I was struggling with the title for this one and although it sounds like ridiculous click-bait, this lighting setup really is about using lasers alongside our more traditional studio lights.
I’m someone who gets bored extremely quickly and although there’s probably a modern medical term for that ‘personality trait’ today, I choose to lean into this quality as it typically forces me to keep playing with new ideas AKA ‘be creative’.
With this creative itch always niggling at the back of my brain, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to keep things interesting in the studio. Sure, there is a time and place for tried and true lighting setups, but it’s always fun to break the rules and try something completely different once in a while. With this in mind, I’m continually searching for new ways to illuminate my subjects. Sure, there are thousands of purpose-built lighting modifiers for us to try, but there are also tons of other, far more ‘creative’ ways to illuminate our subjects too.
My wife can attest to this but I have boxes of ‘nerd-shit’ as she calls it, which contain vast numbers of items that emit light. Some of them don’t even emit light at all and an abstract silver fruit bowl and silver-painted satellite dish all patiently await their moment to ‘shine’ in the studio.
I’m not exaggerating either, I really do have boxes of this stuff that I purchase and think ‘I’ll use that one day’ and today was the turn of an old laser pen I’d bought many years ago.
Laser Pen
You’ll be pleased to hear that this week’s setup involves a very affordable light as the light in question is actually just a simple laser pen which can be purchased for around £10 - £15. There’s nothing particularly fancy about these laser pens, although if you want to get some interesting shots with a little variety, I recommend getting one that comes with some additional filters and features. For example, the most common colour these lasers come in is green. I’m not a huge fan of green on the skin for portraits so I’d recommend getting one with either a red or blue variant. The other important thing to look for is the filters that come with them. As we know, all lasers are emitted from a single point and as cool as this is, the single red dot is not very exciting to look at when used in conjunction with studio portraits unless you’re going for the assassin cosplay look. With this in mind, I recommend you find a laser that comes with a bunch of filters to spread, separate, scatter and otherwise modify that single beam.
As I mentioned, there are a multitude of options, none of them are particularly expensive and I’ll speak about what I went with later in the article.
You’ve Been Warned: I know you’re not an idiot but if I don’t say this I know I’ll get messages about it, but please be careful when using lasers. Don’t point them in your eye and don’t point them directly into your camera as lenses can magnify them to the point that they could damage the sensor. Most of these commercially available lasers are fine as long as you’re not staring into to them for prolonged periods, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Plus, always pass this warning along to the models and team on set too.
The Setup
Now that you know what we’re dealing with in regards to the specialist light included in this setup, I’ll go over the setup in full and then break down any pertinent sections afterwards.
Cut out and keep
Rotolight NEO 3 Pro as a background light set to blue
2 of the Godox TL30’s joined together and used as a fill light set to red
The laser pen is clamped up high next to the key light (AEOS 2 Pro set to white light ~4500K)
TL;DR/ADHD/Artist Setup Explanation
Position small light set to a blue colour/attach blue gel against white backdrop
Place white key-light up high and angled down towards model
Have a large soft-light set to red/red gel attached behind you pointed towards backdrop
Position smaller light just out of shot as fill-light set to red/red gel attached
Lastly, place laser pen up high next to key-light and angle towards model
Kit Used
2x Rotolight AEOS 2 Pro
1x NEO 3 Pro
1x R120 Parabolic attached to the AEOS
2x (joined) Godox TL30
Laser Pen
White Backdrop
Camera Settings
Camera - Nikon D850
Lens - 24-70mm f2.8
Shutter Speed - 1/125th
Aperture - f2.8
ISO - 200
Kelvin - 4300K
Focal Length - ~58mm
The Results
Click to enlarge any of the shots below.
Model: Little B
Breaking it Down
I’m sure a lot of this is fairly straightforward to many of you and the core underlying setup of this shot is essentially your standard key-light, fill-light and background light. But let’s go over a couple of the details in case there’s anything that doesn’t make sense.
Background Light
I have my background light as a Rotolight NEO 3 Pro and the reason for that is because it’s small and very easy to hide behind the model. If you’re using a light back here, I’d advise the same and place it close enough to the backdrop to manage the vignette of colour accordingly. For example, place the light close enough, maybe 12 inches away (30cm) from the white background so that you get a small spot of colour. I have mine set to a bold blue colour that harmonises well with the vibrant red. For example, a deep navy-blue colour goes well alongside a bold blood-red colour.
Fill-Light
For this, I’m actually using 2 Godox TL30’s screwed together to make a 60cm tube light. I’ve only recently acquired this light, but it’s proving very useful as a fill light. Why? This tube works well when placed close as it spreads light along its length but the power of the light drops off very quickly. For example, it’ll be bright on the chest, but drop off to almost no power on the face making it very controllable. If you don’t have a tube here, then any typical fill-light like a small softbox or even a white umbrella can work well too. I have mine set to a bold red colour to match the red from the laser light.
Global Fill-Light
You’ve likely seen me use this technique a lot in my setups and it's a very effective way to add complimentary light and colours to the scene. If you’re not sure what light I’m referring to here, then it's the large softbox you can see in the diagram above. I have a Rotolight AEOS 2 Pro in my 120cm Softbox here, but again, any large softbox and light combo will work. I have mine set to the same bold red as my fill-light as well as the red laser. The one role of this light is to add a little illumination to the model's shadow areas, but primarily it illuminates the dark vignette left via the blue background light.
Key-Light
The key-lights are typically the easiest light in a set to place as they’re what I refer to as my ‘objective’ lights. There is no ambiguity in their role on set as they must correctly expose the model's skin. Other ‘subjective’ lights can be bright or dim based on personal taste, but the objective lights must be accurate. I’m using my favourite key with my Rotolight AEOS 2 Pro set to around 4500K, but you could also use a beauty dish here as an alternative.
Laser Pen
The fifth and final light here is the (tiny) star of the show, the laser pen. As you can see from the BTS shots above, I clamped it in place via a SuperClamp, but you can use whatever method you like to keep it where you want it. My advice for position; keep it as close to the key light as you can get. That way, neither the laser nor your key is casting conflicting shadows and again, you can see in the BTS above that it’s mounted right next to the AEOS.
Points to Keep in Mind
Laser Pen
I spoke about this at the top, but I’ll go into a little more detail here with regards to the laser pen. As I mentioned, try to get a red or blue one as the green (more popular) ones wont look good on the skin. By all means try it for yourself, but that’s just my recommendation. Alternatively, just get one that has all the 3 colours and play with what works best on the day. Edit: I’ve seen some lasers that also produce a violet-coloured laser - I could see that one being a cool colour to try too.
I bought my laser pen many years ago now, but this one here looks very similar.
The other factor is the creative options when it comes to the laser filters. If you just purchase a simple laser pen (the one you tease those poor cats with), you’ll simply get a single, tiny bright dot. We want a laser with some filters that actually refract that single beam of light into a bunch of different shapes and looks.
Many laser pens will have a variety of ways to refract the single-dot laser and I’d urge you to get one that comes with some options.
Once you have laser filters, it’s a good idea to test them all to see what will work.
Pictured above you can see some of the effects that come with the laser pen I tested. Not all of them are ideal for portraits, but the variety will help you find something that works. I personally preferred the dots and stars as they had a very noticeable effect on the skin.
Colours
I’m sure it's fairly obvious by now that I love to incorporate colours into nearly all of my shots. Here I was choosing my coloured lights based on the laser colour being red. Red is a very bold colour so I opted for another equally bold colour to compliment it. That said, reds bold and dominating colour is pretty tricky to work with, so if you see some other coloured lasers on offer, definitely consider getting them as I could see the blue or even violet lasers being a little more versatile to work with.
If you’re not particularly confident with coloured lights then there’s nothing wrong with just trying white light instead. I could see a very bold red laser standing out nicely against regular white-light on the skin.
Closing Comments
This is one of those setups that is fun to play with. Will it make it into your regular rotation of looks? Maybe not, but pulling a few ideas out of the lighting toolbox every now and then is a lot of fun, plus you never know what other ideas may be triggered by this. After all, trying something new and being creative is never time wasted. I wish you luck and if you give this one a go and let me know if you do as I’d love to see the results.
Products Used
Rotolight
Although I am sharing my own personal thoughts and findings about the lights mentioned in this article, many of you will want to know that I am now a ‘Master of Light’ for Rotolight. As such, I have been given a discount code to share with you when purchasing any of their products via the Rotolight website. Use my code ‘JAKEHICKS10’ when purchasing and you’ll save a bunch of money. I’ve never earned a penny of commission on this though, so if you find a better deal elsewhere, go for it.
Rotolight AEOS 2 PRO
With the AEOS 2 PRO, the world is your studio. Combining the shoot what you see benefits of powerful continuous light with a High Speed RGBWW strobe, AEOS 2 PRO offers unmatched versatility for photographers and filmmakers. Uniquely lightweight with an ultra-thin design, it’s never been easier to achieve beautiful soft light on the move.
Rotolight R120 Sofbox
A softbox is pretty much a must-have piece of kit for any studio shooter, so if you own any AEOS 2/Pros, this is certainly worth taking a look at. It comes with internal baffles as well as the eggcrate grid on the front. Plus, it has 16 sides making this an incredibly round and clean light source.
Rotolight NEO 3 PRO
Small but mighty, NEO 3 PRO is the brightest LED on-camera light ever made. Experience unrivalled power and industry-first innovations in a compact form factor you can take anywhere.
NEO 3 PRO combines the shoot-what-you-see benefits of continuous light, with a High Speed Sync RGBWW flash for unlimited creative possibilities.
Please note that I’ve included affiliate links below for PixaPro and I will benefit (albeit minimally) from the sales of any of these products should you purchase them. To that end, please feel free to use my discount code ‘HICK5-OFF’ at Essential Photo to receive a discount on any purchase via their site.
TL30-K2 RGB LED Tube
A 2 light LED kit that includes 2x 30cm full RGB LED tubes plus a whole host of useful accessories including grids and mounting clamps.
JHP Livestreams…
I livestream every other Tuesday night via YouTube and there I answer your questions, critique your shots, take community images into Photoshop to work on them and discuss all manner of lighting tips and techniques. I look forward to seeing you and your work there real soon. Jake Hicks Photography - YouTube
