Shooting with Umbrella Kits in Tight Spaces on the Fly [RF Video of the Week]

October 10, 2014

By Laura Brauer

Fiddling around with light stands can be tedious, but that’s especially true for wedding photographers who need to keep up and go with the flow of a hectic wedding day. One solution is to bring along different gear—something a little more compact and portable, with less set-up and dismantling steps. Westcott created its ProGrip Umbrella Kits with that goal in mind, and Zach Gray (one half of the photo/mentoring duo Zach and Jody) demonstrates its capabilities in confined spaces.

In this video, Gray shoots a musician’s portrait at The Factory (a shopping center) in Franklin, TN, but more specifically, a tiny alcove off of one of its side streets—a not-so-ideal location, but that doesn’t stop Gray from getting some pretty cool shots. Snapping the 43-inch umbrella into the pistol grip, it opens up like any umbrella would with a little bit of extension, and it collapses into a more portable size of 14.5 inches, too. The benefit to one of these, Gray notes, is that its completely handheld, so — provided there’s a resilient assistant handy (pun intended) — photographers don’t have to tinker with light stand adjustments.

Gray also uses a supplemental piece of “equipment”: a slice of fake crystal. If you don’t know this trick already, Gray explains how it can be used to simulate a subtle lens flare — just an extra something to make a portrait a little more interesting.

Check out more Videos of the Week, and email Libby Peterson with submissions.

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