What is "powder photography"

n. a process for identifying minerals or crystals; a small rod is coated with a powdered form of the substance and subjected to suitably modified X-rays; the pattern of diffracted rings is used for identification [syn: powder method, powder technique]

Powder photography is a special effect technique in photography where photographers use various types of powdered substances (e.g. baby powder, talc, holi powder, or flour) on a model while shooting with high speed flashes. To achieve a similar effect, powder can be replaced with a smoke machine; however, that requires a different set up.