I've been shooting corporate assignments for Fortune 500 companies for the past 24 years. Specializing in location work for corporate annual reports and other business collateral. I enjoy the opportunity to share my experiences with young people who want to peruse a profession in the world of commercial photography. I have been very fortunate to have had a wonderful career in photography, expressing myself visually and traveling the world on assignment.
Over the past several weeks I have been putting together images and topic slides for that speech. I'll be discussing such topics as how to build a photography business, what to do before and after graduation, how to be an effective assistant, and how to market your services. I have given this type of speech to many different schools and every time, students want to know about the type of equipment I travel with.
For an assignment when I am traveling alone without an assistant, I'll travel with the following lighting equipment. This is the same kit I traveled with last month to South America. I find that I can handle most any lighting challenges with this kit. This lighting kit fits into the small case which you see in the following photo. The contents of the case include: (3) Nikon SB-800 strobes, 2 small stands, 42 inch folding umbrella, gels, bogan clamps which hold the strobes, Pocket Wizards, Cinefoil- used for flagging or shaping the light,
The key composite to this kit would be the Nikon SB-800 strobe system. I carry 4 SB-800's as well as the SU-800 command unit. The command unit allows me to fire my 4 strobes wirelessly. Sometimes when the limits of the SU-800 come into play, I'll pull out my trusty PocketWizards for remote distances beyond the reach of the Nikon CLS (creative lighting system)Here are a few photos of those SB-800 strobes, one with and one without the PocketWizard set-up.
I have found these strobes to be remarkable! For years I have traveled "with studio type lighting" meaning, power packs, multiple heads with modifiers, stands, booms and other various grip equipment. type equipment. I have several lighting kits I use, depended upon the assignment requirements.
When I travel with a small lighting kit like this, I feel like an old fashioned wing walker on a bi-plane. There is a certain amount of excitement about traveling with a smaller lighting kit, particularly when you are use to the multiple cases of lighting equipment. I actually enjoy the thrill of it all, being free of the large amounts of equipment is rather liberating!
