Studio and Location lighting.

I’ve grouped the two main styles of lighting together as essentially they are one and the same. The key differences are down to gear and how you use it. Lighting a scene is probably the real make or break for any photographer and takes practice and observation to determine what is needed and when. Sometimes all a scene needs a touch of fill light instead of blasting the ambient away with a beauty dish. Lighting is also about telling the story in a image without it the best set design in the world will look drab and out of kilter.

The first question you should ask yourself is what is your budget? I’m a advocate of buy once and use that as a foundation for future growth. This helps prevent any wasted cash from selling gear on as unless you stay within the manufacturers eco-system then the lights might pose difficulties. Whilst you can get third party modifiers they also pose problems of their own. I’ll go into detail later.

Second question is how you going to use the gear? Is it primarily indoors or outdoors? Do you want automatic exposure control or remote control over the lights? How much weight are you willing to carry?

Next up is support. Just like cameras this is critical, more so in fact as if you get a cheap stand then it might need extra support to prevent accidents. Nothing worse than cheap boom stands collapsing on a client…

What’s your shooting style? Are you a run and gun person or do you take care and deliberate over each and every shot?

What environment are you going to doing your work in? Remember if you work in someone’s living room you won’t have much room to swing a cat if you use a lot of gear. If outdoors you have to consider what times you’re going to be photographing at and how you’re going to control ambient light.

In the UK there are two main light systems I see consistently in studios and this is the Bowens and Elinchrom brands. Each system has it strengths and weaknesses and both have an extensive light modifier range and third party support. I won’t go into detail on each system mainly because you need to think what each system offers you. If you don’t go down the studio lights route then consider flash guns. Today, unlike when I first started, there is an active Strobist movement made popular by David Hobby whilst Strobism isn’t new the movement it was the first wake up call for the industry to stop ignoring photographers who struggled to get anything out of the flash guns.

So what do I recommend for a beginner? It’s surprisingly easy answer. All you need is one light source and a shoot through umbrella. A lot of my early work is with this combo and it’s one I still use today. If you need a bit more refined control then consider a bounce umbrella.

Once you understand the basics of lighting and how to light then add a modifier that will do what you need. Avoid niche products like Beauty Dishes and Ring Flashes instead concentrate on more versatile modifiers such as soft boxes and grids,

You’re probably asking now what light source? I mean anything that produces light such as a flash gun, studio light or a hot light (be careful with these!! )

The final point I’ll make about light is always think: What light do I need and what I’m going to do with it. Lighting is as much your signature style as much as your technique and post work.

Final piece of advice: Always use a lightmeter. LCD histograms can’t and won’t handle light ratios found in complex lighting.

Donating members only:

For discussing or debating studio lighting and what gear you should you start out with please read this thread.