Tiffinbox

Inspiring Photographers

How To Use Panlight To Remotely Redirect Your Off-Camera Flash

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If you are a photographer who use off-camera flashes to photograph weddings or portraits, you are my kind of people. You like to create punchy images that separates your subjects from their backgrounds and make them truly stand out. Am I right?

The Problem

But we all experience a well-known scenario.

There you are, ready to make some sweet images of a wedding couple dancing the night away at their reception.

Your assistant or VALS (voice-activated light stand) is away in the Bahamas. You need to move that off-camera light down and out by about 32 degrees because your clients are losing themselves to the music and have moved from where you thought they would be to this new spot, near Uncle Bob and Aunt Maddy.

But you are about 30 feet away from the couple and the off-camera light you set up with a PocketWizard or a RadioPopper is another 10 feet away from them, making it near impossible for you to move like Spiderman to adjust the light angle and or direction. You are SOL.

Frustrating, right? I know your pain. I have felt it. Often.

The Solution

Thankfully, there is a new solution coming and it's called Panlight. I spoke with Mike Garrard, its inventor a few weeks back. As a Kickstarter campaign, it has already surpassed the goal he set. With only about 18 hours to go before the end of the campaign, this is the time to jump in and order one of these units. I am doing it myself because this is a tool that will come in handy if you are a wedding or a portrait photographer.

Now imagine you impressing the heck out of your clients by being able to adjust that off-camera flash remotely, from where you are standing. Can you feel that pain melt away? Your assistant could be sipping drinks on a beach for all you care, but you will be making bank with all the great images you will be creating for your clients. Sorry, but VALS may indeed become dinosaurs if you begin to use the Panlight. Plus, you won't have to jump around and get in Uncle Bob or Aunt Maddy's grid, like you used to. And, if those two had cameras anyway, you can wish them the best of luck as you go from one amazing lighting scenario to the next. Who wins? You do.

The Win

Yes, it can be that simple. Skip on out of this blog and check out Panlight now on Kickstarter or on the Panlight website, to learn more. But remember, once the Kickstarter campaign ends, prices will go up.

A special thanks to Kate McElwee, a Boston-based wedding photographer who introduced me to Mike Garrard of Panlight. And yes, she is backing this campaign as well.

Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Seshu is an Avon, Connecticut based headshot photographer and family portrait photographer. He edits and publishes Tiffinbox and produces Tiffincast for photographers like you!