Lighting
What do a huge ring light and free wedding slideshow effects have to do with each other? Absolutely nothing other than they appeared on my newsfeed or email box in the past few days and I think they’re interesting.
First up is Chimera’s RingMAXX. You might have seen it at WPPI and, from the size of it (about 4 feet across), I’d be surprised if you didn’t.
The RingMAXX is like a giant, circular softbox with zippered openings in the back to place strobes or continuous lights. Chimera recommends its Triolet with 500 or 1000 watt bulbs or a 200 watt HMI for daylight shooting.
While the description says the RingMAXX accommodates four strobes, there appears to be more than four lights used in the demo video (below).
Not surprisingly, the ring light needs lots of support. You can pick up a matching custom designed yoke or use two C-stands.
Look for two versions when the RingMAXX launches at the end of April: one for still photography and a high heat model for video. Keep an eye on the Chimera site for pricing and availability, or if you’re headed to Vegas mid-April for NAB, you can check out the RingMAXX there.
Photodex makes my favorite slideshow software, ProShow Producer 6 and recently announced a new—and free—set of Wedding slideshow effects based on the theme “Always.” The effects, which are also great for portrait and family sessions, will work with ProShow Web as well and, with some restrictions, for ProShow Gold 6. The set includes eight slide styles, one transition and one theme, as well as caption and title styles.
While you’re there, take a look at their ProShow Effects Packs. Photodex is offering a 15 percent discount on the Packs, which normally cost $19.95. Use PromoCode Wed15 for the discount—which is available until March 31. If you haven’t tried the ProShow software before, definitely download a trial version (Windows only) or create a free slideshow on ProShow Web.