It is hard to beat Light & Motion’s continuous lighting systems for portability and ruggedness for the continuous lighting needs of portrait and wedding photographers working outside of the studio or the cover of a roof. Light & Motion has designed the Stella Pro single-point LEDs for the specific purpose of bringing your light into not-so-forgiving environments and some models are even waterproof for those trendy underwater weddings, portrait shoots or for filming the next great British spy movie.
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.
The Stella LED line is compatible with the Elinchrom RF Skyport controller—handy for adjusting power output without having to get to each individual unit.
Are you thinking, “What combo of Stella PRO lights do I need for my work?” Light & Motion has kits on the market for your needs. The Stella Pro Expedition Kit, Combo Kit, and Interview Kit all have 3-light setups and a rugged hard case. The Action kits come in a sleek Tenba-designed bag: 8000RF Action Kit, 5000RF Action Kit, 2000 Action Kit, and Wedding Photographer Kit.
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.