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Since we have returned from our Santorini workshop, we have received many questions from curious people asking, “Why on earth would you take all that lighting equipment to Santorini where you have the most beautiful natural light in the world?”

Chimera, Hensel and Sunbounce shipped the lighting gear to Santorini not because they are our sponsors but because this is what we requested for them. The reason we wanted these specific lights is because these are the lights we use to create our own pictorials. Just because you have a beautiful sun and locations, it’s not always enough to settle on what nature has to offer and that’s when the extra lighting equipment becomes valuable.

For instance, when relying on natural lighting conditions, you are at Mother Nature’s mercy and working with limited light sources. The sky could become cloudy and start raining and you need to move indoors. Or you simply may just need to backlight your subject instead of settling for the cookie-cutter frontal shot.

Sponsor provided equipment shipment arrives to Santorini

This is where photography becomes interesting. The lighting is what gives you wings! Having the proper gear available provides the possibility of endless creativity and situations where you, not nature, are in charge of the lighting. Do not get me wrong! Mother Nature creates the most beautiful lighting situations available anywhere. But would you risk your production on weather that can change with a snap of your fingers? I think not.

Our seminar was not only about learning lighting techniques and to get a few images for a portfolio. It was about real-life photo shoots that may end up in the glossy pages of publications and advertisements. And that, my friend, requires foolproof weather, lights or a combination of both.

So, what kind of lighting equipment and cameras did we use? Here is a brief list and usage descriptions below.

 

Lighting

• Two Porty-Kits (the full kit with two batteries per kit and chargers). One grid-reflector with 10º grid on each kit
• Two Hensel Ring flashes
• Eight Hensel strobe/wizard plus (with sync cords)
• Three Power Max Expert D1000’s
• Four Hensel Mini Heads
• Three Power Max L’s with extra batteries for each one
• Two Hensel 4×6 softboxes
• Two Medium strip boxes
• Two Small strip boxes
• One Grand 90 softbox with speedring
• Two Hensel Portable beauty dishes
• Fifteen light meters – one for each attendee
• Eight aluminum stands
• 4 AC Extension cords
• Two Chimera collapsible beauty dishes
• Two Chimera 4×6 Super Plus Pro softboxes

 

Medium Format Cameras

• Phase One XF body (2)
• Phase One DF+ body
• Phase One IQ350
• Phase One IQ360
• Phase One IQ180
• Schneider 55mm LS
• Schneider 80mm LS
• Schneider 40-80mm LS
• Schneider 110mm LS
• Schneider 150mm LS
• Schneider 75-150mm LS
• Schneider 240mm LS

 

Sunbounce

• Three 4×6 Silver/White reflectors
• One 4×6 Black/White (Black-Hole)
• One 4×6 ZigZag Gold/White reflector
• Three 4×6 Silver/White Strips 14”
• Three 2×3 ZigZagGold/White reflectors
• Three 4×6 SunSwatters complete with pole

 

Which lighting modifier was the most popular?

Each situation created its own challenges. Whether it was high noon or a more backlit situation determined which lighting components should be used. For example: the two images below demonstrate a performance in a red dress with world famous dancer Irina Kazakova. Since this was a commercial product with Hensel Grand 90 Parabolic Softbox, shot by our STC attendee Juhani Väihkönen and Alan Chan (to be published at a later time) it was important that we featured the visual clarity of skin tones and the model’s personality in addition to expressing the “cool factor” and artistry.

Top: Canon 16-35mm @16mm ISO: 100 f/16 1/250 sec.  Bottom: 24-105 @32mm f/13 1/125 sec. 

As nice as both images appear, it is good to keep in mind that clients may have a less artistic goal in mind than us photographers. In the image on the right side we used a Hensel 90 parabolic softbox that simulated perfect sunlight with a punch that is hard to get from your average softbox. This specific modifier is well known in fashion and can also be used in glamour photography. For us it worked beautifully as we removed the face fabric and inside diffuser to give us a crispier and hard lighting result to match the opposite side sun and ambient lighting conditions.

 

Chimera

Another must-have tool in every photographer’s kit is Chimera’s collapsible beauty-dish. This never-leave-home-without-it 24” beauty dish has given photographers the ability to travel light instead of packing or shipping the older metallic ones. We needed a to have  quick counter light which would not require as much power coverage as the Hensel 90 parabolic. Chimera’s beauty dish was the perfect candidate for the task and the diffusers were also removed to match the high-noon sun and lighting conditions. But this is where these modifiers become the king. They give you an all day pass to perfect lighting conditions.

Chimera’s collapsible beauty-dish with a Hensel 1200 Mini head and Porty pack

Strobes

Since we were traveling and hopping around Oia (Santorini village) it was only convenient to have the Hensel Mini 1200 heads that are barely bigger than your average coffee up. But they are mightier than a pit bull loaded with 12 shots of Cuban espresso. Hensel Porty packs purred perfectly and gave us 400-plus pops at half power and 250 pops on full power. The Hensel Power Max L pack is the coolest of them all. It’s not well known but when photographers discover them, they can’t be separated from them. It allows you to plug in your lights, laptop, barbecue grill and anything else from an electric shaver to anything else because it comes with two regular household plugs.

I have travelled around the globe with these heads and packs running from rhinos and giraffes and I still have not been able to break one. Once in the Kalahari Desert in Africa a sandstorm appeared out of nowhere and took all our light with it. After searching and digging for power packs and finding the heads on deep quicksand-like environment, they worked as good as new. (Baby wipes come in very handy!)

We also had Expert D 1000 monolights (110 – 240V AC) for those night shoots that required more studio-like settings and wall power. They offer great consistency for as long as you need. Luckily we had extension cords in the back of Ales Bravnicar’s car hat resembles a garage that has travelled to over 90 countries. He even has a 12w coffee maker in his car for the long hauls! (Ales loves to drive. Why do you think we travel so much together? I hate driving.)

Attendee Steven Ruegnitz and Russell Yeaman hands-on with Expert D1000

Sunbounce

Throughout my career I have heard how Sunbounce products are more expensive than other manufacturer’s products. Actually, I think that they are bargains for their quality! They can charge a little more and they do for the right reasons. The quality of the fabric and the rigid frame with handles is a savior. We could NEVER have used any other reflector brands but Sunbounce in Santorini because the handles allow you hold on tight against the Santorini wind that is known as the thief of Santorini. It will literally take anything not properly secured with it. And all professional rental houses that rent lighting equipment carry Sunbounce because for its durability and quality.

Need I say more?

 

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