What's in the Bag? Lastolite EZ Balance Collapsible White Balance Disc

Every digital photographer should have some kind of white balance system. This is especially true for those who use the histogram to determine exposure, because histograms are wildly affected by white balance. For accurate histogram readings, always perform a custom white balance before shooting. Raw shooters can set a custom white balance during raw processing.

What's in the Bag? Vivitar 285HV Flash

This is a continuation of the “What's in the Bag” series, and is the first post of several to come describing the contents of my portable studio kit. By time we've gotten through everything I think we all will be ready for a new subject, but for now, let's get on with it.

A Pair of Flashes
If you are going to make photographs, you must have light. These are the two that I pack for goodly power and reliability in a small package. The head swivels from 0 to 90 degrees, but does not rotate. It has a manual zoom from 35 mm to 105 mm, and can go down to 28 mm with the wide-angle lens (more on that later). They operate with thyristor controlled self-metering or in manual with power settings for full, 1/2, 1/4, & 1/16 (note that 1/8 is missing).

What's in the Bag?

The previous post mentioned a “truly portable studio kit” and gave a sneak peak at the bag. This posting will dive into the bag and introduce you to what I consider an essential kit for anyone who needs portability. In this posting you will get an overview with a list of contents. In the followup postings, I will be going through each item to report on why it is there, what I like about it and what I don't like about it.