Basic lighting guides

Garry Edwards

Garry Edwards

Moderator
Messages
13,475
Name
Garry Edwards
Edit My Images
No
thought these basic guides may be helpful, especially to people just starting out.

They're in pdf format, so you'll need Adobe Acrobat on your computer. If you don't have it, or if you only have an old version, you can download it from here
An intro to Portrait Photography - a very basic guide to get you started. Portrait photography

Photography shiny still life subjects - a lot of people find this subject difficult, it's easy really, once you know what's involved. Shiny still life subejcts

Lighting equipment - explains the various types of lighting and its advantages/disadvantages. Studio lighting

And one on Ringflash photography - not everyone's cup of tea but there's very little info available on the web, so I've included it here. Ringflash photography There's also a short video here.
To avoid confusion, I ought to point out that there are 2 versions of this video, this is the one that doesn't have the makers' name on it.

Hope these guides are useful. Feel free to link to them but please don't change them in any way.
 
Hi Gary - It may just be me, (or my old computer here at work,) but when trying to open the guides, it prompts me for a "Master password"? :shrug::)
 
worked for me - v good too!
 
ianwilliams said:
Hi Gary - It may just be me, (or my old computer here at work,) but when trying to open the guides, it prompts me for a "Master password"? :shrug::)
Click to expand...

It shouldn't, it may be that your version of Acrobat can't read them.
 
Been looking for some lighting guides so thanks loads for this - most helpful..

Paul
 
I've just added a new one, which may interest tight b*stards like me who hate spending money
It's about how to improve a cheap softbox and make it every bit as good as an expensive one. Improving softboxes the Heath Robinson way
 
I bought his wedding guide a short while back, worth getting!
 
Thanks for that Garry. Extremely helpful will definatly be buying your wedding guide soon.
 
exellent Garry well informative :thumbs:
 
Thank you Garry, very informative. I'm just starting out with portraiture and looking to get a flash for my Canon 400D and thinking of going with a 430EX speedlight and an off shoe cord or perhaps even a wireless remote like the ST-E2.

Any thoughts on this as my first steps?
 
Oxygen said:
Thank you Garry, very informative. I'm just starting out with portraiture and looking to get a flash for my Canon 400D and thinking of going with a 430EX speedlight and an off shoe cord or perhaps even a wireless remote like the ST-E2.

Any thoughts on this as my first steps?
Click to expand...

It depends. If what you want is a very portable setup that's better (much) than an on-camera flash, then it may be right for you.

But it's an expensive option, especially if you expand the system later, and it won;t produce anywhere near the amount of creative control, ability to pre-visulalise the results or power of even the cheapest studio flashes.

My field of interest/expertise is studio, using real studio flash so perhaps I'm a bit biased. You may want to take a look at the Strobist site, where you'll find a lot of helpful articles on using hotshoe flashes - but be aware that their methods are really designed for journalists who need to produce some kind of shot with a minimum of time and equipment, not people who want to progress further.
 
@oxygen
I have the st-e2 trigger and 2 x 430ex flashes and I've had some terrific results (and fun) with them. I do also have a small studio with 4 x flash-heads which does allow more scope. But I have to say that I prefer working with the st-e2 set-up when doing portraiture and still-lifes.

@Garry
Thanks for the fantastic articles - I'm off to experiment this afternoon!
 
I've added some more introductory guides, on How to choose which studio lights to buy, Using Fresnel Spotlights, Using Beauty Dishes and How to test the colour temperature of your lights.

To keep things simple, it's probably best just to give you the link to the download page.

Hope you find them useful.
 
Update:
I've updated and expanded my How to choose which studio lights to buy intro. It now includes a section on how much power you're likely to need, so my separate guide on power is now redundant and I've taken it down.

My separate guide on Introduction to lighting equipment partly overlaps with the updated 'How to choose your studio lights) but as it still contains some unique info I've left it up.

The complete range of free guides is under 'More free downloads' here

Any suggestions for future guides welcome
 
Thanks for the informative links... Here is another link to a great series of informative short video tutorials.

I am always impressed with the wealth of information available, free of charge, on the Internet today...

http://www.prophotolife.com/video-library/
 
Just great thanks garry
 
There you go, yet another of my boring guides for people starting out.

This one is on lighting modifiers and can be found on this page by clicking on 'Introduction to light modifiers, part 1'
 
Hi Gary,
I was just trying to look at your how much power guide, but I get the 404 error. I'm looking at the lencarta range, and want a light source for location, some times to over power the sun. Underexposing the background by a stop then using the light to expose the model/subject. This may be at ISO100, f11/16, the soft box would be quite close to the model, and probably quite large. What would you recommend.

I was initially looking at ringflash, but I think a soft box would be better, and maybe ringflash further down the line. It's for glamour/fashion work.
Thanks.
 
The link to How to choose which studio lights works for me, here is the url for it http://www.photolearn.co.uk/free_pdf/How to choose your studio lights.pdf

The Lencarta Safari will do everything you need on your location shoots. Softbox or ringflash is a difficult one though, partly personal preference and partly the fact that no one tool can do everything.

In my experience there are 2 problems with softboxes on location - transport and the wind, which can turn any softbox into a sail...

This folding softbox will take care of the transport problem, windy weather is best dealt with by weighing the lighting stand down with heavy stones or even (as I've had to do a few times) by tying the stand off to a couple or preferably 3 nearby trees
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top