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In photography, “Master and Slave” flashes is lazy language. We can do better.

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If you’re an avid photographer shooting with remote-controlled strobes, you’ll have come across this issue: One set of flashes is connected to your camera, and it controls all the other flashes in the photo studio.

Almost all of these systems use the same terminology: “Master” for the trigger that is doing the controlling, and “Slave” for the receiving strobe. It seems convenient because the language is so clear — until you pause for half a moment, and think about what that use of language does to normalize and casualize literal slavery.

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Leica joins the club and drops “Master” and “Slave” terminology

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After the killing of George Floyd on 25 May, Black Lives Matter protests have been arising all over the world. Some camera companies have given their contribution by dropping “master” and “slave” terms from their flash systems, and Leica is the latest one to join the club.

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Fuji catches up to Nikon and Canon and drops “master” and “slave” terminology

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In the light of recent Black Lives Matter protests, it has come to light that Nikon and Canon dropped the “master/slave” terminology. It happened way before the recent events though, but Fujifilm is the first company to follow their example. The company has confirmed that, from now on, “master” and “slave” will not be used in their products any longer.

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Nikon dropped “master” and “slave” before it was cool, about twenty years ago

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During the recent Black Lives Matter protests, the terms “master” and “slave” seem to have suddenly become problematic. After Canon, we now find out that Nikon has changed the terminology in its products as well. Only it was actually long before Canon did it – way back in the early 2000s.

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Canon has dropped “Master” and “Slave” terminology from its flash system

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In the light of recent Black Lives Matter protests, some photographers pointed out that camera companies should drop the “master” and “slave” terms. And Canon officially did so. When using this manufacturer’s flash system, don’t be surprised if you find different terminology.

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