My Lighting Setup

I've been a wedding photographer in Fiji for nearly 4 years now and in that time I've had to purchase quite a bit of gear. Being in Fiji though makes things just a little more difficult as there is simply no opportunity to 'try before you buy'. This coupled with the fact that everything purchased online is multiplied by a factor of 3 (thanks to our currency, hefty shipping costs and massive taxes) means a heck of a lot more deliberating and planning for every single purchase.

As a result I have become quite the miser when it comes to gear purchases and before I consider anything it must first pass the 'Does it improve my work or just make it easier to do?' test. Generally speaking I am pretty happy with my gear and while there is a ton of gear that I would love to have (1D X anyone?) I will always lean towards getting gear that adds a little something more to my photos.

Being a wedding photographer in paradise means I spend a lot of my time shooting couple portraits on beaches at sunset and so I put together my lighting kit with that in mind.

The Gear

The most important part of the kit is of course the triggers. I use the Phottix Starto II Multi for Canon which has been great triggering my 580EXII's and after a few thousand shots the only misfires I've had have been due to dead or dying speedlite batteries.  Besides their reliability I also love the Starto II's ability to allow ETTL pass through with the transmitter which means I get to pop another speedlite on top of my camera and  transmitter for fill or more importantly to use the more powerful AF-Assist beam.

My Light Assistant Meli and I hard at work.
Photo by Rob Rickman

For diffusing the light I use a 24 x 24" Impact Quikbox Softbox on the end of a Manfrotto 679B Monopod with a 3/8" to 5/8" Stud Adaptor I picked up from the great little Photo Shop Studio on Parramatta Road in Sydney. Of course the issue with using the Stratos and the Impact Softbox is that the bracket isn't designed to handle the additional height to the speedlite so combining the Ezybox Hot Shoe Mounting Barcket from Lastolite with the Impact Softbox means I get to put everything together in what is a surprisingly tough bit of gear.

Working with my setup on shoots is generaly pretty easy and while I would have loved ETTL or the ability to control the output of the unit remotely I came to realise that with my super light assistant, Meli, I have one better... Voice Recognition!

I have thought about doing a bit more than a one light setup but I find just having the two of us there can be overwhelming for couples and any more would just be overkill and not in keeping with the relaxed and easy experience that is a Fiji Wedding.