After a recent school ball shoot, I came to a few conclusions that freed up how I look at my flash kit.
1) My super light weight kit is brilliant, but for events with teens and adults, taller stands are needed.
2) Less is needed as a rule, so I can pack in a more focussed way, a bit less “boy scout”.
3) Not every little bit of gear I have has to have a place, concentrate on the winners, shelves the losers.
4) Expect to change as needed as some things fall away and others float to the surface.
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In my camera bag there is always;
Godox TTL flash with High Speed Sync (860 or 685).
TX1 off camera controller.
60cm 5-in-1.
Mini tripod and flash foot.
Several black flagging foams (some double width to make snoots) and hair bands to hold them.
Optional extras;
16” mini circular soft box.
176 LED (a little hair light can make a snap look like a studio shot).
200cm light weight stand with reflector clamp in it’s own bag. This holds a flash, LED or reflector easily enough.
This little rig fixes most small scale problems and can at a pinch be promoted to “very tiny studio” status.
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If something more formal is a real possibility, I have my Neewer shoulder bag kit handy;
The other Godox (or for more grunt swap both Godox out for the YN kit below).
480 RGB LED background light. Adds colour control or can be a fill/focus aid.
32” Deep soft box for background control-feathering.
43” soft box umbrella (just because I have it). Good for overheads.
2x 42” shoot through or reflector (preferred) brollies for group coverage.
2x Bowens S-clamps.
1 reflector clamp.
Tape for indoor and tent pegs for outdoor stand stability.
2x 200cm super light weight stands.
1x 220cm key light stand.
(optional) 2x 1kg weights for the stands.
Separate;
(optional) 150x200cm or 110cm 5-in-1 backdrop/reflector/diffuser/flag.
This kit drastically increases my capabilities, but comes in at only 3-4kg (without the weights). Four lights, even if one is the little 176 LED offers a lot of options and the modifiers are plenty for most smaller jobs. To be honest, this little outfit would likely handle most jobs. The little stands have their limits, such as a decent sized shoot through mod hanging off them at an angle, but if the load is centred (brollies-brolly reflector/ soft boxes), then they perform well.
Crappy photo. The black one (3 of) is the super light fold down (I could likely carry 40 of these if needed, they weigh nothing). These are limited to 2m, but hold 4kg or so and the legs can spread flat for maximum stability. The 2.2m middle sized ones (2 of) are quickly becoming my favourites. They take plenty of strain, but fit into my smaller lighting bag and the big one to the right (4 of) is the work horse, 2.6m heavy duty.
In-situ family snap of the “armoury”. It is hard to believe that all 10 stands, boom arm and 2x 72” brollies came in at about $450au total. The two poles to the left are K-Mart short curtain rails, each extending to 1.5m and joinable.
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For even bigger groups and events, like the other day;
Neewer Strobe bag;
4x YN560’s (A/A/B/C).
YN controller.
YN560 III as spare (A or D) unit.
Torch, spanner tool, hi-vis and utility tape.
Gels.
Long Neewer bag with a trolley and a 40L roller case (as suits);
2x 48” soft boxes (these can also be used as deep, silver reflectors).
26” double baffle deep soft box.
2x 7” reflectors with grids and diffusers for maximum control.
6x12’ diffusion cloth. Allows me to “scrim” off windows, double or triple baffle brollies etc.
5x7’ black/white background cloth/flag (portable V-Flat).
2x 260cm stainless steel key light stands.
1x 220cm stainless steel stand
1x 200cm super light weight stand for rear light (it goes really low, which can be handy).
2x Bowens S-Clamps.
3x standard/multi brolly clamps.
2x Smallrig super clamps for the bars.
6x heavy duty muscle clamps (for the cloth or reflector options).
Heavy duty reflector/muscle clamp.
(optional) 2x Multi segment bars (1.5-3m total). For scrims, backgrounds etc.
(optional) 660 LED. This acts as fill and focus aid or rim light.
(optional) 2x 2kg weights for the C-Stand.
Options strapped to the trolley bag;
72” silver brolly.
72” shoot through white brolly.
C Stand and boom arm for big brollies, overheads or outdoors in the wind.
110cm 5-in-1.
1.5x2m 5-in-1.
This kit can handle large school balls, creative formal portraits and larger groups easily. There are plenty of creative options, lots of grunt with the possibility of up to 6 discreet lights, although that would rarely be a good idea. The two sleeping giants are the flag/diffuser/reflector/backdrop cloth options that are the cheapest of the lot ($30 total) that are so very useful.
Pairing the 4’ soft boxes or using the 72” brollies makes an enormous Joel Grimes style “wall of light”, almost Liebovitz style. Soft, broad, wrap around light teamed with tightly focussed support light is the look here.
I picked this monster up recently for a very sweet $58.00au. It’s job is to handle off centre weight like a 72” brolly above the subject. Even at the usual price of $100 or so they are a frikkin bargain. It is hard to tell here, but the thing weighs a ton (near 10kg which feels like a ton when you lug it a ways) and goes 3m+. The central column is as thick as the barrel of my 45mm Oly lens!
This kit relies on gelled flash units for colour. I have found these to be stronger and more vibrant than LED’s so the extra effort is worth it. A trick I learned recently from The Slanted Lens blog is to gel strobes inside soft boxes to “crush” the shadows with deep, subtle colour.
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And finally, if a supplied backdrop is required**, which I try to avoid, but you never know (again a studio would be nice);
2x 260 stainless steel stands with Smallrig bar clamps.
Multi segment bar* (that can be added to the other section above for 3m’s total).
6-12 tension clamps.
Various backdrops 5-9 feet wide, plain or mottle.
*the “multi segment bars” are collapsible curtain rails that can fit inside one another effectively infinitely. These are cheaper and thicker/stronger than the backdrop bars I have found (for reasonable money) and are attached using 2 Smallrig super clamps.
**I can provide most colours and shades simply through controlling light levels, angles and using gel or LED colour controls (even Photoshop), with any clean wall space, but sometimes provided backgrounds are needed for consistency. Personally, I prefer locations for relevance. I recently switched to shooting into the room, not against a wall, but that is sometimes not practical.
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Finally;
There are a few of mods and stands that are cheap or damaged or too much trouble to bother with in the field, making up a decent little kit in my “test” studio.
All very self indulgent, but hopefully of use to anyone looking at setting up a little flash kit.
Travel well.