First off, let me make it clear that I'm no expert when it comes to studio lighting. I've always been a little intimidated by it, mostly due to lack of experience. With that being said, there's no way I'm going to write a comprehensive study of studio lighting techniques today. Instead, I'm going to give a "fist impression" of my crash-course in lighting I received this weekend.
I was fortunate enough to attend a year-end party/networking event for local photographers and models. It was held on a Saturday in a large studio that had lots of different locations and lights that we could use. Having lots of lights, lots of space and lots of models to work with is an experience that can be very overwhelming or extremely rewarding. I was richly rewarded.
There were many different lighting setups that I was able to use, but I'm going to focus on four of them here. They include a softbox, a strobe with a honeycomb grid, a beauty dish and a hot light in a softbox. They all have their specific uses and they can all give different looks. Here's my take on each one...
Softbox:
This is probably the most common studio light. Take a big flash, put it inside of a fabric box to diffuse and shape the light and you're ready to make some pretty pictures. Depending on the size of the softbox (they can range from 2'x2' squares to 8' octagons and larger), the light can either light a specific part of a subject or fill an entire room. Most of the setups on Saturday used at least one softbox. The image you see below used the same setup as seen in the above image, which was three softboxes (two of which you can see). The two that are visible on the sides of the photo were used to "rim" the subjects and separate them from the background. The main light was provided by a large (maybe 4'x4') softbox in front of the scene.
Honeycomb Grid:
This is a specific attachment that goes on a strobe. Instead of putting the strobe in a softbox to soften the light, it's left exposed which gives a much harsher light. If you just fire a strobe, though, the light tends to spread out and light everything in front of it. By attaching a honeycomb grid to the front of the strobe, the light is focused into a defined beam of light (somewhat like a snoot, but the light is not as shaped and defined). It almost gives a spotlight effect. In the image below, you can see how quickly the light falls off into darkness. The hardest thing about shooting with this light was the if the model moved just a bit, they quickly moved out of the light and into shadow.
Beauty Dish:
This is another attachment that goes on the front of a strobe. It also shapes and directs the light, but it gives a much different shape of light. It's basically a big, shallow bowl that gently throws all of the light on your subject but without the harsh edges of a honeycomb grid. It's called a beauty dish because it produces a very flattering light source. I was able to use this one light to create the three images you see below. The first was shot almost directly in front of the beauty dish, which gives nice, even lighting. The second was shot off to the side, which gives a little more dramatic shadows. The third was shot much closer to the dish and with it placed to the extreme side of the subject. It also had a "sock" over it to diffuse the light (much like a softbox). One light, three very different looks. This might be my favorite light modifier.
Hot light:
If the beauty dish is my favorite light modifier, the hotlight might be my favorite light. I have lots of experience working with natural light. In some ways it's easier because what you see is what you get. The sun is a constant light source. A hot light is also a constant light source. It's really just a big, bright lightbulb. You turn it on, you set your camera to whatever you want without worrying about strobe sync speeds and lighting ratios, and you shoot. When placed inside of a softbox, a hot light produces some absolutely gorgeous, soft light. The shot below was taken with a hot light placed inside of a softbox.
Before Saturday, I would say my experience with studio lighting was minimal at best. Now that I've had time to get inside of a studio and really play around with different lights and modifiers, I think I might be hooked. There is so much possibility and so many options once you're in the controlled environment of a studio, you are only limited by your imagination (and budget). Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to quit taking photos outdoors. Instead of that being my only option, I'll consider using a studio an option as well.
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