A flash illuminates the scene with artificial light. The amount of light used when taking a photograph is controlled by shutter speed and aperture, which determine exposure. White balance removes unrealistic color casts to accurately render whites, while color temperature is an important characteristic of light for photography, with warm colors like red appearing at lower temperatures and cooler colors like blue at higher temperatures. A tripod stabilizes and elevates the camera to get a steady shot, while hand holding risks blur from camera movement without stabilization. JPEG compresses image files while RAW files maintain the most image data directly from the camera's sensor.