In this section, I discuss lighting roles. In other words, what do different studio lights actually do? How many studio lights do you need? And where do you point them? The key light is a main light ; you use it to create the overall lighting effect.
Generally, the key light is the brightest and most prominent light in your scene. A fill light is positioned in reaction to the key light. It reduces the intensity of shadows created by the key light, thereby decreasing the overall contrast in your scene.
Rim light illuminates your subject from behind, generally with the goal of separating the subject from the background. Often, rim lights are positioned so that only a sliver of light is visible on the sides of your subject. Background lights point away from the subject to light the background. Ambient light refers to any light present before the addition of your studio lighting. It comes from lights in the room, daylight from a window, cracks above the door, etc.
Modifiers go between the light source and your subject, with the goal of changing the quality or intensity of the light. A modifier might harden the light, it might soften the light, it might reduce the light, or it might create unique lighting patterns. Instead, photography umbrellas come in silver or white and are attached to your light via a mount. By pointing a studio light into the umbrella which reflects the light back to your subject, as displayed in the photo below , you create a much larger, softer light source.
Umbrellas are your most basic modifier. They are good for soft, diffused light, but they are hard to control. Simply point your light into the a translucent umbrella to get a beautiful, even result though with practically zero directionality. Softboxes come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Once mounted, a softbox shapes and softens the light to become more flattering. Softboxes also tend to be quite directional, they are easy to control, and they can even be adjusted with additional modifiers such as grids.
Softboxes are the workhorse of the photographic studio, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Strip boxes are a special type of long, rectangular softbox. They produce a narrow beam of light, which is great for lighting a subject from behind for a rim lit effect. Striplights are softboxes that offer very directional light. Octaboxes are special octagonal softboxes; the rounder result is useful for shaping portrait lighting.
Not to be confused with handheld reflectors discussed below , reflective modifiers mount directly to a studio strobe. They channel the light in a specific angle for very directional light. Reflector light is very hard, and most reflectors are designed to take a variety of grids. Reflectors, like this degree reflector, provide a very directional and hard light source. Snoots are modifiers designed to focus your light in a very narrow beam. They make great hair and background lights.
Snoots direct your light into tight, controlled beam. Barn doors are fitted with two to four flaps; these allow you to block and shape the light to create different effects. For instance, barn door flaps can help you focus your light on a specific aspect of your subject such as the hair , or they can be used to prevent flag the light from hitting a certain spot. Beauty dishes are directional modifiers that sit somewhere between soft and hard light. They are great for beauty photography, fashion photography, and portraiture.
Shoot through refers to the fact that they are made of a similar white diffused material as softboxes. Light passes through them and is softened. You can also get black brollies with a variety of different colour linings, which allow you to throw light back onto the subject. They are particularly useful for lighting a background evenly. Snoots Snoots are long cones in solid black, which narrow to a small hole at the front. They are often used for highlighting hair, due to the directional small light they provide.
Honeycomb Grids So called because they look like a piece of honeycomb , these slot onto the front of reflectors. This is a very flattering light that drops off naturally to the sides. Portable Reflectors Not an accessory as such, but still an essential piece of kit for studio lighting. Hopefully this guide will help you to start out your journey with studio lighting and find the kit that works best for you! Jo Plumridge is a UK based photographer, writer and lecturer.
She specializes in portrait, corporate and travel photography, and writes photography, travel and comedy pieces for magazines, websites and books. If you've got a symmetrical pack you may find you can only split it equally, so for example , , But what does joules, for example, actually mean? I often get asked whether to go for an joule, joule or joule… Everyone seems to think there's this massive, massive difference between them but actually, there isn't that much between them.
I go into this in more detail in the video, but basically the difference between an joule lamp and a joule lamp is only one stop. It's exactly the same as the change in ratio of stops of ISO for example.
So, if we used an dual lamp at f11 then we would need to shoot a dual lamp at f8 to get the same exposure, or increase the ISO from to Joules on lamp heads or power packs are basically the same in f-stops, so compared to a joule lamp, an joule is one stop more powerful, a joule lamp is another stop more powerful and a joule pack is another stop powerful.
You just need to think about it in f-stops. Everything you need to know about flash power, including the relationship between f-stops and studio light power, power ranges and what influences power.
On a pack like the broncolor Scoro, I may be able to go from power 10, which would be equivalent to joules of power on a J pack, down to power 9, which would be half of that at joules, and all the way down to as little as 0.
On monobloc lights the range isn't usually as great, but it can still be pretty good. You can see the power range differences between the pack lights and monobloc lights in the video, but overall a pack system usually offers greater versatility when it comes to power range and joules control. One of the common misconceptions about studio lighting is the actual difference in light when changing the power. For example, if you used power 8, many people often think that a one-stop drop in light would need to be power 4 but that's not actually how it works with studio lighting.
This is explained in more detail in the video, but basically to get the same exposure as at f11 and power 8, we would either have to change to f8 and power 7, or f16 and power 9. Unlike speedlites , where simply pressing the shutter button triggers the on-camera flash, studio lights require a triggering device.
This goes on top of the camera, usually sits on the hot shoe, for example, and then when you press the shutter button it sends the signal to the pack or to the receiver and that will fire the flash at exactly the right moment. Now that you understand the basics of studio lighting , you may be asking what studio lighting kit you actually need to get started.
At the very least, you can get great creative results using just one studio light — even just one bare bulb studio light!
Once you've got your light, the next step is to think about what type of photography you enjoy. This will help you determine what modifiers , lighting stands and other accessories you'll need. To help give you a better idea of what equipment you may need, I've listed a few of our classes below that use minimal equipment for you to take a look at.
I hope this has helped clear up some of the confusion about studio lighting. We have one of the most comprehensive courses on studio lighting , where you'll find everything from explanations on lighting theory to demonstrations of different modifiers. Below are just a few of our popular courses related to studio lighting.
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