When you're travelling internationally, you just need a normal travel adapter, right? Well, in most cases, yes. If you just want to charge a low-powered device such as phone, camera, tablet or laptop then any one of the best travel adapters should do the job. However, when it comes to more high-powered gadgets such as hairdryers, curling tongs or straighteners – whether they're yours or being used on a model that you're shooting – then you need to take voltage into account.
That's because different countries around the world can have strikingly different standard voltage levels. Most notably, North America uses 110-120 volts (V) whereas many European countries use 220-240V. And so plugging in an appliance designed for 110V into a 220V outlet could damage the appliance or even cause a fire. (The exception is if it's been specifically designed to be "dual voltage", so always check the manufacturer's instructions to find out).
