Photography News Issue 67

Photography News | Issue 67 | photographynews.co.uk

Buyers’ Guide

Light it right Great lighting equals great photos. If you’re thinking of going pro you’ll want a set-up that’s right for you, so don’t get left in the dark – check out these top picks

Results your clients will lovewithminimal fuss

Taking that step into professional photography is never easy; it’s competitive and full of risk and uncertainty. To add to the stress, more and more we’re also seeing photographers being asked to add video content to their portfolio and vice versa. So how do you make sure you’re getting results that will keep your clients happy, while not overcomplicating things with multiple set-ups and countless modifiers? Find yourself gear that’s going to save you precious time and money, while still enabling you to do it all even without an assistant or crew to help you out. For example, continuous lighting helps you to shoot exactly what you see without needing to take endless test shots like you would with flash. From the on-camera NEO 2 to the ultra-portable location light AEOS and powerhouse Anova PRO 2, you only need one set-up to do it all. Rotolight LEDs give creatives unparalleled flexibility by delivering industry-first features that streamline their workflow, such as True Aperture Dimming which calculates the optimum f/stop at a given distance and eliminates the need for a light meter. Voted best on-camera flash by Photography News readers this year, the NEO 2 is the only on-camera LED to offer the shoot-what-you- see benefits of a continuous output and the added power of High Speed Sync flash, all in one. The compact secret weapon that allows Toronto-based wedding photographer Anita Cheung to capture light and airy detail shots, the NEO 2 fits easily into her camera bag. “My clients spend so much money on their venue and all the beautiful little details, so I want to spend plenty of time capturing that,” Anita

says. “I take my NEO 2 to pretty much every wedding I shoot to light the reception. It brings a venue to life and gives them a much more three-dimensional look that my clients love!” Adjustable colour temperature (3150-6100K) means that she can easily mimic the daylight pouring in through the windows. Weighing just 1.4kg and boasting integrated aluminium handles, the AEOS is

the ultimate location LED. The brightness of the naturally soft and flattering light output is entirely adjustable meaning it can easily be tuned to suit your needs. The AEOS and the Anova PRO 2 are the lights of choice for celebrity photographer, Mark Mann, who shoots countless famous faces at Tribeca and Sundance Film Festivals. “As a photographer I’m being asked more and more to shoot

video as well,” says Mark. “Especially in an environment like this with such a high turnaround of people it has to look good, it has to be quick to use and it has to be reliable, and Rotolight LEDs are perfect for this. Also, what’s so great about LED is that even when working in a confined space they don’t emit any heat.”

rotolight.com

Getting creative

With increasing numbers of photographers out there, you need to make your work stand out and do something different – and with the NanGuang RGB LED tube lights you can! The innovative RGB tube lights can be used as a basic studio light or to create rich colours and clever effects. Each light features adjustable colour temperature from 6500 to 2700K, making it perfect for most standard lighting needs, as well as full spectrum RGB lighting, with over 360 colours. The lights can be used to paint with light for photography or video, create effects and express moods in almost unlimited ways. Applications in photography include creating a variety of background colours by directing

the RGB light onto a plain white wall or canvas, adding interesting hues and highlights to product photography, setting the mood for really striking portraits, and creating incredible effects with movement and a long exposure.

kenro.co.uk