Speed lights. What You are not being told.

[@mikecollins5261]

I shoot A LOT of headshots. Mostly for corporate events but also go to some company offices. Just did two this week. One for KPMG, the large consulting firm and another for a small construction company here. Neither could have cared less what I was using. In my years of being a pro (36 to be exact), no one has ever commented on my gear. And I have shot for very big name clients. Both in studio and on location. Use to use Speedotron but they got heavy and I don't need the power anymore. I usually use my Paul Buff Einsteins and Digibees but only because I may need a modeling light. But I have used speed lights with great success.

[@pauladamson6700]

Don't ever apologise for talking too much Rafal. Your videos are class! I would also like to add a comment if I may that viewers should also consider buying second hand equipment to save money. In the UK there are several reputable camera stores that offer fully guaranteed cameras and lenses, as well as speedlites and eBay is a great place to pick up lighting stands, modifiers etc.

[@RafalWegiel]

Thank You and I completely agree with You on buying used gear... I am big fan of it for year I wish more people would do that especially now a days when we are just flooded with equipment.

[@kevingoodchild3049]

Rafal, I found this channel about a week ago, I am glued, it has been so insightful, you are incredibly generous with information and your teaching method is excellent.

[@PaulSaxbyPhotography]

Great video, I totally agree with everything you said. I’ve used speed lights my entire career, over 35 years, and rarely had any issues at all. Some of my gear is old, very old, but it remains reliable and consistent. I honestly think that the most important factor about gear choice is using the most appropriate gear for the task in hand, not how expensive or what brand you choose. I have some old Metz 45 hammerhead flash guns that still get taken out of storage from time to time because they are just so good. I currently use Godox AD200 lights which are really just speed lights on steroids. I have recently invested in some LED lights but only because I have been struggling with my eyesight and have found that the constant light makes composition and focus much easier but the fact I need access to wall sockets a real pain, the gear is much heavier and much slower to set up, it definitely has its disadvantages. If I had the choice I would definitely stick with speedlight type lighting but as I get older and my eyesight degrades I don’t think they will work for me much longer.

[@jkingimages]

I completely agree with what you say and for the most part you can run with it as the gospel. From personal experience, I have had three commercial clients concerned with both portfolio and gear used. True story : I was contacted by a marketing director for a headshot reshoot of a medical facility's doctor's, staff and also provide some environmental portraits. There were ten of them. They hated what the last photographer delivered. I had them send me their previous headshots and honesty thought they weren't bad. They weren't mind blowing, but not terrible in anyway. So I decided I should go full bore for this, because I wasn't clear on why the marketing director was so displeased and they were willing to pay a lot more for another shoot. Was it a personality clash with last photographer or they had serious issue with what was delivered? Again, the original images weren't bad. The day of the shoot I set up outside the hospital for environmental headshots /portraits. I used three strobes mounted on c-stands, parabolic umbrella, octabox and a stripbox. Reflectors, scrim, sandbags, apple boxes and a tethered laptop was used. I tethered so the marketing director could see what was being produced live. Long story short, she loved the results. Results I know for a fact could have been done with a couple of speedlights and a third of the gear I had on location. Fast forward a year. The same marketing director contacted me for a large law firm. I quoted higher than the medical facility. She contacted her client and the gig was booked. The day of the shoot I packed small for the headshots. They were indoor in a pretty swanky office. The marketing director dropped by to check on the shoot. The very first words out of her mouth, "You didn't bring your expensive stuff?" My point is and it's the same one you made in your video. It's true. You don't need expensive gear to create great images. What I am saying is there are clients who want to also be able to see on set, where their money is going. I am talking from personal experience. As far as cheap gear, I have had two yongnuo fail on me during shoots. One fired once and never again. A lot of folks have never had issue with them. Twice for me in as many months, led me to never recommend or use again. People swear by them. I just had no luck with the brand. On the flip side, I shot for a TV series yesterday. It was for the two principal actors. I knew their time was valuable and used a couple of speedlights and went untethered to minimize setup and speed up the flow. They didn't care what I used and were happy that we knocked it out in two hours as opposed to four allotted by the network. I am new to larger commercial clients. Only recently have I made progress with large entities. In my limited experience, I can assure you that gear matters to some of the people who are making the hiring decisions.

[@RafalWegiel]

Thank You ...and Thank You for sharing your story...that definitely put some new light on what I have said. Much appreciate it!!!

[@jkingimages]

@@RafalWegiel thank you, sir! Love your work and your openness with your teaching.

[@NoelDelPilar]

Agree: I always recommend in my seminars the Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL On-Camera Flash Speedlight For Canon (Godox V860II-C) and the transmitter Flashpoint R2 Pro 2.4GHz Transmitter for Canon (Godox XPro-C).

[@RafalWegiel]

Than You for watching and your comment.

[@namdinh2656]

Totally agree with your opinion and big thanks to you Rafal. I just want to share some opinions that I’ve learned along my 2 years experience in speedlight/strobe photography journey. 1. Color shift: this is an issue not only in speedlight but it happens with strobe as well. We need to use the same brand and same model in our lighting system for a shoot. I assisted an experienced product photographer and once he had to mix profoto with speedotron. The speedo gave much warmer tone than profoto did and he had to fixed it in post. But that was his emergency case on set. Speaking of my Yongnuo speedlight system (2 YN560IV and 2 super old ones which I don’t event remember the models at the moment), they do have color shift between the 2 different models. But as you said, very slightly noticeable shift which can be fixed easily in post or not even needed at all. But again, I’m doing headshot and food at this moment so those technical issues won’t get in the way of my final works. However, cheap strobe and cheap speedlight brand won’t have a high quality control which can absolutely cause color shift in the same model. And this will be a big issue for product or fashion photographers. This leads back to your excellent point, lighting system really depends on our style and type of work/project. 2. Output power: Again, this depends on our styles and types of project. For corporate portrait and food, speedlight does the work pretty well. But for product and fashion photography, imitating the sunlight/using on large modifiers/combining big softbox with deflector within 2 layers of diffusers and eggcrate will require much more output power than a speedlight. Then strobe is a clear winner here. (Side note, I also did several small editorial shoots with 2 of my YN560IV and they worked really well, and still do 😆). As photographers, we need to identify our style and type of works (target clients to be exact) before investing in a system. If we’re still unsure about this, then speedlight is a superb way to go (as I did). This experiment will help us understand more on what we need. (And really helps on how light modifiers work). Second side note is to agree your whole video “again.” Speedlight comes in handy because of its affordable price, weights, and backup systems. 4. Another note from clients’ concerning on photographers’ gears, this is true to big projects where photographers can charge clients more than $20k (This is just from some of my research on other popular photographers’ project and from my fashion photographer friend). For those other projects up to $5k, it really depends on photographers’ sale/marketing techniques, connections, and local reputations. Clients will never care what gear we use. And fyi, my friend once did a food photography gig for local restaurant at ~$2k-$3k. Guess what his gears were? His camera, natural light, and himself. And the restaurant loved his final photographs. Using them all over their website, social media pages, and other marketing collaterals. 5. At the end of the day, we need to know who we are. Then importantly, what our style is and whom/which we shoot. As you said in your video Rafal, I know this is a long comment. But I just want to share it out because I hope it can encourage others to join the journey of photography. Cheers!!! Nam

[@fraensemeier-fotografie]

not only colour shifts with different speedlight/strobe brands, but also different colour with different light shapers from different brands! I once used two same speedlights in two different softboxes (elinchrom and Jinbei), and the colour was quite different. But maybe I am just stating the obvious :)

[@bodonald]

Very inspirational words regarding the use of speed lights. I agree with all of the comments. Thanks!

[@RafalWegiel]

Thank You!!!

[@jerryg9581]

Sure, there is the recycle and power issues that can be handled by slowing down, but one advantage about using strobes is the modeling light so that the eyes aren't dilated too much. But I do love shooting with speedlites when that is not an issue.

[@RafalWegiel]

Thank You for Your comment. I don't think that power and recycle should be called an "issue" as I have said in my vlog nobody shoots 10 frames per second and if You setup your speed light lets say to 1/32 I can shoot 2-3 frames per second continuously but again I never shoot that quick that so I think its a just madeup statement which nobody even have to face it or deal with. As far modelling light goes I don't shoot in pitch dark anyway so just please take a look at my work...can You find any images where the eyes are field to much... so again it can be issue if we make it issue. Anyways Thank You for watching and your comment. Much appreciate it.

[@myrahencherphotography7944]

Thank you for sharing those thoughts. I admire your work and your common sense!

[@andreymalyshenkov603]

It's like asking to dig up a flower bed. You come with a shovel, and they ask you "Where is your bulldozer?".

[@rainerwunderlich8023]

Very convincing - still valid the more the big guns are advertiised (due to the ridicolous argument since 04.10).Great!

[@thearrogantchef]

Great video as always. I use speedlights for all my portrait and headshot work.

[@RafalWegiel]

Thank You Steve!!!

[@richardhowes8869]

Hi Rafal, Your blog has inspired me to take better portrait shots. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. I have a passion for photography and want to work on taking headshots. I started taking headshots with a basic entry level DSLR camera in natural light because we needed some profile pics for a corporate website. I really enjoyed connecting with people in the shot and capturing the moment. I've learnt so much from your blog about lighting and composition for headshots. You also make a good point about affordability and doing one's best with available equipment. I appreciate your help and advice. Keep up the good work.

[@RafalWegiel]

Richard Howes Thank You!!!

[@picturef8]

I find your videos very honest.

[@crollinsphoto]

Hey, great info Rafal. Thank you!!!!

[@RafalWegiel]

Thank You!!!

[@robstyles2675]

I've used canon speedlites for years and I have had them break albiet I'm a party and event photographer and literally shot it hundreds of thousands of times. The bulb burst during an event. Literally used it for 7 years extensively. Replaced bulb at canon and it's still working to this day...

[@epradeep]

I agree with Paul Adamson who commented earlier, please do not apologise for talking too much, I can relate to that because I am like that in person :). Each person's style is different and that is what makes you unique and you :). I just have a small suggestion though, I see that most of the videos you have tips, if you could summarise these as a list at the end of the video, that would be nice to recap the points. And yes, thanks again for these videos you make, one of the youtube channels I always make it a point to watch when I get a notification :).

[@RafalWegiel]

THANK YOU Pradeep ...Much appreciate it and Thank You for watching!!!

[@johnleighdesigns]

Im late to this party - I have only been using speedlites for headshot/portrait/fashion work for the past 10 years never tried big strobes but I do find myself wondering about some more powerful flash to be able to use big bounced boards or heavily diffused light so super soft shadows- but recently saw the Innovatronix LED flash/constant light and am again re thinking my setup as more and more im doing video work too -

[@AcidicDelusion]

Would like to see a video on your speed light setup and settings. Ie, a mini speedlight tutorial

[@phillipcohen9454]

Thanks for a really interesting video Rafal... You touched on color balance; do you ever use a ColorChecker Passport to monitor color balance?

[@RafalWegiel]

Phillip Cohen Thank You. No I don't ... i set WB manually 5000K that's all and it always works.

[@stephenpolwart2094]

You have video recommending the color checker passport ( few gadgets)

[@fromanabe8639]

How do you pronounce your last name?

[@jamesspicewilliams8835]

Disagree that speed-lights are cheaper. Maybe more portable yes. Battery power advantage yes. You continue to them as cheaper. I use a couple of Adorama studio strobes that were only $119 each. If you don't need battery power or lighter portability than these are great. I love that you spoke to the advantages of speed-lights but the ​cost is not one of them these days.