Amateur Photographer – 13 July 2019

4444 13 July 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

STUDIO lighting can give your

photos a crispness and clarity that

is diffi cult to achieve in any other

way. The quality you can get from

even a basic home studio kit is

immense. As such, this kind

of lighting is ideally suited to

portraiture, still-life photography

and any other subject where

maximum quality is key.

Complete control

Studio photographers often talk

about ‘creating’ the shot rather

CONTINUOUS lighting has
become increasingly popular over
the past few years, particularly in
the form of LED units. This kind of
lighting brings a range of benefi ts
over fl ash, especially for the
beginner. First and foremost,
there’s the what-you-see-is-what-
you-get factor. Being able to
eyeball the light source makes
it easier to judge than fl ash, so
there’s no call for test shots or
light meters, and no need to make

Testbench GUIDE TO LIGHTING

The benefi ts

of LEDs

Studio lighting

essentials

than ‘taking’ it. When in the studio,

we have ultimate control over

many of the factors that go into

our fi nal shot. By positioning

the lights, we control where the

highlights and shadows fall. By

using modifi ers, we control the

quality and softness of the light. By

adjusting the output, we control

the depth of fi eld and by altering

the ratios between our lights, we

control the contrast. This might

sound like a lot to take in and learn

but the results can be well worth it.

tricky exposure calculations. You

can simply direct the light at the

subject, tweak the power until it

looks right, then start shooting. Of

course, this also makes LEDs very

useful for shooting video.

Controlling the colour

Colour temperature control is

another benefi t. Flashes will have a

fi xed colour temperature – usually

around 5600K. This can pose a

problem if you want to balance

Westcott’s Ice Light 2 has a

removable battery that lasts an

hour at full power

If you want to see how the lights have been positioned, look at the subject’s
eyes. Here it’s clear two softboxes have been placed either side of the camera

On a portrait shoot a Rotolight AEOS LED can provide a subtle lift to the face