Creating Three Different Looks With a Single Light

It can be easy to think that you need complex multi-light setups to create professional portraits, but you might be surprised by just how much you can accomplish with a single light. This excellent video will show you three different portrait looks you can create with just a single light.

Coming to you from Mark Wallace with Adorama TV, this helpful video shows three different portrait looks you can create when using only one light. If you are new to artificial lighting, I think it is very important to start with just a single light. There are certainly plenty of examples of fantastic images out there created with two, three, or even more lights, but one light can still make excellent portraits. Furthermore, when you are new to the practice, sticking with a single unit can help you learn the properties of light, such as how relative size affects its hardness, falloff, and more. Once you feel confident in controlling the properties of that light to fulfill your creative visions, then it is time to start adding more sources and creating more complex setups. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Wallace. 

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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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