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How to use a ring light with colourful backdrops for amazing portraits

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I share a lot of lighting setups on here and every time I do, not only am I trying to share something unique, but I’m also trying to share something that’s practical and easy to implement for as many people as possible.

For the most part, I think I achieve that and although not everybody has access to all the kit I do, I still believe that certain elements of every setup I share are accessible by all. This is me trying to soften the blow of this week’s setup, as although not everybody will own all of this kit, cheap alternatives are viable and failing that, at least the DIY background and basic lighting principles involved are very much achievable by all. As always, if you have any questions about any of it, don’t hesitate to drop them down below.

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Godox takes us back to the ’80s with the retro-themed Lux Junior on-camera flash

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With the trend for retro-looking cameras and lenses over the last few years, I’m surprised it’s taken a company this long to come out with a matching retro-styled speedlight to go with them. I mean, how awkward is it when you’re out with your hipster friends with your Leica M or Nikon Z fc and a fancy modern flash on top?

Well, now, Godox has the answer in the form of the Godox Lux Junior, a 1980s-styled speedlight that actually looks quite useful, if I’m completely honest. To complete that retro feel that’s oh, so last century, it doesn’t support TTL, High Speed Sync or even Godox’s own 2.4Ghz X wireless flash trigger system!

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Profoto’s new very compact 100Ws Profoto A2 Monolight strobe is about the size of a can of coke

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Profoto has announced a new compact strobe. Designed for off-camera use, the Profoto A2 Monolight is a 100Ws strobe with a recycle time of 0.1-1.6 seconds. It’s a pretty tiny light, measuring in at 7.9cm in diameter and only 12.6cm long, meaning you can easily fit one or several of these into the lens slots of most camera bags.

The flash itself has a colour temperature of 5800K +/-100K with a t.1 flash duration of between 1/26,000 to 1/350 of a second. It also features a 2.1W modelling light at a more tungsten 3500K colour temp. As a portable strobe, it’s powered by a lithium-ion battery that promises 400 flashes on a full charge.

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Profoto has announced the Connect Pro, their “most advanced triggering system yet”

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Profoto has announced its latest generation of flash trigger, the Connect Pro supporting TTL in Nikon, Canon, Sony, Leica and Fuji versions, as well as a non-TTL version for everybody else. Like most flash triggers, it sits in your camera’s hotshoe for easy remote control of one or multiple flashes.

Up to six groups of lights (three with TTL) can be controlled by the Connect Pro through a large and intuitive user interface display, with 100 channels available to help ensure interference-free control and no conflicts with other nearby Profoto shooters.

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This DIY 3D printed adapter lets you use your speedlight softboxes on Bowens mount strobes and LEDs

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For a lot of photographers, when we started dabbling with flash, we used speedlights. And even if we didn’t, we might have bought a small strobe like the Godox AD200 and one of those 60cm square softbox kits with the S1 or S2 bracket. But as we upgrade to larger Bowens mount strobes or LED lights, those softboxes kind of just sit there on the shelf doing nothing.

Well, Farrukh Pitafi has solved that issue by designing a 3D printable adapter that mounts into your light’s Bowens mount socket and provides the ring around the outside to let you use those speedlight softboxes. And he’s made the files available to download so you can make your own.

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Godox adds Leica compatibility to the X flash system with the announcement of the new XProII trigger

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The Godox XPro has been a favourite amongst Godox shooters since it was first released way back in 2017. When they added Pentax support the following year, the XPro was considered a “game-changer” by a lot of Pentax photographers that wanted to utilise features like TTL and High Speed Sync. Well, now, Godox has added Leica support to their lineup and they’ve also announced a new XProII trigger.

The XProII seems to be largely identical to the original XPro, but with the addition of Bluetooth support for using with the Godox app that was originally released with the godox A1. Interestingly, the XProII has only been announced for Leica. There’s been no mention of Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Fuji and Olympus/Panasonic versions so far, but I expect they’ll be coming at some point.

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Portrait shooters, stop being so afraid of midday sun – It’s easy to overcome with a little bit of flash

Shooting outdoors in the bright midday sun scares the pants off a lot of portrait photographers. And for good reason. The harsh midday light when the sun’s high in the sky isn’t particularly flattering. Unless you go into open shade (and even that’s not always a guarantee), there’s really no way you can position yourself and your subject that the sun is presenting flattering light on your subject.

But it doesn’t need to be so bad and you don’t need to actively avoid it, as Jiggle Alejandrino points out in this video. He loves shooting outdoor portraits in the midday sun (and, so do I!) and explains why he loves it and how he overcomes the challenges of shooting at this time of day using flash.

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Watch this complete guide to shooting subjects on white seamless backgrounds

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White seamless background photography has been a staple of both portraits and products, amongst other things, for decades. It’s one of those things that almost all photographers (at least the ones who end up doing it for money) will probably learn to do at some point, just so that if they’re asked for it, they know how to do it. But it’s a style that I’ve seen so many photographers struggle with.

The concepts involved in photographing a well-lit subject in front of a pure white background are fairly straightforward, but there are lots of different things that come into play when you try it and things to think about that can easily catch you out while you’re learning. In this video, Ed Verosky walks us through not only the process of shooting on white seamless but the potential problems that can come up, too.

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Here are three ways to add a second light to your flash setup for shooting portraits

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There has been a lot written (and put onto video) over the years advocating the use of a single flash and there’s nothing wrong with that. They’re often packed with wonderful advice that’s geared towards either educating those who’ve never used flash before or helping those with far too much gear to really limit themselves in order to master that most basic of techniques.

But once you’ve mastered lighting up your subject with a single flash, how do you go about adding another? Why would you even need to do so? Well, in this video, Gavin Hoey walks us through the potential problems of only using a single light that can only be overcome by adding another and offers up three different ways we can add a second flash to our setup in the studio.

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This crash course teaches you everything you need to know about using flash for portraits

Flash is almost an inevitability when it comes to portraits. At some point or another, you’re going to find yourself frustrated with the “natural light” and you’re going to want to either try to overpower it or complement it to improve its looks or you’re going to give in completely, head indoors and go for a more studio-style setup away from the wind and rain and crappy weather. Whatever the reason, it’s as inevitable as Thanos.

But where do you begin? What gear do you need to get started? What do all the terms mean? How do you use them? What are modifiers? Key light? What? Well, all these questions and more are answered in this hour and a half long video from photographer Ed Verosky. It’s a complete crash course on using flash to shoot portraits, although much of what’s said applies to flash in any context.

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