Micro Lighting Setup

Photography ... to draw or write with light. Don't believe me? Look it up...

Centuries ago, a camera obscura was used to display the lit world in a dark chamber (camera obscura) so that artists could draw/sketch outlines on a canvas which later was filled with pigments carrying oil to form marvelous paintings.
What am I trying to say here? A first sketch was taken in a very dark room from a very brightly lit scene. In a later process, mainly based on the observation of the artist, an image was formed, an image that impresses the viewer centuries later.

Speedlight or flash photography is very much the same. I was always fascinated by flash photography, due to the fact that in one frame/negative two images are captured:

1. the bright light source, just as in the camera obscura, which is nowadays provided by a speed-light (flash) and controlled by the aperture setting of the camera
2. the ambient light, as if the artist was filling in pigment by painting, which is controlled by the shutter speed.

Nothing new, I hope, up to here. 

I love my artificial light setup, but... carrying about all those speed-lights was rather a cumbersome thing to do. So, I usually did not do that. As a consequence, usually, I did not use the creative possibilities such a setup provides.

Today, that all changed. I got myself a handful of very small and inexpensive light sources:

a handful of lights

What you see is a Godox iM30 and an Ulanzi SL03. I also bought an Ulanzi SL01, which however does not contribute to this story.

You will notice that the iM30 on the left indicates "S1" and "S2" on its cover. These are slave settings, which were the main trigger for me to actually purchase this device. Of course the manual power setting dial is another great selling point, however, does not play a bigger role in this text.

Lets turn to the star of the show, the SL03 on the right. There are, next to its tininess. two features which stick out: 1) the video light and 2) the tilting flash head (pointing forward in the image).

So, what do we get with the SL03? 

1. a bright light source, which can be pointed either directly on the subject or be pointed upwards 90 degrees away from the subject (I will come to that later in the post)
2. a relatively weak constant light source (the video light) pointing at the subject

In the case of the Ulanzi SL03, the video light and the flash (with power settings) can be operated at the same time. This is the magic of this tiny speed-light.

Single light setup

Here is a scenario:

• run the video light as fill light for a scene
• point the SL03 flash directly on the subject or bounce off the ceiling

This option of being creative with light and camera settings. 

1. the speed-light exposure is controlled by the aperture and freezes motion
2. the ambient light exposure is controlled by the shutter speed and allows for motion blur

In a world of film, all of the above will sound illusional. However, the sensitivity of modern cameras allow shooting at ISO 6400 w/o mention-able penalty.  Hence, a faint touch of flash or constant video light will make a difference. In addition to that, even my Ricoh GR-IV monochrome is provided with image stabilization making longer exposure essentially safe.

Multiple lights

Possible scenario:

• run the video light as fill light for a scene (optionally)
• point the SL03 flash upwards / behind (*)
• use the iM30 as key light and back light (via a reflector)

This is a minimal setup. Imagine using more than a single iM30... endless possibilities, e.g. hair light, back light, color gels... you name it. 

And that goodness fits in the pant's pocket.

(*) I tested inserting the SL03 backwards in the hot shoe of my Ricoh GR and it triggered just fine, the Ricoh GR-IV monochrome did not allow this to happen.