V.A.
L. is an abbreviation used by photographers that stands for "voice activated lightstand." This is
actually a reference to a human assistant who, in the absence of an actual lightstand, holds a piece of lighting equipment and positions it according to the
photographer's needs.
David's invited me to be a V.A.
L. on his
next shoot, since he's trying to avoid needing permits from
the city to place lighting equipment on the ground.