BIG Studio Lighting in small Spaces Workshop - Online
The focus of this workshop is to give you the tools and knowledge to read and understand big studio lighting setups, but also the skills and confidence to implement those setups no matter the space you have to work with.
After many years of delivering workshops around the world, one thing keeps coming up time and time again as an excuse for not practicing studio lighting. The reason many people quote for not improving their studio lighting, is a lack of space and equipment to test ideas.
Not having a professional photographic studio nearby to experiment, learn and practice your lighting shouldn’t be a reason for not improving because so many great, big studio lighting setups can be performed in the smallest of spaces and with limited equipment…. if the proper light control is applied.
‘But how can this be possible? Surely you need big open studio spaces to create big beautiful light.’
Thankfully, no matter what size studio space you have, one thing is always universally consistent, light and it’s this constant that enables us to learn how to control and adapt our lighting, regardless of the space you have.
Whether your studio is big or small, light has very defined characteristics. This means that if there’s a lighting setup you like that was created in a big studio, we can take those same lighting characteristics and implement them in a small studio space to create the same look even if that means we have to change the technique. Remember, its the final look that were trying to achieve and with the right lighting knowledge, that’s easier than you think.
What We’ll be Learning in this Lighting Workshop
How to read lighting - I’ll be giving you the skills and knowledge to look at lighting and understand its characteristics. It’s with this knowledge that we’re able to implement that same lighting in whatever studio space we have.
How to control the light - Controlling the light is not just about what flash modifier you use, but how you control the light in small spaces where light is prone to bouncing around.
How to spot and manage colour contamination - When shooting in small spaces on location, you’ll often encounter nearby colours that can contaminate our final shot. In this workshop we’ll go over how to spot this and what steps to take to ensure a clean and crisp lighting, free of those colour contaminants.
Background variety in small spaces - If we’re shooting from a home studio, we can get tired of the very limited background choices. In this workshop we’ll discuss a wide variety of alternative backgrounds that are very space conscious but also incredibly affordable.
Plus: I’ll also share how I make my own DIY mottled backdrops very easily and affordably.
Space saving equipment - When we’re shooting in big studios we can get used to some of the bigger modifiers and booms that come with those spaces. In this workshop I’ll share what tools I use to recreate that lighting in smaller spaces and the pieces of equipment I use to achieve those looks.
6 big studio lighting setups for small spaces - Of course the main focus of the day will be lighting and photographing our model and this workshop will teach you 6 lighting setups that can be shot in practically any size space.
-As with all of my online workshops, all the information and notes taught during this course are provided via an extensive PDF.
Lighting Setups Taught
Setup 1: Dynamic One Light
First off, we’ll look at a seemingly complicated lighting setup that is in actuality an incredibly simple ONE light setup. This first setup is an excellent example of how you can take a complicated multi-light setup and with an understanding of how light works, redevelop it for smaller spaces with only a single light. And when I say smaller spaces, I mean this shot can be achieved in a small corridor if needed!
Setup 2: Coloured Fill Portrait
This next setup is a development of the first one, but with the addition of a couple of lights, we can really begin to add more control and shape back into our lighting. Plus, we can now add creative elements like coloured gels too.
Setup 3: Indoor Sunlight
This next setup sees us switching gears as we now look to bring that big and bright natural light look into our small studio setup. With this lighting technique we can create razor-sharp shadows in a small space using cost effective modifiers. This technique is easy to master in bigger studios with fancy modifiers but in small spaces where light can bounce around and ruin the look, we need to understand how to control the light after it’s left the modifier.
Setup 4: Feathered Light Portrait
In this next setup, we’ll look at how you can create your own DIY mottled backdrop like we see pictured here. They are very easy to make and actually cost very little to create. Plus, they’re made in such a way that makes them easy to transport to a location shoot without ruining them too.
In this 4th lighting technique I’ll show you how to light this backdrop and model with only two lights. This setup utilises the ‘feathering’ technique to evenly light a large backdrop from edge to edge in a small space with only a single light. A very powerful and useful technique that has many applications both in the studio and on-location.
Setup 5: Editorial Portrait
For our fifth setup, I’ll develop and expand on the previous technique to enable you to take more creative control if you have additional lights to use. With this setup we explore how to separate light and shadow on the subject with multiple lights and how to control that with appropriate modifiers in tighter spaces.
Setup 6: Sculpted White Background Portraits
For our final setup, we’ll look at one of my new favourite lighting techniques. The reason I’ve fallen in love with this setup recently is due to the utterly stunning range of shape and form this lighting creates on the subject. Look at the images here and you’ll see the amount of highlight and shadow range we have across the body. It’s this range of visual dimension in lighting that really makes the subject stand out in a shot. And yes, miraculously all of this is created in a small studio space using refined lighting techniques and light control instead expensive modifiers and big studio spaces.
Included with this lighting workshop…
30+ page PDF of workshop notes
Studio lighting kit list including instructions on DIY modifiers
All 3D lighting diagrams for lighting setups
18 Lightroom Presets specifically for the lighting setups taught in this workshop
