Need a light?

Dan Mold gets a hands-on with Rotolight’s new LEDs for creative portraits

- Dan Mold

AFTER

BEFORE

THE MISSION

Achieve four distinct portrait lighting looks with new LED setups

Time needed One hour

Skill level Intermediate

Kit needed

• Portrait lens

• LED lights

PERFECT CATCHLIGHTS

Ask your model to turn their head until you're getting the perfect catchlights in their eyes, as this will elevate your portraits. We tended to use the AEOS 2 to light the background of our scenes and then the smaller NEO 3 to add a little 'fill' light to the face which also creates the catchlights.

QUICK TIP!

Bring attention to your subject with a wide aperture, such as f/1.8, for a shallow depth of field to blur the background

This month we were invited by Rotolight to try out their new AEOS 2 and NEO 3 LED lights at the stunning Knowle Hall with a mixture of models and lighting setups, hosted by The Creativity Hub.

Flash is the conventional light source of choice for portraiture, so we were eager to see how these two LED lighting options from Rotolight performed. The AEOS 2 and NEO 3 lights were certainly powerful and we were able to create some fantastic portraits. As they're constant lights you can see how your lighting is working in real time, a bit like a modelling lamp on a flash head. They also feature built-in colour gel options, meaning you don't have to carry around plastic gels which would also reduce light output on a flash.

Constant lights are also ideal for video, making them versatile accessories. See for yourself how we got on and why not try out some of our tips and lighting setups on your own portraits.

SET UP TO PHOTOGRAPH WITH LED PANELS