Photography News | Issue 69 | photographynews.co.uk
27 Interview
Contact
I always look for emotion in my pictures, whether it is a sports person celebrating a moment mid game or a win at the end of a match
To seemore of Terry’swork see hiswebsite Terrydonnelly.co.uk
PN: You are an ambassador for Rotolight, how did you come to be involved with them? TD: I had admired Rotolight and their products for some time. When an opportunity came along to use some loan equipment I was very keen to try the lights out. The Rotolight NEO and AEOS quickly became my go-to lighting solution and when Rotolight saw work I had produced they invitedme to become aRotolight Master of Light. It’s a position I feel extremely honoured to hold. PN: What Rotolight products do you use? TD: I use the Rotolight NEO 2, AEOS and Anova PRO 2. Three different lights, each offering different solutions. PN: The Rotolight NEO 2 is an interesting piece of kit, being a portable continuous light but with flash features too. What attracted you to use the NEO 2? TD: The Rotolight NEO 2 is a unique light offering a great lighting solution for many different situations. Its small form factor and light weight means it easily fits into my small camera bag for when I need to travel quick and light. I can shoot the NEO 2 without needing to modify the light which means I don’t need to carry additional lighting modifiers. PN: What camera system do you use with the NEO 2? TD: Asmentioned earlier I shoot exclusively on the SonyAlpha systemand usemyNEO 2 with my Sony A9 and A7R III. Although, the NEO 2 can be used with any camera system.
PN: What aspect of the NEO 2 suits your style of photography most? TD: Ease of use! In continuous light output I can see the lighting power, quality, direction and colour temperature. This means I can set up the lighting for a shot extremely fast and nail the lighting first time. It is a true ‘what you see is what you get’ lighting solution, enhanced more so when combined with a mirrorless camera with an electronic viewfinder. PN: What is your favourite feature of the NEO 2? TD: There are several: portability, the ability to change the colour temperature from the NEO 2 digitally with exact Kelvin readout, high speed sync capability, great battery life, quality of light, circular shape produces natural looking round catchlights, produces beautiful skin tones andmore. It is a really great light to use. PN: How easy is the NEO 2 to use? TD: The NEO 2 is really simple. What you see is what you get in continuous mode, and even when using its flash capability the modelling light produces the same lighting pattern, so you are assured of getting the required result. On the back of the unit, you have a pair of dials, one for adjusting power, the other for adjusting colour temperature – it couldn’t be simpler! PN: It doesn’t have high output levels, so how do you cope with that? TD: The Rotolight NEO 2 has plenty of lighting power for my style of photography. Working environmentally I expose for the available light
and thenusemyNEO2 to lightmy subject. This produces an image that benefits fromgreat light but looks natural and ‘unlit’. If however I find myself in a position of needing more output, I use a second NEO 2 or the Rotolight AEOS or Rotolight Anova PRO2which both have higher power outputs and the same great functionality and can still be used without modification. I think it’s important to think in terms of useable output. So, when I used to use speedlites, I would need use a modifier or bounce the flash from a ceiling or wall to soften the light, but that would lose considerable power. In addition, I would rarely shoot speedlites above 1/4 power to ensure fast recycle times. By contrast I can use the NEO 2 at full power without modifiers and without any recycling time between flashes. It is such a gamechanger. PN: How do you use it – off or on-camera, or with several units and a remote trigger? TD: I use my NEO 2 off-camera usually and adjust the light either on the unit itself or via the Rotolight HSS transmitter trigger
Above Terry specialises in a whole range of photographic genres, including portraiture, often using Rotolight lights
by Elinchrom. There are rare occasions where I use theNEO2 on the hotshoe of my camera and keep them as a single unit, such as working at an event where I ammoving quickly. PN: Have you any advice for our readers who are thinking about going for a NEO 2? TD:Inmyexperience,notmanypeoplearegreat at using speedlites or flash and the ones that are have taken a lot of years to be good. The NEO 2 is a great way of getting instant high-quality lit images using it in continuous light modewhere you can actually see the light and where it falls before you take the shot. The NEO 2 also offers photographers the opportunity to move on to flash once the person is more comfortable with using light in general. The NEO2 is not only a lighting solution, it is a lighting opportunity and photographers should embrace this new technology and all it has to offer.
What is the NEO 2?
Terryuses theRotolight NEO2, aportablebattery- powered LED continuous light that is also a flash with high speed sync (with extraHSS transmitter) and no recycling time. It sells for £300. rotolight.com
Powered by FlippingBook