Variable flash control for improved image detection

A method comprising:

• accessing a sensor value provided by a light sensor associated with a mobile computing device;
• determining a first control value for a variable flash associated with the mobile computing device as a function of the sensor value, where the first control value is configured to control the mobile computing device to operate the variable flash at a desired illumination level when acquiring a subsequent frame;
• selectively controlling the variable flash based, at least in part, on the first control value;
• accessing a current frame acquired by a camera associated with the mobile computing device;
• and
• repeating, until a termination condition is met:
• {
• determining one or more imaging metrics for the current frame;
• determining a second control value for the variable flash as a function of the one or more imaging metrics;
• selectively controlling the variable flash based, at least in part, on the second control value;
• accessing a subsequent frame acquired by the camera;
• and
• treating the subsequent frame as the current frame
• }.