Lighting: A First-Time Buyer's Guide
April 05, 2019
While ambient light can look extraordinary, it’s not always easy (or possible) to tame or predict. At worst it could be terrible or non-existent, and that’s why artificial lighting is so important to both photographers and filmmakers. Lighting gives you the control and the power to turn your vision into a reality. Natural, lurid, clean or evocative…when it comes to aesthetic effects, lighting offers virtually endless possibilities.
There are two main types of lighting:
- Flash (used for photography) and
- Continuous (used for video and photography).
Understanding each will help you decide which option/s will best achieve the shot or clip you’re after.
Here’s an introductory guide to flash and continuous lighting.
Flash
Available in the form of a speedlight or studio strobe, photographic flash emits a spit-second, high-powered flash of light that (with the aid of a radio trigger) can be timed with the pressing of your camera’s shutter. Multiple (compatible) flash units can all be fired simultaneously.
Flash generates enough light for a correct exposure even at high shutter speeds, thus enabling photographers to ‘freeze’ motion. The power controls on a flash unit usually correspond with exposure increments, allowing you to precisely adjust the light’s brightness in sync with your aperture, shutter speed or ISO.
Speedlights
Why use speedlights?
- To freeze motion – e.g. fast-moving subjects such as children, animals, dancers, athletes, water drops/splashes
- To add illumination where needed (either as a key or fill light)
- When you’re on the go (e.g. at a wedding or event)
- To use in a tight space
Speedlights are especially suitable for:
- Wedding photography
- Event photography
- Location portrait/lifestyle photography
Key advantages of speedlights:
- Very portable
- Convenient, flexible
- Allow you to freeze motion
- More powerful than a camera’s built-in flash
- Can usually be set to ‘auto’ (i.e. ‘through the lens’ (TTL)) or manual mode to give you full creative control
Main drawbacks of speedlights:
- Less powerful and long-lasting than studio flash
- Harder to preview or modify as precisely as studio lights
- Longer recycle time than studio lights
- Harder to master than continuous light
Strobes / Studio Lighting
Commonly used in studios but also on location, strobes are flashes fuelled by electricity, battery packs or rechargeable batteries, making them powerful, long-lasting and often portable. A strobe’s power source may be separate (which makes the flash head lighter in weight) or built in, i.e. a monolight. Strobes’ power enables you to illuminate a larger or more distant subject; overpower the sun on an outdoor shoot; and use a narrower aperture, lower ISO and/or higher shutter speed.
Mounted on stands or suspended from the ceiling, strobes can be precisely positioned and directed as desired – ideal for achieving a consistent result. Various light shapers/modifiers (e.g. umbrellas, soft boxes, barn doors) can be attached to strobes to shape and channel the light.
For strobes to work properly, you need a compatible trigger and receiver (which may be built into the flash unit, or a separate item). The trigger attaches to your camera’s hotshoe and fires the flash (via the receiver) when the shutter is pressed. Additional flash units—known as ‘slaves’—can be fired simultaneously; usually they’re triggered by the light from the receiving (‘master’) flash.
Why use studio lighting (strobes)?
- To freeze motion – e.g. fast-moving subjects such as children, animals, dancers, athletes, water drops/splashes
- To illuminate a wide area or distant subject
- To overpower the sun on an outdoor shoot
- So you can narrow your aperture (for greater depth of field), lower your ISO and/or increase your shutter speed
- To precisely control the intensity, nature and/or direction of light (to create a specific look
- To achieve a consistent look throughout a shoot, and so minimise post-processing time
- For unpredictable scenarios where you don’t know how much light you’ll need
Studio lighting is especially suitable for:
- Portrait photography
- Fashion photography
- Product photography
- Interior / real estate photography
Key advantages of studio lighting:
- Allow you to freeze motion
- Powerful and long-lasting
- Lots of modifiers available (more options than speedlights)
- Relatively portable
- Can produce sharper results than continuous light
- Faster recharge time than speedlights
Main drawbacks of studio lighting:
- Most flash heads get quite hot during use and need to cool before you can handle them
- Costlier and usually heavier and bulkier than speedlights
- Harder to master than continuous light
Continuous Lighting (LED)
For film or video shooters, continuous or constant lighting (measured in brightness/’lumens’ rather than power/’Watts’) is the only lighting option. Though less powerful than flash (and therefore unable to freeze motion, but more conducive to wide apertures), it’s also becoming more and more popular for photography thanks to modern cameras’ superior performance at high ISO values.
Unlike flash, which is only suitable for shooting individual frames, continuous lighting is—as its name suggests—always on. So you don’t need any triggers/receivers and can see exactly how the light and shadows will look in-camera before and while shooting. It also means there’s no recharge time, so you can shoot through subtle changes in a subject’s poses as quickly as your camera will allow. And because continuous light doesn’t flash, it won’t startle subjects such as babies or animals.
There are many types of continuous lighting (including halogen, tungsten and fluorescent), but LED lighting has become the most popular. Continuous LED lights have numerous advantages over the other types: they’re cool to touch, lighter in weight, durable, highly energy efficient, dimmable and often colour adjustable. Powered by battery or electricity, they’re incredibly long lasting. And they come in a myriad of different forms, e.g. panels, ring lights, waterproof cubes. Many feature built-in diffusion (which creates a soft, even, cinematic sort of light) and there’s an ever-growing range of compatible lighting modifiers to choose from.
Why use continuous LED lighting?
- To illuminate a set or subject for video recording
- To see exactly how the light will look, before and while photographing
- To shoot through subtle changes in a subject’s poses
- To avoid startling your subject
- If you need to position the light close to a heat-sensitive subject (e.g. person, food, cold object, lighting gels)
Continuous LED lighting is especially suitable for:
- Video recording
- Portrait photography
- Product photography
- Food photography
Key advantages of continuous LED lighting:
- Previews in real-time exactly how the light will look
- Simpler than flash, and doesn’t require triggers/receivers
- Unlike flash or older types of continuous light (e.g. halogen), LED bulbs stay quite cool
- Energy efficient
- Colour temperature adjustable (in some cases)
- Relatively portable
- Easier to use with wide apertures
- No recharge time
Main drawbacks of continuous LED lighting:
- Less powerful than flash, and not powerful enough for certain applications (e.g. overpowering the sun)
- Can’t freeze motion
- Fewer options of modifiers available compared to strobes (though this is changing)
- Results aren’t always as sharp as with flash
Tip for Buyers
Colour Rendering Index (CRI) measures the ability of a light to reveal a subject’s colours accurately. The higher the number, the more accurate the colours will appear in your images. Opt for continuous lights rated with a CRI of 90+.
The Best of Both Worlds
As you can see, flash and continuous lighting each have their distinct pros and cons. One or the other may not always work best for every situation so—whether you shoot stills, video or both—it’s great to have both options.
Some products actually incorporate both flash and continuous light (such as the Profoto B10). Alternatively, many studio strobes have a modelling light that’s designed to let you preview the effects of the flash. This can double as a continuous light, although modelling lights can get very hot if left on for long periods and aren’t necessarily as precise in output or colour temperature as a dedicated continuous light.
FAQs
How many lights do I need?
A surprising amount can be achieved with one light (and, ideally, a reflector such as those made by Lastolite). However, we recommend two or more lights (to act as a key light plus one or more of a fill light, hair light and background light) for much greater flexibility and potential. They allow you to illuminate larger spaces, objects or groups of people, and achieve more sophisticated results.
Is it worth buying a lighting kit?
Lighting kits—studio flash or continuous—usually include a range of essential, compatible items (such as stands and modifiers) that present excellent value for money.
Depending on your budget, you may prefer to acquire individual elements as you need them. When planning future purchases, just remember that certain products/accessories will only work with certain systems.
Price vs quality
As with many things, you usually get what you pay for with photographic lighting. Cheap lighting is often inconsistent in output and colour temperature (which means more work in post-production) and, in the case of flash, takes longer to recycle. High quality lights from a reputable brand will perform much more consistently and reliably…and last much longer.
Find Out More
We hope this guide sheds light (excuse the pun) on the possibilities afforded by flash and continuous lighting and what kind of setup might be best for your photography or videography.
Browse our lighting range online or in store, or if you have any questions get in touch with our knowledgeable team.