What is Clipping? (The "Blinking" Highlights)
DefinitionWhen data is lost because it is too bright (Pure White) or too dark (Pure Black).
1The Simple Explanation
Imagine a bucket of water. If you pour too much water in, it overflows. The spilled water is lost. Clipping is when your bucket of light overflows to pure white.
2Technical Deep Dive
In digital audio or video, clipping creates harsh distortion. In photography, it creates featureless white blobs. Once clipped, no amount of editing can recover detail there.
Common Misconceptions
Myth: I can darken it in post. Fact: You cannot darken pure #FFFFFF to find cloud details. The data is not there. It is just '100% full'.