This Amazing Video Will Teach You 17 Lighting Setups for Awesome Photos

If you're a wedding or portrait photographer, knowing a variety of lighting setups is crucial to overcoming environmental limitations and getting the shots you want. This amazingly comprehensive video will teach you 17 lighting setups and even give you a memorization story to remember them.

Coming to you from Trevor Dayley and MagMod, this great video is Dayley's hour-long lighting class from WPPI 2018. If you're shooting weddings or on-location portraits, you don't always get the choice of great scenery, and a big part of overcoming that and cementing your personal style is the lighting you choose. In the video, Dayley will take you through 17 different setups. For reference, Dayley is using a Godox flash and MagMod modifiers, though you can of course achieve these setups with almost any set of lights with the appropriate modifiers. Here's a guide to the video:

  • Introduction: 1:33
  • Memorization story: 12:25
  • One light: 20:44
  • Cross light: 22:42
  • Double rainbow: 25:30
  • Changing sky: 28:45
  • Clamshell light: 34:23
  • Beam light: 35:40
  • Rim light: 38:35
  • Split light: 40:51
  • Ninja light: 42:00
  • Blackout light: 44:30
  • Explosion of light: 50:47
  • Seeing colors light: 55:36
  • Fireworks light: 59:58
  • Stadium light: 1:03:49
  • Side light: 1:06:00
  • Cigar light: 1:08:20
  • Triangle light: 1:11:56
  • Review of all setups and demonstration pictures: 1:15:24

And of course, if you have trouble remembering the story, you can also write down the setups on a note card and keep them in your pocket. Happy shooting! 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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3 Comments

Thanks for the index. That really helps a lot for long videos like this. :-)

I thought to myself... "AN HOUR AND 23 MINUTES!? Ain't nobody got time for that!" Then I sat down to watch just a few minutes of it and an hour and 23 minutes later I'm leaving this comment. Great video!

Right? Totally worth it!