Buyers’ guide
Getgearedup forpeople From photo accessories to services, this useful spread is all you need to set up professional-level shoots for weddings and portraits
Buyers’ guide
WhiteWall Hardcover Photo Books whitewall.com/uk
from £18.95
WhiteWall’s Hardcover range is the company’s bestseller, thanks to its high-quality products and wide range of options. Books can be designed using a simple online interface, or by uploading a pre-made PDF if preferred. Four papers are available: 170gsm Silk Matte;
250gsm Premium Silk Matte; 250gsm Premium Gloss; and 170gsm Premium Matte Uncoated. Books include a range of 24 to 252 pages – and are available in six formats, including A5, A4 and A3 landscape, A4 portrait and 20cm or 30cm square. Pages are glued
to the spine with elastic adhesive, and promised to remain pristine. Covers are fully customisable and come in several finishes, while a range of text is available on the cover and inside pages. To give the book a classy finish, they also include end papers.
benroeu.com
hahnel.ie
£320
£279
Hähnel Modus 600RT kit
Benro Tortoise 35C tripod with GX35 ball head
Whether you’re adding light to posed portraits, or freezing dancers at a wedding party, a speedlight is vital. Hähnel’s Modus 600RT kit is a rapid, full-featured and affordable flashgun, running off a powerful Hähnel Extreme lithium- ion battery. It has a guide number of 60 (ISO 100, 200mm), a recycle time of just 1.5secs at full power, and will give up to 600 shots at its maximum output, or over 1000 at 1/2 power. The flash has a built-in 2.4GHz wireless receiver/ transmitter, and a Viper TTL trigger is included so you can fire it from up to 100m, or use it to control other flashes for more complex set-ups. It can be used manually, or via TTL metering, and has a stroboscopic mode, too. Available in Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Micro Four Thirds and Sony fits.
You might think tripods have got little to do with kitting yourself out for portrait and wedding clients, but you would be wrong. Tripods are all about sharpness and compositional finesse, so if you’re lining up a group shot, or framing from a dramatic angle, it makes sense to secure your camera. And there are plenty of creative portrait effects that rely on keeping the camera still, such as multiple exposures and composites. What’s more, when working all day on a shoot, it’s somewhere you can rest the camera between bursts of activity. Benro’s Tortoise 35C tripod has a carbon fibre build,
vanguardworld.co.uk
£89
Vanguard VEO Select 33 messenger bag
keeping it light, and it packs down small – perfect if you’re on the move. Its five-section legs use ergonomic twist- lock collars to make opening and closing the
Shooting portraits at weddings and events, you need to work fast and don’t want to be weighed down, so a messenger style bag is a great choice. The Vanguard VEO Select 33 has a neat and tidy look, but still packs in a decent amount of kit and provides great protection. It will take a DSLR or large mirrorless body, as well as two or three additional lenses, and a speedlight. Alternatively, its generous 33x13x24cm internal dimensions
mean there’s enough space to fit two medium-sized camera bodies with lenses attached. With an eye on working photographers, the VEO Select 33 also has internal pockets for smaller items like a light meter, spare batteries and your all-important business cards. Light on the shoulder, it weighs only 1120g, has a non-slip padded shoulder strap, and a rain cover included in case you get caught in the elements.
legs quick and easy when you’re on the clock. It supports loads of up to 15kg – and comes with a versatile GX35 ball head.
bobbooks.co.uk
from £14.99
Bob Books Lay-Flat photo books
Bob Books lay-flat photo books are made using genuine photographic paper, so they combine a traditional photographic feel with a very modern range of options, and ease of creation. Available in sizes from 19x15cm, up to 38x29cm, and in a variety of portrait, landscape and square formats, the lay-flat design means images can be
printed very large across a spread, with no worries about losing detail in the fold or gutter. There are three paper types, so choose them to suit the images you are printing. For instance, Lustre photographic has vibrant colours, while Matte photographic reflects less light for a more artistic effect. There’s also Gloss
photographic for a shiny, lively finish. The actual type of paper selected defines the maximum number of pages included, from 26 up to 178 for the larger books. Creation is via downloaded software – you can either design a photo book using the provided templates, or upload a pre-made PDF of your own.
Issue 90 | Photography News 19
photographynews.co.uk
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