What is in my bag (my mini setup)

Every photographer wants to be mobile and does not like to carry lots of heavy gear. Sometimes it is mandatory to bring lots of gear to get an assignment done. When you need to take 1500 pictures a day and shoot rapidly I can really recommend a Godox flash like an AD1200 Pro but it’s heavy.

When I shoot TFP on a location outdoors I used to bring an AD600 Pro or an AD1200 Pro with me but in general this is overkill. The reason is you do not need so much power when you are shooting less photos and you have time to give the flash to breathe again.

Here is my goto list (this is not my general more extensive setup):

Think Tank Photocross 13 carbond Grey
This is a very small sling bag but I really love it. It looks small but it can store a lot.

2. Sony A1

This is my main camera. I don’t bring a second body for a TFP shoot. If my camera fails (and it probably will not) it is not a huge deal.

3. Sony G 24-105 F/4

This is in my opinion the best overall lens for the Sony. It is F/4 but in most cases this is fine. It supports 30 fps and is also very sharp even at 50 MP. If I want bokeh I use another lens. I just love the 35 mm extra compared to a 24-70.

4. Sony GM2 70-200 F/2.8

For a F/2.8 it is not a heavy and big lens. This lens delivers. It is absolutely a fantastic and very sharp lens. I do love my 135mm F/1.8 but the 70-200 is just more versatile. I am think of buying the 2.0 extender in case I would need it.

5. Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD

It is certainly not the best lens out there but I don’t use it very often so at this moment there is no need to upgrade. I take it with me because it is lightweight.

6. Gobe 77mm ND4 & ND8 Filter

These filters are cheap and IMO very good. I use them when using flash so I don’t need to shoot in HSS. The 24-105 and 70-200 both have a 77mm thread.

7. SMALLRIG Folding Tool Set AAK2495

Just a multitool but sometimes it is very handy!

8. Giottos AA1900 airbomb

You should always have this in your bag.

9. Sekonic L-858D with Godox module

In most of my photography I use a light meter. It saves time, measures incident light and the first shot is always spot on.

10. A Godox transmitter

Because I use a lightmeter I can use any Godox transmitter. The X1, X2, Xpro or Xpro II. For the 3 first you need to set in on APP mode and in the latest XPro II it is as L-858 in the menu selectable. I have used the XPro the most (because of the TCM function in case I need it) but the Mark II version now also has this wireless scanning function and tells you exactly what channels are free.

11. A Godox AD200 Pro

I have 1 Godox AD200 Pro and 6 AD200’s (the pro was not availabale at the time I bought them). I love this little flash as it is lightweight, powerful and the battery are small and powerfull. Most of the time I don’t take the standard fresnel head with me.

12. Godox AD-S2 - Mini reflector

You would be amazed what this little thing can do. In the studio I use it as vignet light but outdoors it is also used as my main light. This reflector bundles the light and strangely enough it creates rather soft light.

13. Godox AD-S7 Multifunctional Softbox 480mm

This 48mm softbox is foldable like an umbrella and gives you beautiful light. When used close to the model I put the outer diffuser on it. It also comes with a grid I don’t use outdoors and a metal plate you can fix in the middle. I don’t use this plate at all because I have noticed it creates a shadow in the middle. Godox should have used a white transparant plate. Maybe I will make one myself.

14.Manfrotto MS0490A Nanopole Lightstand

Trust me, these are the best. I also bought similar one from K&F and Fosoto. The K&F was broken after a few times use and to expand the Fostoto it takes more force because it is just not smooth at all. It also is not that high fully expanded.

15. Batteries for the A1 and Godox AD200

16. Microfiber (several)

This is my goto kit. It s very portable and I can carry this all day long. When I want to make a portrait I use the AD-S7 and the minireflector for shots where the flash is a few meters away from the model.

Sometimes I also take the an extension cable and pouch for the AD200 with me.

I rarely take extra SD cards with me because I use 128GB or 256GB cards. This means I can shoot +/- 2500 photos in compressed RAW on a 128Gb card. Cards are always mirrored in the camera. This means photos are written to both the card in slot 1 as slot 2 at the same time.

Shoot with Alina

I own several Godox flashes like the AD200, AD600 Pro but also the AD1200 Pro.

When you need to shoot a lot (and I mean a lot like 1500 photos a day with flash) you better have too much flash power. However the more flashpower you need the bigger & heavier the flash. These 600 Ws or 1200 Ws flashes are far more expensive compared to a normal on camera flash.

The AD200 was released in 2017 and I bought my first set in april 2018 and these little 200Ws flashes are one of my favorite photo tools. They are small, powerful and batterylife is excellent too!

These AD200’s are too small for a 165cm umbrella with white sock but excellent as fill light in the studio. On location outdoors they are very useful too!

Alina contacted me some time ago for a shoot and it was because she had a cute movie on her Instagram I decided to accede to her request.

I drove to Antwerp to the Izy coffee bar and we went to the top roof to start our shoot. It was cold and windy but Alina’s roots are in Seberia so she didn’t mind at all.

I only took my Manfrotto Nanopole with me and a AD200 with AD-S7 softbox. This softbox is a small foldable umbrella and is excellent on location. I used this setup for all the photos you see below.

It was rather dangerous as the ladder was not 100% fixed. When Alina sat on a wall and was posing I was afraid she would fall and asked her not to take any risks. The picture might be very beautiful but it is just not worth it to take risks. Here you see the topview of a AD200 and AD-S7 with diffuse. There is also a metal curved plate you can screw inside (and a grid) but I never use that because it creates a shadow in the middle.

The roof was high and I was a little bit scared that she would loose balance and fall to death.
It was a gray day and absolutely not the light I love. I called this flat light because it is just too soft. Using a AD200 you can add some punch to get this result.
Good she was wearing a red suit to make the photo more colorful. I LOVE the color red in photos.
I shot this using 49 mm as a focal length. Personally I like this photo a lot. Alina poses really well.

On the other side of the roof I took this photo below and decided to make it black & white. Another photo I like very much.

For some reason this photo could have been taken in Russia too.

Here is a perfect example of using a 24-105mm at 105mm f/4.

Alina changed clothes and we did a few more photos on the top floor. The top building was not used for some time and there was dust everywhere but it gave the photo something extra.

I decided to shoot using a 35mm f/1.4 prime lens and it was the right choice. I very rarely use 35mm but I really should use this focal lenght more.

The color picture were variants of beige. I already decided at the location I would post process this photo in B&W. In my opinion another beautiful photo. Always make sure you straigthen the vertical lines first during post processing.

For this photo I used a 35mm prime lens at f/1.4 and balanced the ambient light with flash light: AD200 + AD-S7
Settings: ISO200, 1/125, f/1.4

Alina changed clothes again with the idea to shoot in the streets of Antwerp but when we got outside it was raining a bit so I decided to shoot inside the coffeebar and I am happy I did.

I did not adjust my white balance(which is no problem shooting in RAW) and had to lower the yellows with at least 1500 Kelvin to get the colors correct.

Here is a close up I love. The way she tilted her head at a perfect angle is just fantastic. I said “wow” and it was the first photo I photoshopped when I was back home.

For the picture above and below I used one of my favorite lenses. The Sony GM 135mm f/1.8. It is an expensive prime lens but the results you get from this lens are stunning, just stunning. The bokeh is buttersmooth and the focus speed is top notch and it always nails focus.

I moved the AD200 flash several times but only used it to fill the shadows.

I could have used the 35mm too. Shot from another angle the legs would be much longer but in general I made more close ups and photographed her in portrait mode (vertical).

My recommended strobe setup for portrait/fashion starters.

Over the years I used a lot of strobe and lightformers. From a standard on Godox V1 camera flash to a Godox AD1200 Pro 1200Ws.

When you are starting out with limited budget it is a good idea to buy 2 strobes instead of 1. Though a lot is done with only one flash (and) reflector using 2 strobes gives you more lighting possibilities.

You can use 1 flash as main light and the other as fill or rim light.

But most important with the Godox AD-B2 dual head you can combine two AD200’s (or pros) to a powerfull 400Ws strobe! With 400Ws you already have enough power to lighten your subject outdoors. There is also the Godox AD400 Pro available with approximately the same power.

The Godox AD-B2 with 2 bulbs (you need to buy them seperately)

The AD-B2 has a Bowens mount so you can use lightformers from several manufacturers like SMDV, Smallrig, SMDV, Jinbei, Godox, …

A white umbrella is always a good choice.

Use a white umbrella to soften the light. An umbrella is always a good choice on a budget and it is also very transportable.

For outdoor (and indoor) use, I recommend the Smallrig RA-D55. It’s not to heavy and when only using the inner diffusion you have enough power when placing the flash a few meters from your subject. Using a standard reflector is also a good idea!

I recommend using the AD200 extension cables when using a lightweigt light stand.

Use extension cables and put the AD200’s in a bag and use them as counterweight to prevent the stand frol falling over. (but always use sandbags to secure!)
When your light stand falls over your AD200’s in a bag are better protected and less prone to damage.

This setup is a very portable and powerfull combination and recommended when weight and size is an issue.

Battery life of these AD200’s is excellent! The price of extra batteries to use as spare is very affordable.

Use a sport reflector outdoors. Here with grid. (I never use grid outside unless I put the reflector very close to create a beam of light)

Here are actual street prices VAT included (in Belgium)

Godox AD200 pro: 350 Euro x 2 = 700 Euro

Godox AD-B2: 80 Euro

Godox bulb: 50 Euro x 2 = 100 Euro

Umbrella: 25 Euro

Smallrig RA-D55: 110 Euro

Sport reflector: 40 Euro

Standard reflector: 20 Euro

Godox AD200/AD200Pro Cross-Body Mini Bag: 20 Euro x 2 = 40 Euro

Light stand: 50 Euro

Total: 1165 Euro

Conclusion:

This setup is a fantastic if you want flexibility and portability. For a total price of 1165 Euro you have everything you need to start shooting in a studio but also outdoors. If you decide to buy the bigger and more powerful AD600 Pro’s and AD1200 Pro’s later on you can still use the AD200’s for extra light.

Battery life is perfect and the price is justified.

A Godox AD600 Pro (950 Euro) is a better choice when you only need one flash or you already own a V1 (though it is only halfpower of a AD200). However you will also need to buy the extension cable (130 Euro).

It is more powerful but less compact.

Godox TCM: What does it do?

Only the Godox Xpro (S) trigger has a button called TCM. The other XT1 and XT2 do not have this functionality. Many photographers use the TTL function because you put your flash on ‘automatic’.

The disadvantage of using TTL is your light is not consistant and when using several flashes (strobes) you cannot use TTL anyway.

Let’s assume you have to photograph 3 different models (medium shot, half body) at the same place wearing different clothes. Model ‘one’ is wearing a white blouse, model ‘two’ a grey blouse and model ‘three’ a black blouse. As a result all blouses will be grey(ish). This is because how camera’s work: Cameras measure 18% reflective light. When you photograph all 3 together the light will be probably correctly balanced as all three combined is 50% grey (18% reflective light).

TTL will work just fine for most of the time and is great when you do not have the time to use manual settings.

How to make the make light consistent?

Put your camera on manual and adjust your exposure triangle until the light is how you want it. On some cameras you need to switch off the trigger
Set your trigger in TTL mode(and check your flash is in TTL mode)
Make the shot.
Press the TCM button for a second until it says M. Your flash is now put in manual mode and both the flash & trigger will show you the measured value.

There you have it.

I mainly use my light meter to measure the light as it more accurate. A light meter does not measure reflective light but incident light. However when I have very little time I use TTL to TCM.

UPDATE 02/2023:

The new Godox XPro II does not have a TCM button anymore. You just need to fire in TLL mode and when you switch to Manual the value is the measured value from the TTL metering. Nice.

Reset Godox AD1200 pro battery (wake-up)

I have been using Godox gear for several years now and I am happy with it.

When I bought my AD1200 pro the lower capacity batteries (allowed to as hand lugage on a plane) just stopped charging. I sent them to dealer to repair but they said nothing was wrong with the batteries.

I stored these batteries fully charged and after a month they were dead. I was sure there was something wrong with them because my other batteries did not have this kind of behavior.

When I got them back from the dealer who send them to the supplier they said the batteries just worked fine and they had no failure! And yes, they worked fine again but stopped charging again….

I send them back and again after a while they stopped working again so I gave up and just stored them and was unhappy with the lower capacity baterries. All other Godox batteries just worked fine.

In april 2022 I bought another AD1200 pro. In the studio I mainly use the optional AC adapter and therefor it can happen I do not use the battery for more than a month.

Suddenly the new battery also stopped working! This time it was the battery that was included in my new AD1200 Pro.

I asked in a facebook Godox group if there was a way to reset the battery. And yes! A friendly guy told me there was a little reset button at the back you have to press it for a second or so.

It seems these Godox batteries go into some safe mode if you do not use them for more than a month and you reset them. And guess what? It worked.

I felt stupid but I am very happy I can now use the batteries I thought there were dead.