Photography Lighting

May 22, 2017

A Constant Light: LED Lighting Solutions
Today’s LED lights are brighter, cheaper and better than ever, and ready for your studio
David Schloss
LED lighting
The flash of a strobe is intertwined so closely with the identity of a photographer that it has always been the signal in entertainment that a character is a photographer. Think, for instance, of film-noir dramas, where a news reporter catches a shot of a mobster—their Speed Graphic camera is always seen with a large, round Graflex flashgun popping... Read more
April 17, 2017

DIY High-Power Video Or Still Light For Under $200
We made our own 11,200 lumen LED lighting solution that’s lightweight and durable. Check out the how-to video.
David Schloss
LED lighting solutions
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... Read more
August 16, 2016

Bright, Soft And Portable
LED lighting matures, giving a whole new set of possibilities
David Schloss
It’s odd to think that today’s LED lights—bright, low-power and lightweight—are related to the LED lights of the late 1960s and 1970s. Anyone of a certain age who suffered from insomnia or rolled into bed after a night of partying is familiar with the persistent, obnoxious glow of a bedside alarm clock. Who knew that the technology used to... Read more
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July 19, 2016

Studio In The Wild
Battery powered lights have really come into their own. Here’s a rundown of great location lights that work even when you’re far afield.
By William Sawalich
Studio In The Wild
Want to bring studio lighting control into the great outdoors? You can, with a wide array of battery-powered location lighting tools. From small flashes to high-power strobes and LEDs, there’s a wealth of great options for bringing studio-style lighting to the most remote locations. Strobes When you think about going on location with strobes, the... Read more
February 29, 2016

High-Tech Studio: Nontraditional Photography Lighting

Expand your creativity with these nontraditional uses of lighting tools

By Ellis Vener
Mastering softboxes, beauty dishes, reflectors, gobos and spots is all part of the job of the commercial photographer. Having the ability to dig into a bag of lighting tricks and come up with a “solution” to a challenging shoot is all in a day’s work. A masterful photographer, though, keeps looking for new solutions to problems, even before they... Read more
January 19, 2016

Battery Powered Monolights for Photography

With a combination of portability, power, versatility and the ability to be used away from an AC outlet, battery-powered monolights are gaining an increasing following among professional photographers

The Editors
Monolights are self-contained pro flash units that plug into standard AC wall sockets, no separate power pack needed. All the controls are on the flash head—no need to move to a power pack to adjust power and other settings (although many newer monolights feature standard or optional remote controls). Some monolights can also operate from battery... Read more
September 7, 2015

DPP Solutions: Lighting In A Box

The Elinchrom BRX 500/500 two-light kit provides on-location lighting that’s on par with studio gear back home

By David Schloss
Location photographers often have to make compromises when it comes to lighting, opting to carry an unreasonable amount of lighting gear in order to achieve a look similar to studio lighting, or dramatically scale back the power and performance of the studio for weight and cost savings. The Elinchrom BRX 500/500 two-light to-go set aims to address those... Read more
July 7, 2015

Hi-Tech Studio: Strobes On The Go

With a combination of light weight, portability and high power, monolights are serious tools for wedding photographers who need more than an on-camera flash

By The Editors
There are two basic types of studio flash: powerpack-and-heads systems and monolights. The former provides a lot of power and control, but is a bit unwieldy, and the cables connecting the lamp heads to the powerpack are just waiting to trip someone. Monolights are self-contained; the lamp head and the powerpack are built into a single unit. Like the... Read more
April 10, 2014

Special Lighting Guide: Lights!

In a still photography world, strobes were the gold standard of professional lighting gear.

By William Sawalich
Strobes & Flash In a still photography world, strobes were the gold standard of professional lighting gear. Prized for their combination of power and performance and for their ability to freeze a subject for maximum apparent sharpness, strobes continue to be top-level tools for just about any photo situation. Being a professional photographer... Read more
September 1, 2013

Tools Focusing Light

Create precisely shaped shafts of light with these essential modifiers fitted to your source

Text And Photography By William Sawalich
With almost all types of studio lighting, precision is paramount. Whether it’s separating a portrait subject from the background or placing a tiny sliver of light on one element in a tabletop still-life setup, when it comes to placing light precisely, broad lighting just won’t cut it. Whether you’re working to eliminate spill or you... Read more
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