Rosco Litepad Portraits

Rukon - Year 3 Photography Student UEL

Split Lighting. Rosco 24 Inch Litepad HO to camera right

For some time now I have been using the Rosco Litepad range of LED lighting for some of my work. The more I use these lights, the more I like the light they give. Rarely do I have to modify* the light and being continuous I can see the effect on what or whom I'm shooting without having to chimp shots on the camera back.

These lights are portable and 12 volt DC so will run from any 12 volt DC source including your car or a step-down transformer from the AC mains. When you dim these lights you maintain the colour temperature of 6000K, unlike tungsten lights whee the colour temperature lowers from the nominal 3200K.

Pete - Year 3 Photography Student UEL

Split Lighting. Rosco 24 Inch Litepad HO to camera right

with Rosco Spun Silver to camera left to lift shadows.

I deliberately shot this frame loose so that you can see the reflector in use. Rosco Spun Silver is a dual sided reflection medium. The soft white side is not as harsh or specular as the bright side so needed to be in close to Pete to be effective. Had I not used a reflector, this frame would have looked much like the shot of Rukon above.

Pete - The Final Crop

I could have cropped this shot as a conventional vertical format portrait but don't think it would have had so much impact. A crop like this is useful for magazine use as there is ample space to run type down the right side of the image without running into Pete's face.

There is no doubt in my mind that if you are one of the growing band of photographers who shoot video as well as stills then the Rosco Litepads, especially the Litepad Axiom range represent excellent value as a dual-purpose light source.OK

* No brollies or soft boxes. Narrow profile so take up little space. Ideal for small or tight set-ups. OK, I do like the 24 inch Litepad which does give more output from a car battery or from a mains transformer - but do remember that Litpads are available from a 3 inch circle to the 24 inch HO and customer sizes and shapes should you need this facility.