Hey guys, your mate Aries Tao here. Welcome to the Godox basic lighting 101. Today I'm going to share some tips using the AK-R21 kit. 

Tip #1 Use Film for a Customized Color Effect

The most common use of it is to project an image on the wall, as well as on the model. This method is the simplest and it works for lots of people. 

Personally, I would like a bit of separation. I will use one AK-R21 for the wall and another AK-R21 for the person. 

And then I realized she's lacking shadow details. Of course, I managed to kill all the ambient lights, so I used another fill light to fill in her details.

I added a cyan gel to add the coldness to mimic the ambient light in the space.

Tip #2 Use Gobo for Versatile Portrait Lighting

As you guys may or may not notice, the AK-R21 works with a gobo. I cut my S30 gobo to fit into it, as you can see. 

It comes with some vignettes, but comparing the size and price of those bigger projectors, I feel like it's worth it. And here we go.

You can use different gobo, right? Some of them will be nicer for headshots, and some of them will be nicer for full body shots. Of course, if you want the portrait look or a dramatic look, one AK-R21 would do it. 

If you want those e-commerce looks, you can add a few lights for the shadow details of the clothes, right? 

And, of course, you can combine the gobo with a film or with a color gel in this scenario. And here we go.

Tip #3 Create Unique Shapes for Creative Lighting

For you guys who may or may not notice, the AK-R21 is a very small light source with sharp edges. It comes with sharp edges, even comparing it with a grid or snood. 

You can play around with this feature a lot. Lots of times I don't even use a gobo or film, I just use sticky tape to create a random shape, in this case, a triangle. You can have a lot of fun with it. And here we go.

For you guys who look into it, the AK-R21 does come with different lenses. 83mm will be ideal for close-ups or chest-up detailed shots. 

50mm is more ideal for a background projection.

And if you want an all-around option, 65mm is perfect for it.

Here are my three tips for ways to play around with the AKR21: 

1. Use film with it.

2. Use gobo with it.

3. Create your own geometric shape.

Because AKR21 is a flash projector, it does take some time to set up, especially trying to get focused in the right place. If you guys need mobility, if you're a run-and-gun kind of shooter, or you just want to save the bank for your butt, AK-R21 is perfect, comparing it with those large optical projectors for LED light sources.