‘Grab ‘N Go’ Lighting Kit

What is it about us photographers that just has to know what everyone else is carrying in their camera bags? We would be a sorry lot if we were women and had to know what everyone else was carrying in their handbags Nonetheless, its the curiosity that killed the cat.

Well, here is one of my bags, my ‘grab and run’ light kit. If I feel there is any possibility of needing some supplementary light, I’ll at minimum grab this bag. Heck, even if there isn’t any possibility, I’ll probably have it with me anyway. With this kit, my camera bag, cell phone, directions, and trusty GPS, I’m good to go. For anything more substantial in the way of lighting, I basically pack all my studio strobe equipment into cases and take the studio van which is always loaded with location equipment.

This kit has 3 small strobes, plus the two I carry in the camera bag, which gives me up to 5 light sources. I run them using the Canons wireless system, or set them to manual and use Pocket Wizards. There are two 8′ stands, one 5′ stand, and a number of clamps and accessories to mount the strobes to just about anything. For example, they drywall/putty knives have a stud screwed into the handle, and they knife portion can be slipped under books in a bookshelf, between a door and door frame, window sill, office cubicle, sit directly on the floor, machine, or whatever. The putty knife can also be gaffer taped to a all or other surface. Bogen super clamps are padded with rubber, have real good holding power, and won’t damage the surface you clamp to. So it can be used to clamp a speed light on the back rail of a chair, a pole, shelf, and so on. The mounting possibilities are endless, and fewer light stands are needed in the kit.

There are two small soft boxes with speed rings and brackets to mount the 580’s, and two umbrellas. The brackets are standard stocked items and made by Photoflex. The speed ring attaches to the bracket at the front, the speed light attaches at the rear, and the bracket attached to a light stand from the bottom. Very sturdy and workable. You can also use the speed light and soft box detached and hand held, so if you have an assistant they can move around with the soft box.

Also packed inside is lots of cinefoil for snoots, two home brew grids, various sized clamps, lots of rechargeable AA’s, various gels (color correction, neutral density, color effects, etc), instruction manuals, and gaffers tape pretty much covers it. This very small and lightweight kit is capable of on location portraiture, small product or food shots, or anything else on a reasonably small scale. I can’t light a group portrait of 10 people with it, but its perfect for 1 to 4 people in an environmental portrait setting balanced with available lighting. And its lightweight.

Carrying a camera bag, this light kit, and a clothes bag is very reasonable. I can usually check the clothes bag, and carry on the camera and light kit. Of course after the usual ’show me it working’ at the security checkpoint. I’ll update the post here in the future with more detailed photos of the mounting brackets since I get a lot of questions on it.

I also posted a couple images in my Flickr site, which allows notes attached to the image. Each piece of equipment is covered in the notes if you want more details.

You can access them here;  Grab ‘n’ Go light kit

Here is the kit all packed away in the case;;  Packed Kit

~ by sfaust on January 15, 2007.