The Master of Light
Only when you can manipulate lighting can you really become good at photography. I am not talking about strobe light alone, but using available light and creating and eliminating shadows to assist you to create something that otherwise would be flat and boring. Over the past 30 years of photography, I have had many amazing opportunities and the latest has been working with Models in our “Meetup” group https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Photography-Meetup-Group/
Understanding Light spring loads one into a creative realm of creativity that otherwise may be limited by their inhibition to experiment. My latest challenge, that I wanted to experiment with, was implementing LED Lighting with Strobe Lighting. LED Lighting would be the constant light in the background. This is what I measured first to adjust my scene because I wanted to ensure the deep reds in the picture were saturated. Secondly, I placed my strobe (AD200) off to the side (subject left) to create a dramatic look as opposed to having the light set to the centre of the subject. Using a honeycomb grid an CTO gel to match the candle light in the photo, I was extremely pleased with the final results of this combination.
My main thrust in photography is Weddings. I most definitely will be using the LED lighting with Strobe in future events. Now some of you may be asking, could you not ascertain the same results if you used gels in multiple flashes? The simple answer is YES, absolutely and that would be a very vibrant picture too! The workflow using LED is simpler especially with a mirrorless system. I am impartial to mirrorless cameras as I have many colleagues who use Sony and Canon systems. I am using both the Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z6ii. Being able to see the LED lighting and just adjusting the flash is a very quick way of manipulating the overall look. Using gels would mean adjusting the power of each flash in the background and then adjusting the main light illuminating the subject. CONS- if the room is not in darkness, LED lighting may be almost useless because the ambient light will wash out the saturation that the LED’s can produce. In essence, having multiple sources of lighting is a “wish” thing for me and over time as a photographer I have acquired many products to enhance the experience. Is LED a necessity? Well not really but it is very handy in the darkness of night when photographing on the streets or within a dark room. Would I encourage you to get a light wand or LED Light! Absolutely! The immediate opportunity to dial in your colour and obtain great results have never been easier.