Happy Loop-Year!

Exactly one year ago, at NAB, we released our LitePad Loop LED Ring Light and we published a Spectrum blog post to introduce this revolutionary fixture for those that weren’t able to make it to Las Vegas to see the light in person. Since then, LitePad Loop has been used to shoot everything from interviews and portraits in studios to shell casings and blood spatter in crime scenes to stylized fingernails backstage during New York’s fashion week. Below are a few anecdotes we’ve gotten back from photo and video professionals that shared their LitePad Loop stories, images and videos with us this past year.

LitePad Loop’s unique, soft light output makes it the perfect choice when space is tight, available light is low and you need to keep the light smooth, even and comfortable. That’s why photographer Rick Friedman chose LitePad Loop to illuminate his model when he decided to pose the shot on the landing of his staircase in his Boston studio. Rick tells the story of how the LitePad Loop allowed him to be easily adaptable in this behind-the-scenes video he shot.

Scott Bourne called LitePad Loop his “favorite ring light on the market” in his PhotoFocus post back in October. One of the key things Scott appreciated about the Loop was the quality of light it produces. “EVERY other LED light source I’ve used – aims the LED right at the subject with its harsh, direct beam. The folks at Rosco have invented the LitePad technology so that the light is diffuse, flattering and easy on the subject’s eyes – all key necessities of a ring light.” A ring light is mainly used for close up work, so we designed the LitePad Loop to be soft, indirect and flattering, while at the same time comfortable for the talent looking into it.

Photo by Scott Bourne – Shot With LitePad Loop and additional background light

This necessity is especially important when you’re shooting people not used to being lit for camera, like brides (Scott’s specialty) or corporate interviews and headshots. Michael Artsis took his LitePad Loop Pro Kit on a tour of five cities in eight days to shoot interviews and footage for an upcoming Clearwire commercial promoting their LTE network rollout.

While he was previewing the footage he just shot with Chris Comes, Clearwire’s Director of Field Communications, Chris turned to Michael – who was shooting on a D800 armed with a LitePad Loop – and asked if he could shoot a headshot for him. Michael ‘just grabbed the camera off the tripod and captured this headshot” that same day using the exact same setup that he had just used to shoot the commercial footage.

The lightweight and portable LitePad Loop kept Michael Artsis nimble enough to shoot in offices, boardrooms, laboratories and even on construction sites where crews were installing new equipment. This is also why cinematographer Matt Turve turned to LitePad Loop as one of the central lighting tools he used recently to shoot a low-budget feature entitled Sunny & Ray Ray.

LitePad Loop in-use on Sunny and Ray Ray

Shooting a feature like this meant a lot of in-home locations, which made it hard to bring in huge lighting packages. One of the innovative ways Matt put his LitePad Loop to work was by taking it off camera every now and then. Sure, LitePad Loop is a great ring light, but sometimes you don’t want the light flat and on-axis – you want it coming from an angle. So, using the Loop’s unique magnetic attachment to the camera, Matt was able to quickly and easily detach and re-attach the Loop to his camera as the scene necessitated.

Matt Turve using his LitePad Loop on a VAL

Perhaps my favorite LitePad Loop story comes from glamour and fashion photographer Rolando Gomez’ Lens Diaries where he encouraged his readers to "avoid sticking with limited lighting tools, as this will stagnate your photography and can limit your ability to create what you envisioned.”

In the image above, Rolando wanted to illuminate his model without spoiling the warmth from the fire in the background, so he chose the LitePad Loop as the right lighting tool for this shot. The sharp falloff from the Loop meant that the on-axis light from the Loop wouldn’t spoil the dark warmth the fireplace behind his model was creating.

Rolando points out another advantage to using a continuous source like LitePad Loop over a strobe or ring flash – the light contracts the iris. This technique showcases the color of the subject’s eyes rather than the black open pupils that are produced when shooting in darkened locations with strobes. LitePad Loop is a wonderful choice for creating tantalizing catch lights in the eye. There are also several creative options when it comes to creating an alluring eye-light using the available Light Masks. Rolando used the more subtle “slits” in his shot above, but there are other more dramatic choices available if you want to spotlight the eyes in your shot.

Photo Credit: Matt Wiseman

We love seeing how our creative customers use our products in innovative ways. If you have images you've shot using a LitePad Loop that you want to share, we’ve created a Flickr pool to collect your images so that others can see the results of your work. You’re also welcome to share images and links to videos on our Rosco Facebook page.

Be adaptable & flattering. Stay nimble & innovative. Avoid stagnation and get in the Loop!