ImagingInfo.com |

If you photograph weddings, special events, or anything else on location, you’ve probably struggled with lighting conditions at one time or another.

For most of my professional life, I’ve been searching for an “easy” lighting solution for location work. Not interested in carrying extra equipment or setting up radio slaves and additional strobes, I wanted studio-quality lighting and I wanted it to be easy.

Well, I have found “easy.”

Gary Fong’s Lightsphere II Inverted Dome Diffusion System truly offers studio-quality lighting on the run. A soft, flexible, textured vinyl diffuser with an internal snap-on dome, the Lightsphere fits right on top of your flash unit—without a flash bracket! You can bounce light off the ceiling, off a wall, or point the unit straight toward your subject outside.

The Lightsphere II in Action

When I first heard about the release of Lightsphere II this past fall, I was skeptical because of the problems I had with the original unit. But for only $39, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. (Note: When Gary introduced Lightsphere II, it didn’t come with the Inverted Dome. It now ships with the Inverted Dome at a cost of $48 for both items.)

When the Lightsphere II arrived, I brought it along to a wedding that weekend. I can’t even explain how excited I was when I saw the images I had just taken with it.

I shot an eight-hour Armenian wedding in varied and extreme lighting conditions—inside, outside, in a very dark ballroom, etc. The Lightsphere II kept up with all of it. I was so excited, I emailed Gary an assortment of images from that wedding. I couldn’t wait to use it again.

The following weekend, I shot a wedding at a facility with a beautiful ladies’ lounge. We took the pre-wedding bridal shots in that lounge, with only the overhead lighting and the Lightsphere II.

You don’t need many directions to get great images from the Lightsphere II straight out of the box. An index card with complete instructions comes in the package; instructions are also posted on Gary’s website.

Basically, when you are shooting indoors with the Lightsphere II, point the unit straight up toward the ceiling with the Inverted Dome in place. I shoot in Aperture Priority mode usually at f/2.8, ISO at 400 or 800 with the Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro and a Tamron 28mm-105mm lens.

Shooting outdoors with the Lightsphere II, I use it in Program mode, pointed straight toward my subject. I highly recommend this product for pros and beginners alike. One of the first questions I’m asked by new assistants is, “How do you achieve great lighting?” That used to be a hard question to answer. Now the answer is simple: Order a Lightsphere II! 

For more information on the Lightsphere II, visit Gary Fong’s e-store at www.GaryFong.com.