Single Strobe Outdoor Shooting
- nakedartisan
- Jun 19, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 11, 2025
I’ve come to realize that shooting on location essentially means bringing your entire studio with you—and that includes a reliable power source when needed. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to take my studio strobes out into the field. They’re fantastic for controlling light, but not without their challenges when it comes to mobile setups. For starters, they’re heavy, bulky, and not exactly travel-friendly if you’re trying to pack light. On top of that, they’re corded, which means you’ll need to plan for external power wherever you go.
As much as I love the great outdoors, unfortunately, I can’t just plug my gear into a tree and expect it to work. And relying on available power sources isn’t always an option—especially without drawing attention or raising questions. So, I started doing some research and came across a simple but perfect solution: a portable power bank. I’ve actually been wanting one for a while now. They’re incredibly convenient, especially for camping, and now I finally have a solid reason to invest in one.
There were so many options to choose from—different sizes, power capacities, and features tailored for every kind of use. While I have my eye on a more advanced model for the future, I decided to start with the Jackery Explorer 290 to test the waters. And honestly, I couldn’t be more pleased with how things turned out.
Now that I know I could power the strobe, I decided to lug one along with me. I got a little excited and thought to bring all three but quickly woke from that dream. Three would be awesome but a lot of weight and work. Plus, you can create great photos with just one.
I tested to see if my theory would work; plug strobe into box, box powers light. I’m glad I did because there was a small hiccup at first... Because my strobes are absolutely
power-hungry, the Jackery would immediately shut it OFF after powering ON. After some trial and error, I figured out the trick! I turned ON the strobe and immediately dial it down to its lowest flash setting (Stop - 1/128 sec). That allowed the Jackery to recognize a lower, continuous power draw. From there, I could ramp it all the way
up from a subtle 1/128 sec flash to a full 1/1 sec blast without issues. With that breakthrough, it was time to shoot!
I arrived at the Grotto early morning, set up camp, and mingled around before setting up. For this experiment I wanted to shoot at different times of day to maximize the results. The plan is to get to work around late afternoon/ early evening later that day.
