Gaffer Lighting Equipment: What I Actually Carry to a Commercial Shoot

If you've ever hired a gaffer and wondered what's actually showing up in that van, this post is for you. I'm a working DP and gaffer in Central Florida, and I've loaded out for hundreds of commercial shoots. Here's exactly what I carry — and what it means for your production.

What the Gaffer Brings vs. What Comes From the Rental House

First, an important distinction: a gaffer's personal kit and a full lighting package are two different things.

My personal kit is the gear I own outright — fixtures, control equipment, expendables, and tools I've curated over years of work. It's what's in my van on day one before any rental order gets placed.

A full lighting package — the HMIs, large LED panels, generator, grip truck — that usually comes from a rental house or gets folded into my quote as a pull from a local vendor. When you hire me, you're hiring the expertise to spec, order, and run all of it. The personal kit is just what I show up with on top of that.

Knowing this distinction helps you understand what you're actually paying for. You're not paying for my fixtures — you're paying for my ability to build and run the right lighting system for your shoot.

Core Lighting Fixtures: What They Are and Why They're There

Here's what you'll typically see on a commercial set, explained in plain English:

LED Panels (Aputure 600d, Nanlite Forza series)

These are my workhorses. Daylight-balanced, dimmable, no generator required for smaller units. I reach for these on run-and-gun days, interviews, and any situation where setup speed matters. They're quiet, cool to the touch, and the color quality has gotten close enough to HMI that I use them on most of my commercial work.

HMI Fixtures (1.2k, 2.5k, 6k)

HMIs are the heavy hitters. Punchy daylight output that LEDs still can't fully match for raw power — especially when you're fighting Florida sun through a window or trying to sell a backlight through a practical. These need a ballast and generator support, so they add setup time and cost. Worth it when the shot demands it.

Tungsten Fresnels (650w, 1k, 2k)

Old-school warm sources. I still carry a couple because sometimes you want that classic warmth and the controllability of a fresnel spotlight. Great for practicals and accent lighting. Not my go-to on modern commercial work, but they have their place.

Bi-Color LED Panels

When a client needs flexibility between warm and cool sources without multiple fixture swaps, bi-color panels are the answer. Good for environments where the ambient light is mixed and we need to match rather than fight it.

Control Gear: The Part Producers Don't See (But Should Know About)

This is the stuff that doesn't photograph well but makes or breaks the day.

Dimmers and DC Controllers

LEDs need proper dimming control to avoid flicker on camera. I carry dedicated LED dimmers that work in-sync with your camera's frame rate. This matters more than most producers realize — bad dimming causes flicker artifacts that cost you in post.

DMX Controller

For more complex lighting setups — multi-fixture rigs, color-changing LEDs, anything that needs coordinated control — I run DMX. This lets me adjust the entire lighting environment from a single controller rather than walking to each fixture individually. Huge time saver on shoots with dynamic needs.

Power Distribution (Distro)

Clean, safe power to every fixture on set. A proper distro box splits a generator or house power source into circuits, protects against overloads, and keeps your set safe. This is non-negotiable. I see productions try to skip proper power distro and it always causes problems — tripped breakers, voltage drop, equipment damage.

Grip Gear: The Stuff That Holds Everything Up

Lighting fixtures are useless without a way to position them. My kit includes:

- C-stands — the backbone of any lighting setup. I carry a dozen minimum.

- Baby plates and pins — for mounting lights on walls, ceilings, windows.

- Sandbags — safety on every stand. Not optional.

- Flags and cutters — control where light goes and doesn't go.

- Diffusion frames and nets — soften, shape, and reduce intensity without losing direction.

- Bounce boards (foam core, 4x4 Laird panels) — cheap, effective fill.

On larger shoots, this grip package expands significantly — that's where the [1-ton vs. 2-ton grip truck](https://www.tylerwilliamsdp.com/blog/1-ton-vs-2-ton-grip-truck) conversation comes in. Understanding what size truck your shoot actually needs can save you real money.

Expendables: Why They Disappear Fast

Expendables are the consumables of the lighting world — tape, gels, diffusion rolls, spare bulbs, tie line. I stock my kit with them, but they get used on every job. They're called "expendables" for a reason.

What's in my expendables bag:

- Gaffer tape (multiple colors — black, white, silver, grey)

- Rosco gels — CTO, CTB, plus color correction rolls and creative color packs

- Diffusion material — 250, 216, opal, Hampshire frost

- Tie line and bungees

- Cable ties

- Spare LED driver cables and power adapters

- Sharpies and spike tape for marking positions

Producers often don't budget for expendables until they see an invoice and wonder what the line item is. Now you know.

How the Equipment List Scales With the Shoot

A one-day talking-head interview for a local business looks nothing like a two-day commercial with a cast, crew, and art department. Here's the rough breakdown:

Small shoot (1–2 person crew, half day):

My van, my personal LED kit, a few C-stands. We're probably using available light as a base and supplementing with one or two fixtures. No generator needed.

Mid-size commercial (3–6 person crew, full day):

Full LED kit, some HMI support, proper grip package, generator. This is where a [grip truck rental](https://www.tylerwilliamsdp.com/blog/grip-truck-rental-vs-hiring-a-gaffer) starts to make sense depending on whether you've hired a full G&E team or just me.

Larger production (10+ crew, multi-day):

Full lighting package from a rental house, generator truck, dedicated grip and electric crew. I'm running a full department. Equipment list is spec'd in pre-production and changes daily based on what the director and [DP](https://www.tylerwilliamsdp.com/blog/director-of-photography-vs-director) need.

If you're [hiring a gaffer in Florida](https://www.tylerwilliamsdp.com/blog/gaffer-for-hire-orlando-central-florida), the scope of what shows up on set starts with a conversation about your shoot — locations, format, schedule, deliverables. That context shapes every decision about what we pull and how we staff.

What You're Actually Buying When You Hire a Gaffer

The equipment list above is just stuff. The reason you hire an experienced gaffer is the judgment behind it — knowing which fixtures solve which problems, how to move fast when the shot changes, how to keep the crew safe, and how to make your DP's vision happen on the schedule and budget you have.

If you want to know more about how a gaffer and DP actually work together, I broke that down in detail here: [what a gaffer does on set](https://www.tylerwilliamsdp.com/blog/what-does-a-gaffer-do-a-working-gaffer-explains-the-job-and-how-to-hire-one). And if you're still figuring out whether you need a gaffer, a DP, or both, [this guide to hiring a DP for your commercial](https://www.tylerwilliamsdp.com/blog/how-to-hire-a-dp-for-your-commercial) will help you sort that out.

Any questions about what a shoot with me actually looks like — reach out. I'm based in Central Florida and work shoots across the state.