A Simple Two-Light Setup for Dramatic Portraits of Couples

The beauty of artificial lighting is that you can create whatever look you want, wherever and whenever you want. That does not mean things need to be overly complex, however. In fact, just two lights can offer a ton of versatility, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how to use them to create some dramatic and compelling couples portraits. 

Coming to you from our good friend, Pye Jirsa, with Adorama TV, this great video tutorial will show you a simple two-light setup for dramatic couples portraits. As you will see, Jirsa is shooting outdoors, and as such, keeping the setup relatively simple, lightweight, and portable can be a real benefit and can allow you to easily get shots in multiple locations without a ton of setup and breakdown (plus, you do not need to worry about the wind taking your modifiers for an unexpected ride). And while you can absolutely create compelling, professional-level portraits with just a single light, the second light greatly increases the creative potential and is especially useful when you are working with two people and may want to separate them a bit in some of the shots. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Jirsa. 

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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