Many wedding and portrait photographers like to talk about lighting. Most work with flashes, strobes, and various light modifiers such as umbrellas and softboxes. One other light source that photographers explore is continuous lighting. It’s a no-brainer in the film/video industry but it is sometimes an “a-ha” moment in photography. Probably the most popular continuous light source used by photographers are small video lights due to their portability. I still get a few questions every month from other photographers about what video light I use… it’s the Lowell iLight. I’ve had it for a few years now and it has performed well. I don’t use it often, but when I have a challenging location with a wedding day couple or commercial shoot the video lights come in handy.
PROS: Small and easy to pack into most camera bags. All you have to do is attach to a light stand or monopod for a lighting assistant to operate. My light came with a 50 watt and 100 watt lamp. I hardly use the 50. You can also dim the light and adjust spot and flood. Many accessories are also available to control the light – barn doors, gels, and filters. More info can be found on their website: http://www.lowel.com/ilight/.
CONS: It’s not an all-in-one solution like the cool new LitePanel Micro LED lights where you can insert AA batteries and get several hours of use. The battery packs for the iLight are separate units and need to be carried on your person. There are different battery packs available depending on how much charge you want to have. Since I don’t use the iLight a lot I never run out of charge at a wedding.
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- Lowell iLight – no it’s NOT made by Apple… yes, someone actually asked me that once.
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- Maggie stood in front of my car lights while I had the iLight on a light stand pointed at her at about 45 degrees from the left.
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- The iLight is set up again to the left outside the frame to light up Maggie in this otherwise dark corner. I used the available parking garage lights behind her to add a little depth and background to the image.
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- Here I am with the iLight. Photo by Ingrid Kaslik.
I also have two Sunpak Readylite 20 video lights. They might be discontinued though.
PROS: Inexpensive at around $30 each. Very lightweight and very easy to operate one handed. It’s great for the quick shot that needs a splash of light. Uses four AA batteries.
CONS: Maybe 20 minutes of run time so you gotta know what you want to shoot before you light it up. No dimming function. Low 20 watt power.
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- Sunpak Readylite 20 – it’s been the perfect small lighting solution for those quick shots that need a splash of light. But at 20 watts, be sure it’s just a small splash =)
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- Deena was getting ready in a low lit room. Even though she offered to turn on some lights I refused. Instead my 5D mark II did a wonderful job as always with low light. However there was one angle where I wanted a splash of light. I quickly grabbed the Sunpak for this shot.
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- Getting detail shots are important. However there can be some challenges finding the right lighting. This is where a small video light like my old Sunpak came in handy.
by Armin
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