We’re always looking for ways to save time and money in the studio, so we set out to see if we could create a low-budget but powerful lighting solution for photography and videography.
After wandering the aisles of the local hardware store, we found materials that allowed us to create our very own studio lighting hack—an 11,200 lumen light that we mounted to a light stand, and with just a few additional items, it cost less than $200. Once all the parts were back in the studio, it only took about 10 minutes to build.
The high-powered LED studio light is suitable for both video or stills work. And, since it’s an LED system, it’s also lightweight, and has been pretty durable.
Check out our DIY lighting video on the Digital Photo Pro YouTube page. You can find the details about the materials in the Comments section on the YouTube page, but we’ve also included them below:
Notes:
The light we found is the Lithonia Lighting IBH 11L MVOLT 2-Feet White LED High Bay Light (it’s available on Amazon at Home Depot and other retailers). It was $156 when we bought it.
The VESA light stand adapter is the Kupo Monitor Adapter KG002712 (available on Amazon and several online photo stores). It’s about $30 right now.
You’ll also need a power cord to connect to the unit—we sacrificed an existing extension cord and used some of the electrical end caps we already had, but those all can be bought for less than $10.
