Photographers who tend to shoot and use flashes while on locations typically also try to pack light. In most situations when you’re trying to shoot guerilla style and without getting permits, you need to be versatile yet also need to get your specific creative vision across. This can surely be made simple with just you, your camera, and a radio flash. But you can get even more out of your scene with a few extra compact items that are bound to not take up a lot of space in your bag.
Check these out!
Roundflash Dish
One of my absolute favorite light modifiers available on the market is the Roundflash Dish. I gave my editorial copy away to a friend but then later bought a brand new one off of Amazon because they’re so incredibly useful. This beauty dish folds up and collapses just like a standard reflector. But when you’re ready to shoot, it can accommodate a flash and deliver a bit more stability and structure. Best of all, they give off really nice light.
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Gorillapod
So why would you need a Gorillapod? Sometimes a flash cannot be put on a light stand simply because you’re trying to be quick about the entire shoot. So mounting your flash on a gorillapod and putting it on onto one area or another can eliminate the need for a light stand. Of course, this isn’t always the situation but it can be in a whole lot of instances.
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ExpoImaging Gels
Sometimes, you’ll want to work with a different color of light when out on location. For those moments, it makes a whole lot of sense to work with something like the ExpoImaging Gels. These gels are specially cut for most flash heads and honestly, you won’t even really need to buy the ExpoImaging Gel holder. Instead, just slap the gel onto the flash and use some Gaffers Tape.
Speaking of which…
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Gaffers Tape
Gaffers tape? Really? Believe it or not, it’s not a crazy idea. You know the saying how Duct Tape can solve every problem in the world? Well for photographers that is both electrical tape and gaffers tape. Use this to secure your flash with a gorillapod on it. Or use it to secure your gels onto the flash head with ease. The best thing is that in most cases it won’t leave any sort of sticky residue.
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ND Filter
Now here’s another one that may sound crazy but really isn’t. An ND filter can be used on your lens and in conjunction with your camera when there is way too much light in the scene. Your flash won’t have as pronounced an effect unless you can really kill the ambient light. To do that, you’ll need an ND filter. In most cases, I genuinely prefer to work with variable ND filters because they’re just so simple to work with.
These days, I really like the offerings from BreakThrough and Syrp.
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