Location lighting
LEDs are on the rise for studio stills but what about location work? Peter Searle packs his bags and puts these interesting creatures to the test
Peter Searle tests out Rotolight’s AEOS and NEO 2
Much location photography is not about loading up the car with every bit of gear you own. It is a considered packing of equipment suitable for travelling light and working fast. One way to speed up the shooting process is to use continuous battery-powered lights and what better than LED lights that also have flash and dial in colour temperature? I headed off to the Barbican in London with an array of Rotolight kit to meet my sitter and see how this would work in practice.
Portability
NEO 2s are neat, cute and compact, and are roughly the size of my hand, so I could fit quite a few of them in my rolling case. The AEOS lights on the other hand, are the size of a basketball run over by a steamroller, more exotic than cute. On this test I could just about fit two AEOS and two NEO 2s in my rolling case plus batteries (two excellent Rotolight shoulder kit cases, stand and camera bag would be too much for this fella on the train). I also had to ditch the yokes to save space.
Output
In most of my environmental portraiture I use the low levels of available light to create atmosphere and often shoot at wide apertures. Consequently I often use ND filters with strobes on the minimum setting. The lower output of Rotolights (relative to strobes) is therefore not a problem. Once a spot has been found that makes the most of the sitter and the setting the work begins to balance with the available light. It was also nice to use a light source 30cm wide straight out of the bag without having to construct a softbox. I was pleasantly surprised by how high the output was. The NEOs on the outdoor set, however, were only powerful enough for fill lighting.
The first spot was a stern test for LEDs, reflected light and a background wall lit by sunshine. The AEOS had to be positioned close at full power, about a metre or less from the subject’s face – but with an appropriate composition, this wasn’t a problem.