I saw Jerry Ghionis at Imaging USA and he recommended this, so I finally bought it! It seems pretty self explanatory, but I'm wondering if anyone has any tips or advice? I didn't realize it came with a 5 lb. battery pack, but luckily I'll have an assistant with me. I'm sure she won't be happy when I show her what her new duties are....lugging this thing around! I've played around with syncing 2 flashes together but the results were always hit and miss - I'm hoping the video light will give me that great off-camera look but be more predictable with my exposure.

I'm shooting with it May 3rd so help me out!!

We started using a Lowel ID light at the beginning of this year and the results have been AWESOME! It really creates a moody look in otherwise crappy lighting conditions, and is just another great tool to have. We practiced with it a few times before we did a wedding with it, and that helped out a lot. Just playing around with the focus and intensity and seeing the results should put you on the right track. We try to avoid flash as much as we can, and this is an excellent alternative IMHO.

About the battery pack, there is a super light and small battery pack that Bescor makes for that light, and its around $200 at B&H. Here is the link:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4115...al_Hydride.html

Hope this helps!

Or, if you'd like to save some cash, for $29.97 at your local Lowe's, you can pick up one of these beauties. Put a piece of diffusion paper over the front and use some blackwrap to make a snoot, and voila, you've got a powerful yet soft and directional "available" light anywhere.

Pitch black at night, up and right out of frame:



Balancing ambient and the power light:



This image is pitch-black at night, with a 20 second exposure and three people running through the frame with lights like these, "painting" the scene with light.

Oh my gosh this is great! Thanks for the visuals! Too bad I didn't make a post BEFORE I bought the light. But for now I'm stuck with my heavy battery pack. Thanks for the advice, I'll let you know how it goes this weekend!

Very nice Photos!!

Wow Matt, that is so cool! Thanks for sharing that info- And great pics!

Matt can you show us a picture of your invention? lol

Don't have a picture of it handy, but it's just that hand-held light with a piece of round diffusion paper over the front of it to take away the shape of the light, and a blackwrap snoot!

We actually just blogged each of these, all using that same light.



Light was just a spot on the groom so he got light in both his eyes. You can see the difference between the light on him and the rest of the guys:

a. WOW isn't Matt's stuff fricken FANTABULOUS!

b. Wanted to mention that I've only had it a week or so, but I'VE BEEN SO DISAPPOINTED IN THIS VERY BATTERY you link to. We're using it with the Lowell ID light and I just set it up & timed it tonight...11 minutes of full light time. Then battery is dead. Kuput. Instructions (which are clearly translated and tough to make out in places) do mention the need to go thru a few full charging + full discharging cycles before the battery attains it's full capacity....but that 11 minutes is the 2nd cycle...yikes...
we purposely bought the lowell light with the cigarette-lighter type end and can use a "remote car charger" type battery if need be...but it's big + bulky and well, doesn't really scream out "wedding" --

anyway, sure makes whatever Matt is doing all the more appealing...
[though I must admit, I can't envision the diffuser paper handmade snoot thing either....Matt, is it something you re-make and attach before every shoot?]

amy
SilverBox

Wow, all these are beautiful! I tried out a video light at a workshop a while back and have been procrastinating on ordering the Lowell ID light, but maybe I should give this $29 light a whirl before investing in a major one, plus cheaper to experiment with!

Matt, if you don't mind I have a few questions....

Did you make the snoot yourself?
How does it work without the snoot?
What is the 'blackwrap' material?
I read some info about making snoots on on the strobist blog, along time ago...is that similar?

Thanks in advance for the info!
~Gina

Heck yeah +1

When you say diffusion paper, Matt, what exactly are you using and if it's something you can't get at a local store, do you mind sharing with us where you get it?

I see that this one's rechargeable... How long is the charge lasting on this light for you?

Your stuff really IS awesome!

Thanks so much for sharing!!

OHH, Mr. Radlinski!!! where art thou?

I am wondering what type of diffusion paper you are using as well? We have a deer light that I picked up at Cabelas. It seems very similar to the one you got from Lowes, but we have used wax paper over it to diffuse. This works fairly well, but I think I am going to try a white plastic grocery bag next(per Colin Michael's suggestion).

Any chance you can fill us in on what you are using, Matt?

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Yes, Matt! Pleas tell us, what kind of difusion paper you are using! I am going to pick up one of these this week!

hey matt...

what sepia/duo tone action is that?
I see it quite a bit

I am SO intrigued!

Oh wow, sorry guys, been out of town for a destination wedding and totally forgot about this thread. I feel like an ass

Here's the beast:



No, actually, that's my cat, Half-Price, but hey, if you get free info from me, you have to tell me how cute my cat is. That's the fee.

Actually he was just on the desk while I snapped pics of the light gun.

Anyway...





That's pretty much it. Standard diffusion paper to remove the shape from the flashlight (just go grab a bare flashlight and point it at a wall. See how it's dead in the middle, then a bright ring, then a dark ring, then a dimmer bright ring? Yeah the diffusion paper just makes that all even) and then a blackwrap snoot to direct it. Blackwrap is a pretty standard gaffering material that every photographer should have in their toolbox to improvise lighting modifiers they might not actually have. It's great for impromptu snoots, barn doors and gobos

This flashlight is not the same one I linked, but it's basically the same thing. Actually, the one I linked is my favorite, but I think I lost it. I haven't seen it since a wedding about a month ago, even though I know I packed it up at the end...I think it got lost as we've been cleaning and packing for the move into our new studio This one isn't as nice because it only has one setting...full on or full off. The one I linked at Lowes is better because it has low, medium, and high power settings.

Hope that helps

thank you for sharing Matt!!!!!! your cat looks like a cool dude, but aren't they all? (have two myself )

I do have one other question for you, if you don't mind... these lights are rechargeable, so I was wondering how long the charge is lasting for you or if you're using something other than what came with it to power it? on the other hand, if it's not lasting that long, for $29.97, you could have a few of these puppies in your bag .....

Thanks for the info Matt! Your cat is so cute!

This is completely awesome, thank you Matt! Like Cara, I am curious about how long the charge lasts.

"Half-price", that is a Great name for a cat! LOL! Thanks, Matt. You are definitely a wealth of information and a huge asset to OSP!

I don't know if this helps anyone else or not, but the light that we have from Cabelas(i think it is 2 million candle power) lasts for about 25-30 minutes, which is usually plenty for what we use it for. It also has an adaptor to plug it into a cigarette lighter in a vehicle(maybe new autos don't have these, I wouldn't know,lol). So you can charge while you drive!

Hey thanks guys. My cat is adorable.

Let me see...how long the battery lasts? I guess "long enough" is about the best answer I can give. We only bust it out for two or three shots at a wedding (if that) and there's plenty enough charge for that. My guess is I could probably leave it on for 30-45 minutes straight before it would die after a full charge.

Hope that helps

thank you again Matt!

Thanks for the detailed info and pics Matt! I can't wait to try this out, at least it will save some money before I decide if I need a $$ video light.

BTW, cute Cat but mine's is cuter...my daughter actually, her nickname is Cat haha

Thanks Matt, that rocks... can't wait to try it out.

Click to view attachment

This actually a little 200w photogenic spot tungsten light. The blue background is Daylight behind a glass block wall. When you set your camera for tungsten and mix in a little daylight you will get a great blue. We have been shooting our brides against stained glass with the Lowell I Light and the look of the blue in the background is very appealing. The tungsten mixes well with tungsten but you can get some great look when you anticipate the blue from daylight.

Check out my son's Blog and his new studio at http://tomschmidtphoto.com/