[VikingPhotography]

For a while I was searching for a way to better light my subjects when in-the-field, aiming for a studio grade look but without the hassle of carting around conventional strobes, backdrops etc. I needed something high quality yet very portable.

My current portrait shooting gear packs up nice and neatly into several bags, ready to be transported anywhere. The SB-800 and SD-8A reside in my camera bag, whilst the backdrop support stand (visible) is the only piece of kit that doesn't have a bag of its own - yet!



When unpacked, this is what the kit assembles into



To wit, we have

• 1 Lasotlite collapsible 5x6' velvet backdrop
• 1 Lastolite tri-flector Mk II
• 1 Lastolite EzyBox HotShoe 24" softbox
• 1 Nikon SB-800 flashgun
• 1 Nikon SD-8A battery pack
• 3 Stands to take the load

With just one small softbox and the tri-flector array, you can get results like this



D3, 1/250 sec at f/8 and SB-800 firing at full power through the softbox. Distance to subject from the softbox is about six feet.

The beauty of the tri-flector array is that you can reposition the angle of the reflector panels - or drop them in and out entirely - without mucking around with lighting ratios on other strobes. This will quickly and instantly modify how much and where the light from the softbox is reflected.

The net result of this set-up is that light is nicely wrapped around your subject without a shedload of gear needed for the effect. The SB-800 is wirelessly triggered by one mounted on the camera in CLS master mode so lighting power can be adjusted on the fly.

The entire rig - excluding camera and flash hardware - comes in at about £500.