5 Easy Studio Setups With One Light

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more. In this tutorial I am going demonstrate �ve ways to

use a single light source to good eect, with a variety of

subjects. Even though each of these images was created

with a speci�c modi�er, each setup will work with most

any modi�er of your choice. For example, you could swap

a softbox for a beauty dish. This will alter the shape andsoftness of the light but you will still get good results.

Some of the techniques also use a silver reector.

If you don’t have a reector, you can get a large piece of

cardboard and glue a sheet of aluminium foil to it.

Another option is to use a mirror. You don’t even need a

strobe or ash to make these techniques work; window

light, with a bit of extra eort can produce the same

eects.

Here are �ve easy studio setups with one light you can try

yourself.

Setup #1

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5 Easy Studio Setups With One Light http://digital-photography-school.com/5-easy-stu

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Simplicity in technique is the aim of this �rst image. The

light source is a strobe �tted with a medium sized

softbox. It is positioned about �ve feet away from the

subject, elevated about four feet above, and pointeddown at a 45 degree angle. The camera is directly under

the softbox (this is called Buttery lighting).

Lighting diagram for light placement

The centre of the softbox is pointed to the left of the

model (camera right) with only the edge of the light

source directly falling on her. This technique is called

feathering. It is useful for controlling and �ne-tuning the

light in a scene, and helps to soften light from a harder

modi�er such as an 110 degree reector.

If you don’t think you’re ready to try feathering just yet, try

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What do you wish youhad a betterunderstanding of whenyou �rst startedphotography that you

know now?

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Shutter speed

ISO

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to aim your light source at your subject’s nose instead.

Setup #2

To create dramatic lighting in your photos, try lighting

your subject from behind. This image of my dog is lit by a

softbox placed at a 45 degree angle behind her at camera

left. The softbox is just out of the left-hand side of theframe and is very close to the subject. Because she is

black and white, there is a huge amount of contrast in the

scene. This left the shadow areas closest to the camera

very dark. To �x this, you would introduce a reector. The

reector is also only just out of the frame on the

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right-hand side. Bringing it in close allows you to increase

the amount of reected light �lling in the dark shadows.

Setup #3

For added versatility, you can combine the previous two

techniques. This image is again lit by a softbox six feet

behind the pastry and elevated about �ve feet above.

Instead of pointing the light source at the pastry, it is

aimed straight ahead so that the softbox is not directly

illuminating the subject. This is a more extreme version of

feathering that creates beautifully soft light.


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When you feather the light in this way, be aware that you

are lighting the scene with a only a tiny fraction of your

ash’s output. You will need to compensate by altering

your ISO, increasing the ashes power output or altering

your aperture.

To �ll in the shadows created by the backlighting, use

your silver reector.

Setup #4


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If you want to create images with more contrast in your

light than a softbox provides, try using a silver beauty

dish. The light source in this photo is slightly to the right

of the camera and is three feet away from the subject.

The bottom edge of the beauty dish is lined up with the

top of the model’s head, again creating the feathering

eect. To �ll in the shadows, ask your model to hold the

reector pointed towards her chin and just out of theframe.

Setup #5

If you prefer really soft light, you need to increase the sizeof your light source in relation to your subject. The

obvious ways to do this are to move your light source

closer to your subject, or to use a bigger modi�er.

Alternatively, you can bounce your light into a wall or a


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ceiling, converting that surface into your light source.

To imitate the lighting in this image, �t your light source

with a bare reector and point it into the corner of a

room. Be wary of o-coloured walls though; the slightest

deviation from white can cause colour casts in your

images that take a lot of time to correct. If you’re shootingblack and white, then colour casts are irrelevant and you

can bounce your light from just about any surface you can

imagine.

As you can see, you don’t need piles of equipment to get

the most out of the studio. A single strobe, a modi�er or

two, and a reector will provide you limitless creative

opportunities for your photography. Go ahead and alter

these suggestions to suit your needs and style and don’t

be afraid to experiment, there really are an in�nitenumber ways to use this modest amount of equipment.

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5 Easy Studio Setups With One Light