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Rangefinder Magazine
May 2004

Field Test: by Charles Hamilton
Pro/Four Remote Robotic Positioning for Studio Lighting

Don Hall in studio using the Model 2100RCTD compact desktop controller on a lightbox.

All professional photographers think about what they can do to save time during their studio shoots. After all, when you’re on the job, anything that saves time reduces your costs.

For more than 35 years Don Hall, President of Don Hall Productions, Bradenton, FL, has run a very successful commercial photography business. His success is rooted in his versatility, his thoroughness and his dedication to producing quality photography. But, because he personally handles all the details that go into a successful shoot, his productivity is often squandered through the use of repetitive, redundant actions.

In his search to become more time-efficient, Hall had developed a list of inefficient studio set-up procedures. He asked himself how he could improve his on-the-job efficiency and, at the same time, find a way to do it that wouldn’t cost him a bundle and sacrifice the finished quality of his work. He had used these same procedures for years because “that was the only way I knew to get the job done as quickly as possible, and do it right.” Realistically, he had no alternative.

Tach was shot for Teleflex. The actual shot was done on blue Plexiglas and photograped horizonally with individual holes drilled to fit the Tachometers. Multiple lights were used above and below the semitransparent Plexiglas the red highlight was introduced using a gel.

At the top of his list was finding a way to reduce the time required to properly light a studio shoot. Hall explains, “I'm a stickler for seeing to it that the subject is lit properly. That means countless times of moving the lights, moving the ladder, and going up and down the ladder to adjust the lights, then reading my light meter and taking trial shots. I had refined the process as best I could, but I kept thinking, ‘If only there was a way to get the job done without having to be part mountain climber and part marathon runner.’” There was. And he discovered it almost by accident.

While discussing a studio shoot with a client, he learned they did business with Pro/Four Video Products, Inc., a Clearwater, Florida, manufacturer of products and accessory components used by professionals in the video industry. In the course of their conversation, Hall discovered that Pro/Four designed and produced robotic positioners and their remote controllers for use in the business conferencing, educational, religious programming, medical and security fields. In fact, since 1995 Pro/Four has focused on designing, manufacturing and marketing competitively priced digital robotic positioning mounts and systems for commercial video camera markets.

	King was photographed for King Plastics. Pool balls were placed on their Star board product and carefully lit. The round highlight is from a round translucent Lite disk.

To be honest, Pro/Four’s management had not given much thought to targeting the studio professional photography market for their products. But when Hall explained to them how he proposed to use their positioners to help light his photo subjects, and noted the time he was wasting to prepare lighting for each shoot, they agreed to a trial using their Model 1000RP positioner (rated for a 35-lb. maximum load level) and Model 2100RCTD compact desktop controller. Pamela Zeigler-Bray, Pro/Four’s vice president, business operations, also suggests the Model 1010RP for mounting the lights, which, like the 1000RP, is rated for 35 lbs.

ATTC was shot for American Torch Tip using multiple lights with color gels on stainless steel.

Hall explains, “I use monolights with self-contained power units weighing 12 lbs. or more apiece. This makes for a much heavier load to remotely control than regular lights, so the trick is to balance the weight of the power units on the positioner head while maintaining control of the lighting.”

After some trial and error, Hall was able to adapt Pro/Four’s mount to take care of the balance situation. A separate remote for the monolights gives him complete control of their intensity, and from the same location, he also controls the pan and tilt of the lights with Pro/Four’s controller. “The system is working just as I had hoped,” he says.

From the standpoint of cost effectiveness, this new system from Pro/Four lets Hall be more efficient and productive with less manpower. He no longer needs an assistant to help with lighting preparations. Best of all, climbing up and down ladders has virtually become a thing of the past for Hall.

According to Howland Foster, Pro/Four’s sales and marketing executive, the company is instituting a special introductory program designed to acquaint photographers with the benefits gained from using Pro/Four’s Remote Robotic Positioning for studio lighting.

For more information about Pro/Four’s 30-day free trial offer, contact Howland Foster or Pamela Zeigler-Bray at (800) 457-8130, or email profour@ix.netcom.com. To view Pro/Four’s complete line of robotic positioners, visit www.profour.com.