Ohhhh, how I am drawn to the light. Shiny things. Bright things. Please don’t put a hook inside them. Light & Motion’s display at the 2018 Wedding and Portrait Photographer International show in Las Vegas did not need any physical barbed hooks to catch my interest.
Their booth at WPPI features their complete lineup of Stella LED lights. Light & Motion started in 1989, in California, with the goal of making top-tier underwater lighting. Today, almost 30 years later, the company is still on that same mission. Some of its Stella LED lights are great for photography in dihydrogen monoxide (sodium chloride-seasoned or not) and all are equally adept at lighting subjects above sea level.
The Stella family’s numeric designation tells the user how much power output they have at their disposal. For instance, the Stella 8000 projects 8000 lumens of light. Speaking of the Stella 8000, once you reach this level of output (above 5000 lumens), the units are not waterproof, but they are water resistant and still shock proof. The lack of waterproof features at the higher outputs is due to the need for a cooling fan to keep the unit from nasty thermal problems. The Stella 5000 and lower-output Stella lights are fully waterproof and are happy to join you while diving or snorkeling.
All Stella lights, except the ultra-powerful Stella 10000, run on rechargeable Li-Ion batteries, while the 10000-lumen Stella plugs into the wall. All the lights can run continuously on corded power if outlets are near.
New to the Stella LED line is compatibility with the Elinchrom RF Skyport controller—handy for adjusting power output without having to get to each individual unit.
For underwater lighting, or shooting still life while traveling with a portable studio, I could wax poetic about the design and fantastic features of the Stella LED lights, but who wants to read when you can check out our informative Quick Look video, here.
