Shooting outdoor portraits during the winter months in New Jersey can be dicey and once the temperatures start going south, working quickly and efficiently is a number one priority. Wedding photographer Vanessa Joy is based in Freehold New Jersey and she knows the drill quite well.

This wedding portrait was taken on a rather chilly late fall evening at the Ashford Estate in Allentown NJ. Fortunately the surrounding landscape was conveniently lit with gelled lights by the catering facility, allowing her assistants to concentrate on lighting the newlyweds.

 

On to Light Shaping: How Vanessa Joy Saved Her Newlyweds from Freezing

 

 

 

Because the B2 is both small and light, Vanessa’s assistant was able to do away with a light stand altogether and simply handhold the lighting unit. This enabled her to move freely in all directions as the camera position changed.

The B2’s light weight and small size makes it easy to hoist it up at high angles for longer periods of time before fatigue sets in. And unlike light stands, assistants aren’t easily blown down by stiff breezes…

Portability weighs heavy when choosing lighting systems for location work. When shooting a wedding things happen fast and often unpredictably, which means you have to be able to react quickly and in many cases move and/or reconfigure lighting systems in a run-and-gun fashion.

Any tool, be it a camera, a lens, or a lighting system that saves precious moments when working through a fast-paced shooting schedule is an absolute plus when shooting fast-paced assignments.

LOCATION: The Ashford Estate, Allentown New Jersey

WEBSITE: www.vanessajoy.com

GEAR:
1 x Profoto B2 Off-Camera Flash
2 x Profoto B1 Off-Camera Flashes
1 x Profoto OCF Snoot
Profoto Air Remote TTL-C
Canon EOS 1D MkIV
Canon EF 24mm/f1.4L