A guest post by Allen Mowery

Anyone think it’s difficult or expensive to get professional quality lighting? Here are a couple lighting setups to debunk those myths.

I was inspired to try out a couple ideas that I had generated on the drive home from the office recently, so immediately upon arriving at my abode I furiously turned the living room into a makeshift studio. I was particularly interested in testing this technique on a small scale since I have been wanting to build large, portable diffusion panels for a while now with this particular setup in mind. My three-year-old daughter, having apparently been watching too much America’s Next Top Model lately, willingly volunteered to be my victim, frequently repeating “Work it, work it …” as she made her way through a repertoire of poses.

Setup Time: 2-3 min.

Simple 2-Light Setup

THE SETUP: A DIY diffusion panel was placed behind the subject to act as a simple backdrop. A Vivitar 283 was shot through the diffusion panel at about 1/2 power to brighten the backdrop and act as a rim light, and a Promaster 7000m was fired at full power into a DIY reflective umbrella to camera right at 45 degrees to subject.

Simple 3-Light Setup

THE SETUP: A DIY diffusion panel was placed behind the subject to act as a simple backdrop. A Vivitar 283 was shot through the diffusion panel at about 1/2 power to brighten the backdrop and act as a rim light, and a Promaster 7000m was fired at full power into a DIY reflective umbrella to camera right at 45 degrees to subject. A cheap Pentax flash unit was used to camera left at 1/8 power (with a white sock — yes, a white ankle sock — for diffusion) to act as a fill/cross-light.

Notes

• Keep the light behind the diffusion panel at least a good 2-3 feet away. The further away you have the light the more even it will illuminate the panel/backdrop. Get the light too close, and you will end up with hotspots. Just remember, the further you move the light away the more you might need to increase its power.

• This is a very cost-effective setup. Beyond the cost of your lights (I use cheap, older units that can be purchased from eBay for under $35, including shipping), triggers (I have an eBay-bought, “Made in Hong Kong” set of one trigger and two receivers that I purchased for $24, including shipping, plus a $10 optical slave), and tripods to hold your lights, there is just the cost of the diffusion panel and umbrella, both do-it-yourself projects, in this case. The diffusion panel is small (about 30?x 36?) and is made from PVC pipe and white, translucent material (purchased at a local craft store) for a total cost of about $5-$7. The 39? reflective umbrella (instructions and tutorial here) cost about $10-$13, not including lights and tripod.

• The only reason I used the umbrella in this case was because I haven’t built a second diffusion panel yet. If you were doing this with two panels the cost would be even less.

• Don’t have panels or want to spend the money on creating them? Simply hang a white sheet behind the subject (an adjustable curtain rod in a doorway works great for this…just make sure the sheet is stretched at least semi-taught) and shoot your key light(s) through a second sheet.

• Want to go the absolute cheapest route? Simply use the sheets (as described above) with cheap clamp-on work lights with compact florescent bulbs (with a color temperature as close to 5500K as possible).

How can you take a few photography lighting tips, and change the way you look at images forever?

Wedding Photography
Weddings are by far the most difficult to shoot, and will test your true capabilities as a photographer. In one event, you may have to deal with harsh, bright sunlight streaming onto the wedding party, and trying to capture the bride and groom in a nearly dark reception hall. All with the extremes of a bride in a white gown and a groom in a black tux.

Start by finding the perfect location outside to take advantage of natural light. Whether you are at a church or a reception site, get there a few minutes early and walk around, noticing the direction of sun movement. Find one side with a lot of shade, look for interesting architecture, or a grouping of trees. Remember, you aren’t capturing the entire area in your photographs; you can find great areas that will deliver what you are looking for. Fill in with reflectors and diffusers to soften the light even further.

For your inside images, use a combination of on camera flash and stand alone light sources. Use diffusers to bounce the flash, giving your images a softer look. If the ambiance of the reception site is a dark, romantic look, you don’t want to flood it with harsh, unnatural light. Yet you can set up one or two light sources on the dance floor for all the main action images, and still leave the reception room as the bride and groom intended.

Portrait Photography
Lighting a portrait is similar to wedding photography – without the stress. With portraits, you can choose the time of day for the best lighting.  Find different locations that work best at different times of the day. For example, we have several buildings we shoot at regularly because of their architecture. Some are shaded in the morning, some in the evening. This gives us many options, depending on when we head out to photograph.

To enhance a portrait, use reflectors or diffusers to control the direction of natural light, or consider a fill flash either directly from your camera, or using a stand alone source. Be careful when using flash outdoors so you don’t create a flat look. The idea of being outside is to give your images dimension. Soften the light, adding dimension to the face without flattening the people into the background.

Product or Still Life Photography
The wonderful thing about shooting products or still life is you have the time and flexibility to play. Don’t like the results? Set it up and shoot it again.

First, know what your final image will be used for. Should you use clean lighting? Or can you have some fun, creating harsh shadows and unique lines?

Then play with the combination of lighting sources. We’ve always been fans of natural light. We have a large window with a southern exposure that streams light all day long. We can set up a variety of different backgrounds and props, and use reflectors to get just the right look.

By adding strobes and directional lighting, we can add shadows from the side, or behind the object, bringing out entirely different looks. Don’t be afraid to play. With digital, you can shoot an image dozens of times, all while moving lighting sources a fraction each time. It’s one of the best ways to learn how to light.

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