An Interesting Two-Light Setup for Professional Portraits

Portrait lighting does not always have to be expensive or overly complicated. This excellent video tutorial will show you a professional portrait lighting setup that only requires two speedlights, two shoot-through umbrellas, and a reflector.

Coming to you from our good friend, Pye Jirsa, with Adorama TV, this great video tutorial will show you an interesting portrait lighting technique Jirsa refers to as "light stacking," a name derived from the placement of the two lights. One thing I really like about this technique is that Jirsa creates fantastic professional-level shots using just two speedlights, shoot-through umbrellas, and a reflector. No doubt, there is a place for more expensive and niche modifiers, but when you are just starting out, a speedlight and umbrella are far more affordable and will help you master fundamentals like light-falloff and relative source size and its effect on the softness of light. Once you have gotten these down, you will likely have developed a personal style that will guide you in choosing more esoteric modifiers and dedicated studio lights for your work. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Jirsa.

If you would like to learn more about effective lighting for portraiture, be sure to check out "Illuminating The Face: Lighting for Headshots and Portraits With Peter Hurley!"