Creative Struggles: Lighting Up Your Set
- Rent A Set Studio
- 47 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Other than needing a camera and a subject for the perfect picture, another major key to capturing something great is LIGHTING. How your subject and/or model are lit can drastically change the outcome of a photo. Too much light can cause overexposed (extremely bright) photos, while not enough light can cause underexposed (extremely dark) photos. So how does one determine how much light is needed? What kind of lights to use? What kind of lighting setup is needed? And to be completely honest with you, it all depends on the setting and the vibe of you're trying to capture in your photo. But that doesn't mean we can't give you some base pointers! The two main forms of lighting when it comes to photography are natural light and studio light. While natural light photography depends on the weather conditions and amount of sun, studio light photography is all about strobe lights, constant lights and flashes!
Using strobe lights outdoors can really fill in the shadows caused by the harsh light of the sun and make your model stand out! If you don't have your own or want to use strobes, a reflector can be your savior (and much easier to transport). While the sun is an uncontrollable source of light, your positioning is how you can use that sunlight to your advantage. Having your model face their back towards the sunlight can cause a silhouette effect making your subject completely shadowed out, which can work for some concepts but not all. So if you want the sunlight to shine on your model, make sure the sun is always behind you, if possible. If that is tough to accomplish, that's where our strobe light or reflector can come in to save the day and flash away the harsh shadows from the sunlight.
Now when it comes to studio lights, you have more control of the lighting because there is no sun interfering with your set. Like we've stated before, lighting setups will depend on the look you or your model are looking for in the end result of the photos. But, knowing the kinds of modifiers you can use might help determine that. Strobe lights (as pictured above) will typically come with a soft box that will diffuse or soften the strength of the light on your subject whereas no softbox will cause the light to be harsh on our subject. Softboxes come in all different shapes and sizes that will also adjust the way your model will be lit. There are so many different lighting techniques that give photos a look ranging from professional to moody and editorial. And because of that we've put together a lighting guide just for you that goes into depth on several lighting techniques, what look they achieve and how exactly to achieve them!
Whether you need lighting setup ideas for Headshots or an elegant spotlight birthday shoot, we got you covered with all the tips and tricks you need to light up your concept exactly the way you desire!
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