One setup for both video and stills with Phylicia Munn
Written by: Profoto
Can you shoot video and stills without changing your lights? Los Angeles photographer Phylicia J. L. Munn tested that concept using the Profoto essential hybrid kit. She photographed portraits and then recorded matching video without moving a single light, giving her more time to create.
From finance to full-time photography
Phylicia grew up in Georgia, studied at Howard University and spent close to a decade working in finance before she turned to photography full-time in 2019. Since then, she has shot for Netflix, Vanity Fair, Airbnb, Universal Music Group and Ferrari, and photographed talent including Regina King, Issa Rae, Anthony Anderson and Sarah Paulson. Her portraits are luxurious and polished while still feeling approachable, and she puts particular care into creating positive images of people who are often underrepresented.
Why one setup matters
More and more clients ask for both video and stills from the same shoot. Photographers often light for photos first, then rearrange or replace their lights for video, which takes time and makes it hard to keep the two looking the same. Phylicia wanted to avoid that. “I want to stay focused on actually capturing great work,” she says, “and not think about where the lights are, do they match, changing mediums.”
Building the light
The essential hybrid kit pairs the Profoto L600C with the Profoto B30, a battery-powered strobe that can also be plugged in for studio work. Phylicia used the L600C as her main light and relied on its built-in color settings for the vibrant tones in the shoot, so she didn’t need to bring gels.
She mounted a Profoto Softbox 4’ Octa Silver on the L600C. The built-in speedring lets the softbox snap open in one motion, which got an immediate reaction from her. “Anybody who has dealt with a speedring in their work life, this is a lifesaver,” she says. She then added the inner and outer diffusion panel, to soften the highlights on the model’s skin.
For a second light, she aimed the B30 into a collapsible reflector so that it bounced soft light back down onto the set. Because the L600C was mounted high and out of reach, she adjusted its settings from her phone in the Profoto Control app.
Switching from photo to video
Phylicia shot stills first at 1/160 second, f/4.5 and ISO 400. When it was time for video, she switched to her video camera, raised the ISO to 800 and turned up the modeling light so there was enough continuous light for video. Everything else stayed where it was. “It was a pretty quick and seamless changeover,” she says. “We didn’t have to adjust any of the lights.”
Because the lighting never moved, the portraits and the video clips share the same color and the same soft quality of light. “With vibrant colors and subtle movement, this hybrid setup let the photos and videos feel like one continuous story,” Phylicia says.
She also found that the simpler setup changed how she spent her time on set. “Once the lights were set, I could easily switch between photo and video,” she says. “I was able to focus more on making great work and connecting with the model while using one setup throughout it all. It created an environment that let my creativity breathe.”.
The time saved allowed her fit in a whole other shoot with the Profoto B30 Duo Kit. Stay tuned for the story around the B30 Duo Kit production.
Get the gear Phylicia used
See more of Phylicia’s work on Profoto Share the Light or on her instagram.
Credits
Photographer and director: Phylicia J. L. Munn
Videographer and BTS photographer: Steven Wetrich
Model: Lana Kristianna (Natural Models LA)
Makeup artist: Dennese Rodriguez
Hair stylist: Chatwaka Jackson
Photo assistant: Fernando Guerrero
Studio: Schmidli Studios
Backdrop: Schmidli Backdrops