Continuous Lights

Does anyone use continuous lights for any part of the day. My wife (2nd shooter) is struggling with flash and dealing with shadows during getting ready, details and reception photos. I have started to look into continuous lights that can be mounted on the hot shoe or hand held (for details). Does anyone have any recommendations, these will NOT be used for ceremony lighting or shots where the whole room needs to be illuminated.

No. It's distracting, it will create more shadows as it'll be weak and have to go direct rather than bounced. She'd be better off
1) Learning how to use flash (it's really not that difficult, just bounce it somewhere and leave it on auto), or
2) Shooting natural light

Yes. It allows me to sculpt light very quickly. I use DIY worklights.

3) exposing one stop under for ambient and using the flash for fill, hopefully bounced.

sorry that the above advice isn't exactly answering the question you asked, but having an LCD panel on camera that is big enough to make a difference is the realm of tripod mounted video only. Anything else is just too cumbersome and small lights are practically worthless.

i agree with #1 above. Often one needs to give up over thinking and just let it fly. Maybe you could make a point of taking one night a week where you play the bride and let your wife photograph you as you move around the room.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #17899652
Yes. It allows me to sculpt light very quickly. I use DIY worklights.

i was considering suggesting this as a "light on a stand in the corner" just to add more ambient. Is this what you do?

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #17899652
Yes. It allows me to sculpt light very quickly. I use DIY worklights.

I also use video lights a lot. The come in very handy and they provide opportunities that bounce flash cant. They do allow shadows to be present in your work. Interesting shadows with great highlights make for great images is my opinion.

With the right equipment, video lights and continuous lights are going to give you opportunities. This year we are changing the way we approach lighting. We will still do much bounced and much window light work that all of you do. But im going to be using spot grids more and more, Buying the Mag Mod system, and we purchased the new 1DxMK11 camera. Clean Usable ISO at 25000 and being able to spot grid into a scene at 1/128 or use of video lights provides opportunity to create images that we could not in the past. So Im super excited for this year.

I would not rule out the use of continuous lighting- fast glass and these new sensors means great opportunity to create dynamic great images

I have been using this video light for 2 yrs. Cant live w/o it. I like it because i can control the temp and toss in the right colored light. Invaluable little light

I bounce flash a lot, just like everyone else. But Directional light with interesting darks and shadows is very appealing to me right now. So gonna go down this route and anxious to play this year

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_on_camera_led_​video.html

I am also getting this Mag mod system this season. Ive seen what these guys are doing with these modifiers and I am in the camp that believes with the High iSO capabilities on these new sensors being released, better ways to create is here.

https://magnetmod.com/

I think I would look kinda funny in a wedding dress .... all joking aside, she is getting better and we do plan to keep practicing. Was just looking at all options for her.

Littlejon Dsgn wrote in post #17900805
I think I would look kinda funny in a wedding dress ...

wedding dress and a bottle of wine, who knows where it would end up?



don't mean to offend, only said that because i know you guys do boudoir and expect that you're not too uptight.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17900900
wedding dress and a bottle of wine, who knows where it would end up?



don't mean to offend, only said that because i know you guys do boudoir and expect that you're not too uptight.

O it would take a lot more then that to offend either of us

I told her about the idea and she said she would pick up something cute for me to walk around in lol

All joking aside im taking every ones advice seriously. This will only be our second season so we are still sorting out the gear end of things and figuring out what works and what does not work for us.

tim wrote in post #17899560
No. It's distracting, it will create more shadows as it'll be weak and have to go direct rather than bounced. She'd be better off
1) Learning how to use flash (it's really not that difficult, just bounce it somewhere and leave it on auto), or
2) Shooting natural light

I'm with Tim on this one. I understand that continuous lights let you see what the end result will be, but that takes time and space right?

Are there really scenes that can be improved with continuous light where flash wouldn't have worked?

I just ordered a couple of LED lights for video, so I'll give them a try as a flash substitute for photo when I get them, but I just can't see it working well.

No continuous lights here. People (by people I mean bride's, their bridesmaids, and their mothers) are quite high strung on wedding days as it is, the last thing they need is bright, hot lights shining on them everytime they turn around. Using a flash on or off camera is very basic once you know how to do it. IMO learning this is just as important as learning other basics, like the exposure triangle. Just watch some free youtube videos together, practice on each other, and you should be good to go . Best of luck!

Jarvis Creative Studios wrote in post #17901789
the last thing they need is bright, hot lights shining on them everytime they turn around.

LEDs hot? Nope. Bright? Dimmable and easy to make sure they are not direct in someones face.

Continuous lights have come a long way you know.

As for frugivore's comments about time and space. Small, hand held, easily mountable, easily positioned (mine are magnetic too). And oh so quick.

Lots of comments in this thread by people who 1) aren't familiar with what is available, 2) aren't familiar with what is possible with them and 3) are just stuck in their ways that flash is the only way to go... natural light, continuous light and flash are all simply different options.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #17901800
LEDs hot? Nope. Bright? Dimmable and easy to make sure they are not direct in someones face.

Continuous lights have come a long way you know.

As for frugivore's comments about time and space. Small, hand held, easily mountable, easily positioned (mine are magnetic too). And oh so quick.

Lots of comments in this thread by people who 1) aren't familiar with what is available, 2) aren't familiar with what is possible with them and 3) are just stuck in their ways that flash is the only way to go... natural light, continuous light and flash are all simply different options.

I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood. I thought we were talking about large studio lights in dressing rooms, etc. Yes LEDs (such as video lights, ice light, etc.) are acceptable at times during weddings, I use them. But I still wouldn't recommend them over flash because it takes two people to light a photo this way. One holding the lights and one holding the camera. LEDs are great for specific lighting on specific shots though .

The lights she had been interested in after watching some youtube videos was the Rotolight Neo's There small can be mounted on the camera or off camera. Used 99% of the time for close quarter getting ready, some detail stuff and then candids at the reception. Again she is second shooting so I make sure to get the critical shots. We plan to continue working on her flash ability and she has already come a long ways.

I have 5 of these Bat lights and a few standard Video LEDs.

Not forgetting the inbuilt LED on my Sony flash too.