Why are you so sensitive to camera flashes?

The pupil of the eye opens and contracts depending on the amount of light it is exposed to. With bright light, the pupil contracts to let less light into the eye so the occular nerve can interpret what you are seeing. With lower light, the pupil opens wider to allow extra light in, again for the occular nerve interpret what you are seeing. The reason for sensitivity to camera flashes is a matter of timing. The pupil simply cannot cantract fast enough to prevent the extra light from entering into the eye. If you notice on many cameras they have "red eye reduction" feature. How this works is by shining a red light or activating a pre-flash, a second or two before the picture flash. This allows the pupil enough time to contract some before the picture flash. I know, even with red eye reduction, the flash is pretty intense. The fact is even on a bright sunny day, if you look directly at a flash there is still some sensitivity due to the brightness of most flashes.