ESSENTIAL GEAR
The kit Phil relies on for capturing pro-quality studio portraits
1 PRO STUDIO LIGHTS 1 AND WIRELESS TRIGGERS
Phil favours the excellent quality, reliability and robustness of the Profoto D4 studio flash heads. “As well as being powerful, they also allow you to reduce the power to very low settings for wider aperture shots, and with the mains power packs, recycle time is super-quick as well for slicker shooting,” he explains. “I use the PocketWizard Plus X triggers for remotely firing the flash heads, but if I’m shooting on location I use my affordable battery-powered Godox lighting heads and triggers.”
2 FULL-FRAME CAMERA
“I still love the image quality of my workhorse Canon EOS 5D Mk III bodies. Both are still going strong, and I’m not still using them just because I’m a tight Yorkshireman and don’t want to upgrade!” laughs Phil, “Their full-frame sensors still deliver great tones, and in the studio I’m not worried about needing to shoot at higher ISOs or needing enormous 50MO images, or AI-based AF for action, as I mostly shoot for magazine editorial needs.”
3 LIGHTING MODIFIERS
To get the best from your lights, Phil suggests using softboxes to create softer, more flattering and directional lighting. “The larger the light source (bigger the softbox), the softer the light – and soft light is kinder for people photos!” explains Phil. “I’ll use a variety of softboxes, from rectangle, squarex, strips and octoboxes. Umbrellas are cheaper, fold down quickly, and are useful if you’re constantly packing and unpacking kit to move between locations, but they tend to spill light more.”
4 PRO LENSES
Like most Canon pros, Phil uses pro L-series glass for the ultimate image quality. “The main lenses I use in the studio are Canon’s EF 24-70mm and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L zooms to enable me to shoot three-quarter length and tighter portraits of models quickly, without needing to move closer or further away. Both lenses are quick to focus, super-sharp and capture lovely colours.”
5 BUDGET PRIME LENS
“Two benefits of using lights is that you’re controlling the exposures, and are often using lenses at their optimum apertures,” says Phil. “I love using my classic, compact and affordable EF 50mm f/1.4 USM. I don’t need to shoot fully wide open in the studio, and shooting at around f/2.5 gives me images that are sharp and have a nice shallow depth of field. You should avoid using a wide-angle lens close up for portraits (16mm on full-frame, or 10mm on APS-C cameras, for example) as this can distort facial features.”