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Joe McNally: Small Lights, Big Garage

Inspiration

Joe McNally: Small Lights, Big Garage

February 10, 2018  |  by Joe McNally
Been playing with the Lastolite Speed-lite 2 Plus Soft Box like a kid with a new toy. Fast, light and easily stuffable in a camera bag, for a little light shaper, it rocks. It’s got hefty edge baffles and a separate grid front to corral the light flow, and you generally don’t see those kids of controls on small softboxes. Very happy with it. Thankful to Lastolite that they made the design happen. [caption id="attachment_18875" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Joe McNally | blog.joemcnally.com[/caption] Over under combo works well as a good look for our talent, Elijah Gravely. He was terrific on set.  And it has magnets inside, so you can easily affix the Lastolite gel holder, fitted with the gel set they offer, with gels cut to the size of the holder. [caption id="attachment_18876" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Joe McNally | blog.joemcnally.com[/caption]Handy, in a word. works well with an extendable boom to make a super mobile light source. A raw, gelled SB-500o in the background makes for a little bit of flare, and the upfront light is the Speedlite 2. [caption id="attachment_18877" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Joe McNally | blog.joemcnally.com[/caption] A good way to keep things pretty simple and direct. [caption id="attachment_18878" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Joe McNally | blog.joemcnally.com[/caption] It’s been fun, working with the folks at Lastolite, suggesting designs for light mods and shapers. And dreaming up some shoots for packaging, etc. Below is our friend Nik, who I shot on the streets of the Bronx a while ago, on the product packaging. [caption id="attachment_18880" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] Joe McNally | blog.joemcnally.com[/caption] For the technically minded, both snaps were made on a D5, tethered to the computer with Tether Tools technology. Camera is perched on a heavy duty Gitzo, and the exposure is 1/640 @f1.8 with a Nikkor 24mm f1.4 lens. There’s a small number of SB-5000 units scattered about the garage, accenting different areas, but the heavy lifting is done by the two up front Speedlights, fitted with the Speedlite 2 boxes. We did a couple of shoots that day, one of which Manfrotto launched a Facebook live adventure. A more fully developed video of the whole day, including the garage shoot, is still to come. Gotta offer big thanks to Andrew Tomasino, who runs Queen City Studio for getting all this together. Andrew is a fine photog, and Allentown is his neck of the woods. Fun in the garage.
February 10, 2018

About the Author

Joe McNally

Joe McNally

Joe McNally is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning photographer whose prolific career includes assignments in nearly 70 countries. McNally is known world-wide as not only one of the top, technically excellent photographers of his generation, but his charming demeanor, confidence and humor make him a sought-after choice from CEOs to celebrities to commercial and magazine clients alike. He is among the rare breed of photographer who has bridged the world between photojournalism and advertising, amassing an impressive commercial and advertising client list including FedEx, Sony, ESPN, Adidas, Land's End, General Electric, Epson, MetLife, USAA, New York Stock Exchange, Lehman Brothers, PNC Bank, and the Beijing Cultural Commission. McNally is equally comfortable climbing buildings or lighting a telescope to capturing quiet, sensitive subject matter with confidence in medical surroundings. He has shot numerous cover stories and highly complex features for the National Geographic, LIFE, and Sports Illustrated, where his research skills and unmatched preparedness were highly valued.

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