goofus  wrote:
when did 'flashes' start being called 'speedlights' ?

wasn't 'speedlight' a nikon name for their brand flashes?

Interesting take, I just assumed the OP was a Nikon user!

I use Nikon, I use the term speedlight to refer to my flashes. Canon uses the term speedlite to refer to their flashes, it would be quite normal for people to use the terminology/branding used by their equipment manufacturers IMO.

To the OP, use an omni-bounce type diffuser on the end of the flash.

goofus  wrote:
when did 'flashes' start being called 'speedlights' ?

wasn't 'speedlight' a nikon name for their brand flashes?

I've heard some people call strobes "flashes".  ¯(ツ)/¯

goofus  wrote:
when did 'flashes' start being called 'speedlights' ?

Google's default definition for the term "speedlight":

"The term on-camera flash, or speedlight, simply refers to a type of strobe light (flash) that can connect directly to your camera. While it is generally referred to as “on-camera,” this does not require the flash to be physically mounted on your camera. On-camera flashes can, and often are, used off-camera."

Sort of like what happened to the terms "aspirin" and "xerox", etc, which were originally specific brand names.

Plus the ability to mount it in a hotshoe (if desired) that they alluded to, is a reasonably useful guideline for separating "speedlights" and "studio strobes".  Certainly better than some earlier / rather dated definitions that based it on whether it plugged into the wall or not (Profoto speedlight anyone?!!).  I'd also note that Google's default definition of a "flash", based on the concept of a "brief burst of light", encompasses both speedlights and studio strobes.

I'm not going to swear up and down that Google's absolutely right, but it's as useful a breakdown as any I've seen.