value, measured in degrees kelvin; and its brightness, measured in lux or foot-candles.  However, there is another measure of light that you will probably hear discussed in relation to photography and video: the “stop.”  It’s common to hear photographers talk about gaining or losing a stop of light – so how much light constitutes a stop?

You’ve probably heard the term “three point lighting” about a million times.  It’s often described as a “basic lighting technique,” but I think that description is actually a bit misleading.  Saying that three point lighting is a “basic” technique implies that there are more advanced methods that presumable use more lights: say, five point intermediate lighting and seven point advanced lighting.  That’s not the case.

When you are setting up three point lighting, you have a few factors to consider.  How harsh should the shadows be?  How intense should the back light be?  Which side should the back light be on?  These are largely a matter of personal preference and can change from one setup to another.  I personally think that the back light looks best on the opposite side from the key, but many lighting diagrams show the opposite.  The important thing is to be conscious of how these choices affect your scene.

Visualcontrastexamples

Excess pressure on the retina can result in flashing lights appearing in one or both of your eyes. The pressure can be caused by rubbing your eyes, coughing too hard, or getting bumped or hit on the head. Additional symptoms include dry eyes, headaches, blurred vision, and sore or burning eyes.

While eye floaters are not hereditary, retinal tears and detachment can be. Since both eye floaters and flashing lights in the corner of your eyes result from retinal detachment, consult your eye doctor if you begin experiencing either phenomenon.

One of the most valuable tools for getting correct exposure and creating different lighting looks is the light meter.  Here’s a short video showing a light meter in action:

Thinking of light in terms of stops can be a bit confusing at first, but it’s really useful for getting – and keeping – proper exposure with your camera.  As we start to experiment with different lighting setups, we’re also going to need to make sure that the cameras we use are getting the images we want.  That means controlling the exposure.

In the first lesson, we discussed the basic properties of light: its color value, measured in degrees kelvin; and its brightness, measured in lux or foot-candles.  However, there is another measure of light that you will probably hear discussed in relation to photography and video: the “stop.”  It’s common to hear photographers talk about gaining or losing a stop of light – so how much light constitutes a stop?

Sparkle light

Finally, there is almost always light coming from behind you – usually either the sky or some reflected light from the sun.  If this light overwhelms the light of the sun (the key light), you will be silhouetted; if it is fainter, it will wrap around you from behind as a rim of light.  This is the back light.

For the next project, we are going to work as a group.  Set up a key, fill, and back light in front of a black backdrop.  Using the same key light, we’ll adjust the fill to create different contrast ratios: low contrast (less than 4:1) for high key shoots, average (around 4:1), and high contrast for low key shoots (greater than 4:1).  Everyone should take turns being in front of the camera so that the entire group gets a chance to operate the equipment.

For a very quick overview, here’s a brief video from Full Sail.  There are about a million three point lighting tutorials out there, but this one is concise and accurate.

Measuring light in stops is different than measuring light in lux, in two important ways.  First, stops are used when measuring the amount of light coming into a camera, as opposed to the amount of light on the subject being photographed.  Second, a stop of light describes light in relative terms, not absolute ones.  Every time you add a stop, you are doubling the amount of light; and every time you lost a stop, you are cutting the amount of light in half.

Contrastsensitivity test

Contact ratio is incredibly important because it can really help establish the mood of a piece.  You will often see a high contrast ratio on highly dramatic or tense films.  Look at how dark the shadows are on Marlon Brando’s face in this shot from The Godfather.

Measuring light in stops is useful because it allows us to compensate these various factors and maintain the same exposure.  If I decide to move from f/4 to f/2.8 to gain a shallower depth of field (going up one stop), I can compensate my changing my ISO from 400 to 200 (going down one stop).

Both flashing lights and floaters affect the retina. The retina’s job is to process light that enters your eye and then send that information to your brain. The vitreous is attached to the retina by small fibers. The friction that occurs on these fibers can lead to flashing lights in the eye.

In terms of actual numbers, an average contrast ratio is somewhere around 4:1.  In a film with high key lighting, the faces of the actors might be lit with a contrast ratio of 3:1 or 2:1.  Ratios lower than 2:1 are not often used, since at that point you start to lose the details of an actor’s facial features.  Films with low key lighting might use a contrast ratio of 6:1 or 10:1 or higher – the greater the contrast ratio, the more dramatic the lighting.

Schedule an appointment today with an expert ophthalmologist to get an accurate diagnosis regarding the cause of flashing lights and floaters and to receive a customized treatment plan.

As your eyes’ vitreous supply naturally diminishes as they age, floaters drift in front of the retina—effectively blocking your field of vision. Dust-like floaters appear differently for everyone, and anyone can experience them as they age. People in their 50s, 60s, and 70s are most likely to experience floaters in their vision. However, other factors such as diabetes, nearsightedness, and past eye swelling issues can increase your risk of developing the eye condition.

Retinal detachment is a condition in which the retina detaches from the underlying tissue in the back of the eye. When this detachment occurs, flashing lights may begin to appear in the eye. Other symptoms include scarring and swelling of the eye. Retinal detachment can be caused by injury due to trauma or inflammation, aging, and underlying eye disease. Since retinal detachment can lead to partial or total vision loss, it should be treated immediately.

When you are outside, you are probably being primarily illuminated by the sun – that makes it the key light.  The sun can be a hard or a soft light, depending on the weather and time of day; overcast days are generally considered great for filming, since the light is diffuse and flattering.