There’s a common misconception in portrait photography that better photographs come from buying better lights.
Spend enough money on the latest LED panel or flash system and somehow your portraits will magically become more dramatic, more creative or more cinematic.
If only it were that easy. The truth is that beautiful portraits rarely begin with the equipment. They begin with learning to see light.
That was the focus of our recent evening workshop at the studio, where, together with The Societies of Photographers, ten photographers joined us to explore the creative possibilities of continuous light.
Why continuous light?
One of the things I love most about continuous light is that it removes the mystery.
Unlike flash, where you often need to take a photograph before you know what the light is doing, continuous light lets you see everything unfold in real time. As you move the light, your subject or even yourself, you immediately see how the portrait changes.
It’s one of the quickest ways to develop an understanding of light, regardless of what camera you use. For many photographers, it’s a real lightbulb moment. (Excuse the pun!)
Keeping things simple
We began with a single light. Not because it was all we had, but because one light is often all you need.
Before thinking about colour, modifiers or special effects, we spent time looking at direction, quality and how small movements could completely transform a portrait.
Watching everyone start to notice these subtle changes was one of the highlights of the evening. Once you begin to recognise beautiful light, you start seeing opportunities everywhere.
Great portraits don’t need expensive equipment
As the evening progressed, we gradually introduced different light sources.
Alongside the fantastic Elinchrom continuous lights, we also worked with SmallRig LED lights, an ordinary household light bulb, a simple torch and a selection of gobos.
The equipment changed. The principles didn’t. Whether we were using professional lighting or something you might already have in a kitchen drawer, the questions stayed exactly the same.
Where is the light coming from?
What is it doing to the face?
What happens if we move it just a few inches?
How does the mood change if we introduce shadow?
Learning to answer those questions is far more valuable than simply learning how a particular light works.
Adding atmosphere
Once everyone was comfortable with the fundamentals, we started to play.
Colour entered the room. Simple gobos created texture and shape. A torch became a creative tool rather than just something to find your keys and of course we added smoke!
What had started as straightforward portrait lighting quickly evolved into dramatic, cinematic images with remarkably little equipment.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for many people was just how much could be achieved with so little. It was never about having more lights. It was about using the right light with purpose.
Looking beyond the equipment
By the end of the workshop, I don’t think anyone was particularly interested in which light had created which photograph.
Instead, conversations had shifted towards why the light worked.
For me, that’s always the goal; cameras change, lighting equipment evolves, New products appear every year but understanding light is a skill that stays with you throughout your photographic journey.
If our delegates left the studio seeing light a little differently than when they arrived, then I’d call that a very successful evening.
A huge thank you must go to our wonderful model, Bryony, whose patience and ability to adapt to every lighting setup made the evening such a pleasure to teach and to everyone who joined us together with The Society of Photographers for arranging the workshop.
It was a brilliant evening of learning, experimenting and creating together, and I can’t wait to see how everyone develops these ideas in their own photography.
