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“Show Notes”
Marcus says that Flash used to be challenging many years ago. But now life is much simpler. Sam asks about Chinese copy brands, but Marcus says that with modern lighting, the Chinese equipment isn’t a copy; they are the originators. Marcus is going to be talking about Godox lighting, which is sometimes known by a couple of other brand names. He is going to give anideal kit to have with you. Marcus says you want your lighting all to be the same brand; otherwise, your lights will not communicate with each other, so this is essential.
A handheld or on-camera mounted flash is what we are goingto talk about first. Sam digs out one of these from his cupboard. Marcus says these simple flashes are great and often five times cheaper than the camera brand flashes. Godox’s camera flash is called the V1. This is the basic start, and it goes onto the hot shoe of your camera. The next level up is to get aremote that goes onto your hot shoe. That allows you to put your flash where you want; it is no longer tied to the camera. Once you have a remote, all other flashes need to be the same brand to communicate with the remote.
The next thing needed is a main light. Marcus recommends that if you get one, then a Godox pro light, which is near the top of the range, is worth getting. The flash head is very large on the Godox pro range, which Marcus likes. The flash head is also diffuse, and the glass is diffuse, not clear. Marcus also says he recommends going for a high-power flash. The main reason is that the batteries are so good and have almost no time to recharge between shots. Marcus also says that some of these lights can also separate the light and battery, so the lighter light can be on a stand without the battery being on the stand too.
Finally, Marcus talks about a modifier. A modifier goes onto the light to modify it. Marcus says the best modifier to get is an umbrella. Marcus doesn’t recommend the Godox umbrella.He recommends going for a more expensive umbrella. He says they last longer, and reflective material is better. He recommends getting an umbrella that is at least 1 metre across. There is also an alternative to an umbrella, which Marcus describes.
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“Show Transcription”
Sam: Hello, Marcus! How are you?
Marcus: I am very well, Sam. Very well, yeah. And yourself?
Sam: Excellent, yes—very good. And I’m giving my voice a bit more of a rest this week, Marcus. So I think we’re handing over to you, and you’re gonna be talking about a topic you do love. But it is always engaging for everybody and very useful: lighting.
Marcus: Yeah! My clickbait title for this show is gonna be The Definitive Lighting Kit. Yes—and we’re gonna try and work out what we can do. There’s so much choice out there, but let’s talk about it. I started using flash lighting in my photography pretty much when I started—so, about 30 years ago.
Sam: Back when light bulbs were a novel idea!
Marcus: Thank you—back when it was very different in those days. But I’ve used a lot of lighting kit. I would probably say 90% of my photography has involved using flash lighting. I remember back in the day when we first started, there was a lot of fear—well, a lot of fear factor—attached to flash lighting. And I think that stems from when it used to be quite difficult to use flash, you know? The batteries were so poor quality. If you took your flash lighting kit outside on a cold day, they would go flat in seconds, and you had to keep it in the car until you really needed it. Can you believe it? It weighed a ton!
Sam: Yeah! And I think that kind of complexity and pain in the neck setup made a lot of people worry about flash. But actually, nowadays, the whole flash system is much easier and much simpler.
Marcus: Oh, it is so much simpler. And also significantly cheaper as well. I mean, I’ve used all types—from all manufacturers. I’ve used Hensel lighting, Profoto, Elinchrom, Bowens. I’ve tried them all. And probably, you know, they’ve all got their different benefits. But the ones that are probably most known are Profoto—certainly in the commercial world. Broncolor is another one. They’re used more in studios because they tend to be quite bulky kits. Profoto was the one I used the most, and it’s sort of become the industry standard. But they’re very expensive, Sam—really expensive.
Sam: Yeah, I was gonna say—so what about kind of nowadays, the Chinese copies and stuff? How good are they, and how worthwhile are they?
Marcus: Well, they’re not even copies these days. I mean, that’s how they originated. And the one—the brand—we’re gonna talk about really, or I’m gonna be talking about, is Godox, which is a bit confusing. There are a couple of sort of different—what do they call it—Pixapro, I think. Len Carter. Different brand names are associated, but it’s basically made by Godox. I don’t know why that happened or what’s the reason behind it. But I’m gonna be talking about the definitive kit—what would be just the perfect small kit that you could use as a commercial photographer on location, and maybe in the studio as well.
Sam: Well, okay—so quick question first. Nowadays with modern kit, is it worth having everything be the same brand, or can you mix and match pretty easily?
Marcus: Great question, Sam—and that’s immediately what we’re gonna dive into. First of all, you’ll really want to keep the kit all under one manufacturer. And the reason is—you want it all to talk to each other.
Sam: There’s no kind of universal thing like Bluetooth or whatever. They’re talking with their own systems. So if you’ve got a couple of different brands, it’s gonna be back to the bad old days—it gets complicated.
Marcus: Yeah. It won’t work—it’s as simple as that. You’d have to start using a cable again, and it’s done.
Sam: Oh God.
Marcus: That defeats the whole purpose. So I guess it starts off really—this definitive lighting kit—with a handheld flash. Or, you know, sometimes people call it a strobe or an on-camera flash.
Marcus: Oh, you’ve got—you tell me—you’ve got one? Were you gonna show us? Oh, he’s digging deep—I can see some moths flying up there! What’s that? Oh—what is that? I can’t see the make the matrix flat is I can’t put what make you sound
Sam: Newer?
Marcus: Oh yeah, Neewer! How do you say it? “New-wahr?” “New-er?” “New-you-are?” Yeah, there we go.
Sam: There we go—yeah, okay.
Marcus: I mean, that’s it! And those are really cheap as well, Sam, I mean—considering the manufacturer equivalents. But let’s mention names—I already have—Nikon and Canon. Their own brand flash is like four or five times the price of that! And on that flash, you’ve got stuff that you probably never use, like rear curtain sync, front curtain sync, single strobe—whatever it’s gonna be. But yeah, the only point to that one—Yeah—it won’t talk to the others. The Neewer hasn’t got a remote, basically. So the on-camera flash that Godox do is called the V1. And I have to say, I’ve got a few friends who use them, and we’re all quite amazed at how good they are. The batteries last forever, the build is very good, the plastics are very good—it’s very solid—and you can get a fairly good range of accessories for it as well. So, that’s the basic start—you’ve got your on-camera flash, you’ve got that, Sam. That goes on your hot shoe on the camera, and you’re away. But really, you want to go beyond that by buying another simple piece of equipment—which is the remote.
Sam: right?
Marcus: And then that goes on the hot shoe of the camera.
Sam: And then your flash can go elsewhere.
Marcus: Anywhere you are within a 100-meter range, which is quite incredible!
Sam: You could employ something. Yeah—I mean, I’m not sure you’d need something lit at a hundred meters, but it gives you everything you need.
Marcus: I think for like sports photographers—if you’ve got those cameras in the goal—now they put the whole camera in there. But if you put a flash in the goalmouth, whatever, there’s ways of doing it. It is a useful thing to have, actually. So, how it’s got that—right? So you take off, and you’ve got this remote. And on these remotes, basically, you can sometimes fire up to six different flashes. It can sync up to six?
Sam: Six—yeah. So the key is—that’s why you need everything the same brand. Because that remote is one brand, and if all your flashes are the same brand, they’ll all talk to that remote.
Marcus: Exactly. Exactly. So it’s a platform you’re building here.
Sam: Yeah.
Marcus: So—you’ve got your off-camera flash, that we call the Godox V1. You’ve got your remote—and they do various ones—and it’s always worth having a spare. I have a spare remote, just in case it goes wrong. They’re normally battery-powered. Then you’re gonna need your main light. And for this—I’ve got a range of them—but I think if you’re going to go for one, I would go for the top quality, the top-end of what they do—Godox’s Pro range. This is a light and battery combined in one unit. Now, I know—and I’ve had conversations—and I know that whether it’s Godox, because they’re maybe a bit cheaper or whatever, if you’re used to being in a studio where you really need specific color range consistency—like doing still lives or doing focus stacking or whatever—you really have to invest in something a bit better, like maybe a Broncolor unit. But for the kind of work that I do—which is photographing people on location, commercial photography. I don’t have that problem with color consistency.
Sam: That’s more for when you want to be really specifically controlled in a studio—maybe product photography, that sort of thing.
Marcus: Exactly. Exactly. So, we’ve got the good option. And the thing about the Godox Pro is that the head on them—the flash head—is quite big. And again, we’ve talked on previous shows about lighting and soft lighting, and how you get it. It’s all about size—the bigger the flash head, the bigger the modifier, the softer the light. So that’s what I like about the Pro range on Godox—they have a big flash head. And also, that flash head is diffused, so it’s not clear. It’s not clear glass on it—it’s diffused, so you get an even softer light. Photographers will know what I’m talking about. Profoto—that’s what made Profoto lights so good. And I’ve used a lot of Profoto. Their flashes—the glass that surrounded the flash head—was diffused, and it just gave you a really nice light. I’m convinced that’s the reason why. So, that’s why I like the Godox Pro—it’s got this diffusion on it. I also go for the biggest power—the 600 watts per second. I might never use it on full power; I only use it on quarter power, say. But that means I get a really fast recycling time on it.
Sam: Okay, yep.
Marcus: So I can go bam, bam, bam, bang!—and it keeps going without missing. And it doesn’t burn through the batteries really quickly,
Sam: With the LEDs, So in the old days, yeah—you know, I’m thinking back when I had my Canon A—when you had the flash back then and used, you know, a couple of AA batteries. It took ages, didn’t it? You’d flash—and then wait. Now, with LEDs—is it basically just straight away with the LED?
Marcus: It’s not LEDs—it’s still flash. It’s a tube, as far as I know. Yeah, on the Godox Pro range—definitely—it’s not LEDs. But it’s really quick. It fires up very fast. The batteries charge up quickly, and they last forever. You can use them outside in the cold—and they’re weatherproof. It just goes on and on—that’s how much better they are. Another thing that I use on my Godox big flash head—the Pro, the AD600—is you can get this system where you can take the flash off and separate it from the battery pack.
Sam: Okay—so then your flash doesn’t light up…?
Marcus: Ah! So what that means is—you buy a cable that attaches the flash head to the battery, which you can then put on the floor. Then, the flash head can be suspended from your lighting stand.
Sam: Okay.
Marcus: So they’re separated but joined by a big thick cable?
Marcus: So that means you don’t have this really heavy unit at the top of the stand.
Sam: It’s a bit safer, and presumably, you don’t need such heavy-duty light stands either. I mean, you’ve got a lighter light—literally—at the top, rather than something hefty. So, you don’t need to go for such a hefty stand?
Marcus: You don’t need such a hefty stand—no. But a hefty stand is always a good idea anyhow, especially if you’re working outside. But yeah, this cable system that lets you separate the two is super useful. Also, you can buy a bag for the battery—the separated battery—and you can put that on your shoulder, or your assistant can carry it. And what I do on many shoots is, I have someone holding a pole with the flash head on it, and the battery around their shoulder. They can walk around really easily and follow me.
Sam: So it’s a bit like a sound person with a boom mic?
Marcus: Yeah! Yeah, exactly. Really, really useful. I mean, you used to be able to do that with Profoto and this company called Quantum. But it was an expensive system. You can do this very affordably with Godox. I’m definitely looking for a sponsorship deal, aren’t I, Sam?
Sam: Sounds like it!
Marcus: Okay, and finally—we’re going to come to the last bit. So, we’ve got the system, and this all talks to each other via the remote. I can easily take one light down half a stop or bump another one up—just from the remote. It’s really, really easy. And it all works—straightforwardly. So, the final thing I’ll talk about for your definitive kit is a modifier. Which is… the best modifier to go for right now?
Sam: Exactly. Does that mean something that you shove on top of the flash to make the light a bit different?
Marcus: Exactly—that’s exactly what a modifier is. And there are obviously lots of modifiers you can use. They’ll create different effects and different types of lighting. But the one I would go for in my definitive lighting kit is just a standard umbrella.
Sam: Okay.
Marcus: And this is an umbrella—because it looks like an umbrella, in fact.
Sam: So, instead of shining the flash at the subject, you shine it at the umbrella—and it reflects the light back.
Marcus: Oh! You could do both? Yeah—you can use it different ways, depending on the type of umbrella. But my top tip for the umbrella you’re gonna buy: I would not actually go for the Godox one. I use a Profoto one. I go for a quite expensive umbrella—because it really does affect the quality of the light. The diffusing fabric may look the same, but really, the higher-end Profoto ones are just a little softer, a little more diffused. Also, the build quality is much better. They last a lot longer, because you’re constantly taking these umbrellas up and down, carrying them around. They take quite a bit of abuse—and the cheap ones don’t last very long.
Sam: That makes sense. And you don’t need to worry that it doesn’t sync with the flash—so it doesn’t matter what brand it is?
Marcus: No syncing involved there. Just get a large one—something around a meter or just over a meter—if you can. It gives you a softer light and a more usable light, which isn’t so focused in a narrow beam. Okay—so that’s it? That’s it! That is my definitive lighting kit. You can put it together fairly inexpensively. I had a quick look at the Godox range this morning, before I went into all this. And I noticed—they’re really always bringing out new products. They’ve brought out loads of different lighting modifiers. So, they might’ve upped their quality since I last investigated, but they certainly have a massive range now, which is very good to see.
Sam: Excellent. Right—top tip: Sponsored by Marcus. Sponsored by Godox!
Marcus: There is one more thing I wanted to say, just to finish off on the umbrella, if you don’t mind. There is an alternative to the umbrella—you’ve got softboxes. These are the ones where you basically build your own softbox with ribs—like a wire cage—and it goes into a speed ring, which then attaches to the flash unit. I’ve got those—you can see one behind me in my studio here, Sam, on the video. But the problem with those—and that used to be the only way you could do it—is they take a long time to set up. I’ve spent many an hour putting those things together. They’re really quite difficult—you’ve got to get the springs in the ribs into the holes, and it’s a pain. So, even though their quality is possibly better, they’re not as easily transportable.
Sam: Okay—right. Marvelous. Thank you, Marcus! So there we go—you now have your definitive lighting kit. You can pack it up, put it in a nice box, and you’re ready to go with your photo shoot. Don’t forget to charge everything before you go! If you want to stay up to date and make sure you don’t miss any shows, you need to be signed up to the Shoot to the Top newsletter. If you sign up to the newsletter, new shows come into your inbox every week—along with lots of other exciting news from Marcus and me. You get updates on upcoming events, tips, and all sorts of useful things. Lots of reasons why you should be on the newsletter—so sign up! The most important reason: you never miss an episode. It lands in your inbox every week. And Marcus—I’ll see you next week?
Marcus: Yeah, see you next week! And to our listeners out there—keep flashing… Oh—that didn’t work, did it? No, that’s not right.
Sam: Genius.
Marcus: Thank you!
