When Downsizing Hits Home

Big companies are not the only ones downsizing. Changes in airline policies have made me rethink what I bring to assignments.

I have been in the photography game for a bit. I remember when film sensitivity was measured by ASA not ISO and most professional photos were created with film stock that was rated at 100 ASA or below. Light requirements were different then as a result. I had big heavy lights in the studio — Speedotrons and Normans and I lugged around a big Norman 200B for anything outside the studio. Film quality improved by leaps during the 80’s & 90’s… Fuji 800 ISO revolutionized both wedding and concert photography.

Nothing has changed the photography landscape more than digital capture. You can now shoot at high ISO settings and create astonishing images with perfect color balance and low noise.

I still have the Normans and Speedotrons and they do come in handy for those assignments where I can bring the kitchen sink. But there are very few assignments where I need or can bring that much firepower.

I have used either White Lightning or Dynalight strobes for most of my studio and location work in recent years. Both systems are pretty light in weight and have been great options for out of town assignments. The Dynalight kit with three heads [stands and umbrellas] weighted under 45 lbs. and was my go to system to take on flights.

All of that changed a few months ago when fuel prices went through the roof and airlines found a way to stick it to us. My only worry had been making the strobe bag weight less than 50 pounds so that I could check two bags [clothes & strobes] for free… now I had to examine the cost of paying for two checked bags.

The solution to my dilemma was already in my rolling camera case… speedlights. Once you take the speedlight out of the hotshoe, you can do virtually anything. I already had three Nikon Speedlights in my case… light stands, umbrellas and Pocket Wizards to trigger the lights. So I made a decision to downsize lighting gear where possible or when necessary.



I used 2 - SB 800’s to create this image of actress Trisha Mann. The main light was bounced into a white umbrella and the background light was placed inside a Lastolite HiLite background.
Nikon D300 17-55 2.8 f/8 1/250 sec. @ 400 ISO



I used 3- SB 800’s to create this image. The main light was bounced into a white umbrella. I used one light to create a highlight on the Westcott background and pointed another light at Trisha from the back to create a little more separation. I completed the shot by placing a silver Photoflex LiteDisc below Trisha’s waist to bounce some of the umbrella light back into her face.
Nikon D300 105 Micro Nikkor 2.8 f/8 1/250 sec. @ 200 ISO

Trisha has been a friend for about a decade now. She is currently on tour with JD Lawrence’s play The Clean Up Woman with Christopher Williams, and Jackee Harry. Thank you Trish for helping me with this project.



This image was created last night at the screening of the HBO documentary THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT: “The Memory Loss Tapes”. I needed to take a photo of filmmakers Shari Cookson & Nick Doob, and I was concerned about lighting the dark poster while avoiding crazy glare. The main light was bounced into a small white umbrella and I used the hotshoe mounted SB800 for fill light.
Nikon D300 17-55 2.8 f/5.6 1/125 sec. @ 400 ISO

The Memory Loss Tapes, the first part of THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT, a four-part multi-platform documentary series, debuts Sunday, May 10 (9:00pm).



This final image was created on Saturday at the California Science Center. Multiple strobes can really help with panel discussions like this Science Matters panel moderated by NBC4’s Conan Nolan. Large conference rooms are normally pretty cavernous and dark to allow for PowerPoint presentations. I used two Sb800s here… One was on camera and the other was placed at the opposite end of the panel table… both were bounced from the high ceiling.
Nikon D300 17-55 2.8 f/4 1/80 sec. @ 800 ISO