Lighting Setup: Rotolight LED Triadic Colour Portrait

With Rotolight announcing their latest powerhouse LED light the Anova Pro 3 (check it out here), they asked me to share some of my lighting setups and techniques that showcase what this new light can do.

As anybody who has taken even the most cursory of glances at my portfolio will know, I love colour and what originally drew me to Rotolight was exactly that, a LOT of colour! I’ve spent a very long time using coloured gels on my strobes and although I’ve been collecting gels for well over a decade, I’m still a long way off collecting the 16+ million colours that Rotolight has packed in every light!

Colour is great and a wide variety of them is even better, but all the colours in the world are only as good as the light that produces them. If the quality of that light is patchy, inconsistent and plagued with uneven brightness like hot-spots, it’s never going to look good. But again, the quality of light from the Rotlights is exceptional and from the very first test shot I ever took, I knew that they had something special.

So with all that gushing aside, let’s look at how these qualities combine in one of my all-time favourite coloured light setups, my triadic portrait light technique.

The Setup

At its core, this is a very simple setup to achieve. No fancy modifiers are required, no specialist kit is needed to support the lights and it can all be achieved in smaller spaces like home studios. All you need is 3 lights and a white wall or background. That really is it, but don’t let its simplicity fool you as this setup certainly packs a punch.

TL;DR/ADHD/Artist Setup Explanation

Place/hide the smaller Neo 3 Pro behind the model and aimed back towards to white background
Position your Anova Pro 3 key-light in close and up above the model
Bring in your AEOS 2 Pro on the floor as a fill light

Watch the Video

This setup was filmed as part of a video showcasing some of the new features of the new Rotolight Anova Pro 3 light. To see the complete breakdown of how everything was shot, check the video below.

What You Will Need

3 Lights - As I mentioned above, 3 lights are all you need for this setup and ideally one of those needs to be small like the Neo 3 Pro as this makes it far easier to hide that light behind the model.

White Background - This needn’t be complicated and a simple, clean white wall will be fine. Failing that, I’ve achieved this look with a plain white window blind behind the model. Remember that we’re not shooting full body, so we can get away with far shorter backgrounds if needed.

Modifiers… if you want - Typically when I shoot this setup, I simply don’t need any modifiers. Yes, I use the diffusion domes that come with my Rotolights (they actually never come off the lights), but you really don’t need anything when the quality of the light is this good straight out of the box. If you wanted to use some modifiers though, this particular set was shot with a small 55cm softbox on the fill-light and a Smartsoft box on the key-light. The background light simply had its diffusion dome attached.

Camera Settings

Camera - Nikon D850
Lens - 24-70mm f2.8
Shutter Speed - 1/125th
Aperture - f2.8
ISO - 400
Kelvin - 4800K
Focal Length - ~48mm

The Results…

Click to enlarge any of the shots below.

Breaking it Down

Background Light

When setting this up, I often start with the background light as once that’s in place, I can leave it and not touch it again. Here I’m using the smaller Neo 3 Pro to hide it behind the model and I simply have its standard diffusion dome attached. Remember that you can adjust the amount of vignette (dark corners) on the background by bringing that background light closer or further away from the background. In this shot, I had the Neo 3 Pro very close to the model to limit some of that vignetting. For reference, the background light was set to 16% power.

Key-light

For this shoot, I was using an Anova Pro 3 as my key and attached to that I had the ingenious Smartsoft box. If you’re not aware of what that does, then it’s a brand-new modifier from Rotolight that allows you to dial in the exact amount of diffusion you want, down to individual percentages! I placed the light up high and angled it down at about arm’s reach away from the model. On this shoot, I was using a boom to hold the light above, but if you don’t have one, simply place the lightstand just out of shot to one side and the setup will still work just as well. The key was set to 70% power.

Fill-light

For my fill-light, I was using an AEOS 2 Pro in a brand-new R55 Softbox. In fact, the softbox is so brand new, that I don’t even think it’s available yet. Expect an announcement very soon though. Essentially it’s a 55cm softbox with either 1 or 1/2 stops of diffusion. One nice feature of this new softbox is that it’s very deep which results in it being very directional, yet soft. I’m using it here to only light the bottom half of the model with that orange light, but you can still achieve this look with the standard AEOS 2 Pro diffusion dome too. Again, the light is brought in very close to the model and angled up slightly. The fill was set to 45% power.

Points to bear in mind…

Keep the key light up high and angled down. This minimises the spill onto the area where the fill light is aimed.
Be sure to manage the spill of the fill light by bringing it in close to the model’s feet.
Play around with how far from the background you position the background light as that affects the vignetting.
Be sure to set these lights up one light at a time to ensure light aren’t spilling onto another one.
I’ve used a triadic colour theory here, but be sure to play around any number of 3 colours you like.

Products Used

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.

Anova Pro 3

The star of the show on this shoot was clearly the brand-new Anova Pro 3. This is the latest powerhouse light from Rotolight and it ships with a mountain of features that Rotolight customers are already used to, but this light is twice the brightness of AEOS 2 Pro, can be used in any weather condition including heavy rain, dust, sand and snow, plus it also comes with in-built Magic Eye technology to match any light and colour instantly. To learn more, check it out on the Rotolight website now.

Anova Pro 3 Website Link

Get it cheap - Back it on Kickstarted here

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.

AEOS 2 PRO Website Link

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.

NEO 3 PRO Website Link

Rotolight SmartSoft Box

The ingenious SmartSoft Box allows you to dial in the exact value of diffusion you need and incredibly that can be done in increments as small as a single percent. This is a modifier that does two jobs and ultimately never needs to leave your light as you simultaneously have a hard-light as well as a soft-light modifier and both are just a dial turn away.

Rotolight SmartSoft Box Website Link

Rotolight R55 Softbox

The brand new R55 Softbox is so new in fact, that it doesn’t even have a release date as of yet!

I expect it to be officially announced very soon indeed though, so keep an eye out for when it does. That being said, I was very impressed with it due to it being a reasonably deep softbox for its size. This meant it had a lot of directional light control, even without a grid. Definitely one to watch.

Thank You

As always, thanks for checking out this article. Hopefully, you learned something new, but if you have any questions or if something didn’t make sense, just let me know and you can reach out via the comments below. See you in the next one and stay creative until then.

JHP Livestreams…

If you give this setup a go, I’d love to see how the shots turn out, so feel free to share them my way. One way to do that is via my livestream. 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

If you missed a previous stream, the VODs are all saved there too, so check them out!

ONLINE WORKSHOPS - LEARN MORE

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Creative Coloured Light with Silver Mylar

I’ve shared several silver mylar lighting techniques over the years so I’m sure most of you know many of the tricks to get the best from this very cheap, yet remarkable material. But if you’re new here or simply just need a reminder, what is all the fuss about when it comes to this incredibly versatile product?

As I mentioned, silver mylar is pretty cheap and you can get it from all of the typical online mega-corps, but you won’t find it in the usual photography category, or if you do, you’ll find it for ten times the price! Silver mylar is used for a variety of things from food storage, party supplies, helium balloons and even gardening, but what we’re using it for, is a way to create beautiful reflective patterns. If you purchase silver mylar from the gardening section, you’ll find it available in long rolls as the very pliable and highly reflective surface is exactly what we need to make the effect we’re after.

As I said above, I’ve already shared several techniques in the past that use this material, so if you missed them, I’ll share those at the bottom of this article for you to take a look at.

Adding Colour

I’m sure it should be no surprise by now, but I do love to add colour to as many of my setups as I can and this week's article is no different. Firstly, let’s take a look at the sort of shot we’re trying to create.

I’ll share a bunch more examples below, but these initial 2 shots give you some idea of just how much colour we aim to apply and how little white light we’re using.

The Setup

I know many of you like to check the set plan first, so below I’ll share what’s being used and where…

TL;DR/ADHD/Artist Setup Explanation

Set up a white background behind model
Place large sheet of silver mylar to camera-left
Position model fairly close to background
Point hard-light at silver mylar and set or gel it with a bright pink colour
Add a large diffused blue light like a large softbox to camera right and point it towards model
Place white light to camera-right, up high and slightly behind model and angle it down towards them

What You Will Need

3 Lights - As with more and more of my setups these days, I’m pretty much only shooting with LED lighting simply due to them being unbelievably easy and convenient to use. Of course, this setup can comfortably be achieved with flash too, so just translate what you need for the lights you’ll be using.

1 Hard Light Modifier - This is the light that is shone into the silver mylar and this needs to be very focused. By that, I mean that even though this light is placed on the right-hand-side of the set, this light should only hit the mylar on the far left and nothing else. An optical snoot or even a gridded reflector dish will be fine and I was using the Godox Spotlight on the Godox SZ150R full RGB LED light to get a very hard and controlled spot of light.

1 Soft Light Modifier - You’ll almost certainly have one of these and I was using a Rotolight AEOS 2 Pro LED light in their R120 softbox. A similarly large softbox or even a big white umbrella will also work.

1 White Light - This light has a little flexibility with what modifier you use, the only stipulation is that none of this white light must either directly hit the background, or inadvertently bounce back into it. I’m simply using a bare Rotolight AEOS 2 Pro and I’ve flagged any potential light by wrapping the background-side in cinefoil (matte black tinfoil).

White Background - Use whatever you like here, but I simply used a white window blind as that was super quick and easy to set up. Alternatively, a white paper backdrop or even a white wall will work equally as well.

Silver Mylar - I’m sure this one was no surprise, but yes, this setup does require a large sheet (usually a roll) of silver mylar. I’m simply suspending it up high with a C-stand and boom arm.

Camera Settings

Camera - Nikon D850
Lens - 105mm f2
Shutter Speed - 1/125th
Aperture - f2
ISO - 200
Kelvin - 5000K
Focal Length - 105mm

The Results…

Click to enlarge any of the shots below.

Featured Model: Basia Panecka

Breaking it Down

Background

I’m using a simple white window blind here as they’re quick and easy to swap out and hang. You can use whatever you like here though and a white wall would of course be the easiest. The trick to positioning will be how close you have the model to it. We want her close enough to the backdrop so that the reflected mylar casts those beautiful highlights onto the background and her, but we don’t want her so close that she casts heavy shadows from the soft blue light in front of her. The only way to do this is to simply test it and move her closer or further back as required.

Silver Mylar

The star of the show is the silver mylar and as I mentioned at the top, thankfully it's not hard to get, nor is it particularly expensive. I recommend searching for it with ‘gardening’ and ‘roll’ in the phrase as that gives you the most useful results. I also recommend you get it in as wide of a roll as you can find. Often that’s 1.5m and then the length is up to you, but likely 10m is going to serve you well for a while. Prices do vary wildly, but a 1.5x10m roll should be around £20-£40.

Hard Light

I used my Godox Spotlight on a Godox SZ15R full RGB LED light and that was just for convenience as I can simply choose whatever colour I want without the faff of gels. You can of course use an optical snoot here or even a controlled light from a grid, snoot or possibly even barn-doors. The most important aspect here is that the light must be controlled enough to pass across the room without hitting the model and only hit the silver mylar on the opposite side.

Soft Light

Again, we have plenty of options here. I used a large softbox in the form a 120cm one from Rotolight as that houses my Rotolight AEOS 2 Pro light. But you can use any large softbox you like. Once again, it was just easy to set my RGB LED to the blue I wanted as wrestling with coloured gels inside softboxes is a real pain. It can be done, but it's a bit fiddly. If you don’t have an RGB LED light and instead have a strobe or speedlight, then I’d probably suggest a large umbrella, preferably with a white interior to keep the light soft. These are far easier gel than softboxes and are super quick to put up too.

The Silver Mylar Effect

The core look and effect we’re going for with this setup is the dappled lighting effect we have on the background behind the model. In this setup, it’s the bright pink pattern on the wall and the aspect I particularly love is how varied it can look from shot to shot if you set it up correctly.

As you can see in not only the model shots I shared above but also in the example background shots below, you can get a different look with each image you take and here’s how I did it.

The silver mylar dappled effect works because it's so thin. The sheet gets slight ripples and bumps in it and it's these imperfections in the surface that get reflected onto the background. One way to enhance the variances in the effect is by using a fan on the sheet as that movement from the wind will keep the mylar moving and fluttering and that in turn is what gives you the varied effect in each shot.

Points to bear in mind

Controlling the Mylar Light

This seems simple enough, but failing to keep the pink hard light off of the model before it hits the silver mylar will result in a terrible look. Firstly, it’ll likely be very overexposed before it bounces off of the mylar and secondly, it’ll be a very harsh-looking light that will overpower the other lights on her too. Using an optical snoot or even barn doors to keep it only on the mylar is key.

Controlling the White Light

The other core light to keep very controlled is the white light slightly behind. That white light can only fall onto the model and the reason it’s slightly back and up high is to stop it from hitting the silver mylar on the opposite side of the room. If it does, then it’ll bounce straight off of that mirror finish and wash out the other colours in the shot. Use a flag to keep control of it from falling onto the background too. If that white light hits the background, again the colours will be completely ruined. I used black cinefoil, but any flag will do.

Posing

As with so many of my lighting techniques, a synergy between pose and light is key. Sadly, models that I work with rarely have the luxury to dance and move about too much. That certainly makes their job far harder, but their failure to keep in mind where they can stand and look will often result in bad or sometimes unusable shots. In this setup, for example, the model can't move too far back as they’ll be out of the white light and they can’t move too far forward as they’ll move into the pink light that is firing in front of them. They also should ideally look to their left to be lit by the light that is ‘up-stage’ behind them. It can work with them looking the other way and I shared an image above where she looks to her right, but the lighting works best when they look to their left.

Variety

I mentioned this above, but using a fan on the mylar will result in the background effect changing dramatically between each shot. You may not want that, but I found it to be a great way to add variety to each of the shots. Of course, you want to keep it simple, just don’t use the fan.

Products Used

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.

AEOS 2 PRO Website Link

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.

R120 Softbox Website Link

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.

Godox Spotlight

S-fit spotlight that can be very finely controlled via inbuilt blades or via a range of Gobos. Due to the large lens at the front, this modifier can also produce some of the hardest-looking light available.

Godox Spotlight Link

Godox SZ150R

Essentially this is an LED studio strobe. You can use it with any S-Fit modifiers like beauty dish and softbox you already own, plus you can also change this to any colour and any Kelvin you’d like. It’s only 150 watts though, so you will want to use this in a controlled studio environment.

Godox SZ150R Link

Silver Mylar

This is likely the most unique item on the list and although you probably don’t have some of this lying around, it’s not too expensive to get.

I grabbed a 10m roll on eBay for less than £20 and although you probably don’t need 10m, it was the best value versus options for additional uses down the road. By all means, take a look and get something more appropriate for your needs. Note that Mylar is used for a variety of applications from agriculture to helium balloons, so don’t expect to find it in a photo store.

Take a look below at some of my other silver mylar lighting techniques

JHP Livestreams…

If you missed a previous stream, the VODs are all saved there too, so check them out!

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10 Tips on shooting in small spaces like home studios

Whether you’re just starting out or have been shooting for decades, as portrait photographers we all have to shoot in small spaces from time to time.

From working in small home studios, to shooting out of your clients home, to photographing sports celebrities in corridors, to working with corporate clients in their offices, shooting in small spaces is just a part of the job. With that in mind, here are some quick tips on making the most of those small spaces.

Creative Setups for Small Spaces

One area that people claim holds back their development and creativity back, is their space. I argue that this simply isn’t an excuse as with proper light control, any sized space can produce engaging and creative shots. Take a look at some of the lighting setups below that can be achieved in almost any space, even as small as a corridor!

1. Simplest and Most Effective One Light Setup I've Ever Used

It honestly deosn’t get any easier than this one. A single light and reflector is all you need and this gorgeous looking light can be achieved in spaces as small as a corridor if need be. If youre after a clean and beautiful looking light then definitely check this one out as this is no gimmick setup, it genuinely produces some flawless looking light!

2. Lighting Setup - Pastel Wrap

If you’re feeling bold, then upgrading your looks to include some colour can instantly give your shots an engaging edge. This Pastel Wrap setup again needs almost no space and although it requires 2 lights, they need to be close to the subject for best results so this is an ideal setup for smaller studio spaces.

3. Lighting Setup: Foreground Flare

Some times adding depth to a shot can go a long way to suggest a bigger space than you actually have. Sure, shooting with a wide aperture to throw your background out of focus is a great way to simulate depth, but what about your foreground? This simple setup relies on you ‘faking’ a foreground element in your shot and we can easily do this with a variety of household items being held in front of your lens. Plus, this setup also shows you how to convincingly fake a window light as your key-light.

Gear that is perfect for small spaces

One of the biggest benefits of owning your own studio, is having all of your gear setup and ready to go. With all of that studio space, you can have a multitude of backgrounds in place and even specialist modifiers assembled and on-hand to use. But in smaller spaces or even studios on the go, what are some tips on helping to stay creative?

4. DIY Backdrops for Home Shoots & Lighting Setup

One of the most boring aspects of shooting in a home studio, is the lack of variety when it comes to backgrounds. There is really only so many times you can photograph a white wall behind someone. So with that in mind, here are some tips on staying creative with backgrounds and saving money whilst you do it.

5. DIY Mottled Backdrop

How about taking those creative backgrounds one step further by actually making your own, and yes, it’s super easy and extremely affordable. In this technique I share how I made one of those mottled backgrounds that emulate a ‘hand-painted’ backdrop look. Those types of backgrounds are seeing a resurgence as they’ve come a long way from the tacky 1980’s-style family portrait.

6. Miniature Boom

That’s correct, you read that right, a miniature boom! When shooting portraits we are often after a symmetrical light as that is often the most beautiful. One of the easiest ways to achieve symmetrical light is to place your key-light directly in front of your subject. Sadly, when you do this, your light stand is now in the way of your camera so you have to shoot around it, which in turn results in you losing that symmetrical look.

In a big studio we’d simply use a boom-arm to swing a key light in front of the model, but sadly that’s not possible in smaller spaces, so here’s the next best thing.

This mini right-angle bracket (ordinarily used for holding umbrellas) can be placed on your light stand to allow you to mount your light at a right angle. This now enables us to shoot underneath the light without it getting in the way of our shot. This ‘Quick Tip’ image above was from my ‘Quick Tips’ page that has tons of other useful bite-size tips like this, so if you’ve not seen it, go check it out.

Using small spaces to your advantage

Believe it or not, there are actually some advantages to shooting in small spaces. Can we use the low ceilings or the boring white walls of smaller home studios to actually help us? Below I’ll share some setups that not only work despite the lack of space, bu they actually thrive on it.

7. Lighting Setup: The Corona

Don’t let the name of this setup that hasn’t aged well put you off! As this setup can create some gorgeous looking light that requires a small home studio or space to really shine. With this technique I’m actually bouncing the light off of the white walls behind the subject and above them to create this very effective edge light. Take a look as it not only require very little space, but very little equipment too.

8. Super-Soft Lighting in Small Home Studios

I’ll be honest, one of the hardest aspects of shooting in small spaces, is other their low ceilings. For many setups I like to get hair lights or even edge lights up nice and high to throw light down on the subject. Sadly, that’s not always possible and I’ll admit to getting more than one model to sit down on a chair in the past to ‘cheat’ the look due to a lack of ceiling height. But with this setup, I show you how to actually use those annoying low ceilings to your advantage as you can create some truly gorgeous soft-light with this setup.

9. Lighting Setup - My Favourite £1 Lighting Modifier

Granted the economic crisis may have hit this title particularly hard from when I first shared it, but this technique is still unbelievably cheap to pull off! This setup follows on from the previous one in that we’ll be using that low ceiling to our advantage once again, this time however we’ll be getting a little more creative with the results.

Questions and Answers

If youre currently struggling with working in small spaces, I assure you that you’re not alone, in fact, there are so many people just like you that we actually discussed this topic in detail during one of my recent livestreams. If you missed it, check it out as I answered a ton of questions surrounding this very common issue.

10. In-depth discussion on working in small spaces

I recently hosted a livestream where we discussed this topic of shooting from home studios at length. When is a good time to rent a larger space? Do you need a bigger space? Should you own your own larger studio? Tips on bringing clients to your home and a lot more too. If you missed it, check the VoD on YouTube here.

Closing thoughts

As I mentioned, this is a very common topic among photographers and it’s not just reserved for those who are just starting out and feel trapped by the cramped confines of their home studio. A lack of space affects all photographers at one time or another and learning to work with your surroundings is simply part of the job… even if that means you somehow taking portraits in a corridor!

As always, if you have any questions then please let me know. Plus, don’t forget that I also have a free PDF containing 5 home studio setups via my Studio Lighting Books page too. Go grab that as it covers other setups not shared here.

And if that’s still not enough and you really want to take your knowledge of small spaces even further, I actually run a hugely popular workshop called ‘BIG Studio Lighting in small Spaces’. Like I said, you are not alone in struggling with this and there is a ton to know and learn on the topic. You can learn more on what’s involved and include via my Online Workshops page.

Thank You

As always, thanks for checking out this article and spending a little bit of your day with me here. I hope you found it useful and if you left with a little more knowledge than when you arrived, it’s been worth it.

If you have any questions or comments, or if something doesn’t make sense, by all means, fire away in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer what I can. Thanks again and I’ll see you in the next one.

Don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter to be sent all of these photo tips and techniques articles every month in case you miss one.

JHP Livestreams…

If you give this setup a go, I’d love to see how the shots turn out, so feel free to share them my way. One way to do that is via my Livestream. I Livestream every other Tuesday night via my FB Page 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. JHP Facebook Page

Missed the Livestreams? Check the VODS!

This year I’ve also been uploading my Facebook livestreams to my YouTube channel for those that missed them… or never want to touch Facebook again.

Watch my livestream VODs here: Jake Hicks Photography YouTube

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The Photography Junkie Podcast Episode 22: Exploring the World of Photography with Jake Hicks: A Journey Through Colors and Education

A short while ago Jay from The Photography Junkie reached out and kindly invited me onto his show to discuss a huge variety of topics spanning my entire career.

We spoke about my beginnings in the film era and how I failed to initially transition into digital. From here we discussed how although I had initially begun my career as a freelancer, the industry had changed so significantly around me thanks to the rise of digital cameras, that I failed to adapt accordingly. From here I took a break from photography and only got back into it as I worked long hours in a busy studio.

This was ironically the catalyst of the bright, bold and colourful style we see today as I fought against the somewhat traditional and boring high-key white background photography that was popular at the time.

As well as my career, we also spoke about my many other topics, including how I feel about more traditional education and its value over the ‘self-taught’ YouTube education many use today. Plus I spoke on the value of still using film in today's digital world, my process, my cameras and film stocks, as well as why I still love it.

To hear the full episode, head over to The Photography Junkie website and choose your delivery method as that contains all the popular Podcast options as well as a YouTube link to the chat too.

The Photography Junkie Podcast: Episode 22

Godox Spotlight - It's in my top 5 best lighting modifiers of all time!

Salacious article title aside, this lighting modifier from Godox is amazing and yes, it really is in my top 5 (maybe top 3) best lighting modifiers of all time… but why?

I’ve been shooting in the studio for over 20 years and during that time, I’d like to think I’ve worked with a huge range of modifiers. No, my opinions on certain modifiers don’t always align with everybody else’s, but I do like to give strong reasoning as to why I love or hate certain light shapers and as I discuss the Godox Spotlight here, I aim to do just that, as although this is arguably one of the best modifiers I’ve ever used, that does come with some very strong caveats.

First off, what is the Godoox Spotlight?

In simplistic terms, the Godox Spotlight very tightly controls your light into a focused beam. This beam is similar to a spotlight you may find on stage or at a theatre for example and the modifiers one very distinctive feature is the large glass lens at the front that is responsible for focusing that beam.

*The Godox Spotlight Attachment is a modifier with a very large glass lens mounted on the front. The light that attaches to it now seems small by comparison.*

*It’s worth noting that it’s the modifier itself that you mount to the light stand, hence why the light attached behind is seemingly free-floating*

There are of course some very obvious benefits to this controlled beam, namely the use of GOBOs (go-betweens) to project shapes and patterns into your scene or onto the subject.

These Gobos have been used for many, many years in cinema and theatre as I mentioned, but they should be used sparingly and in conjunction with other lights for best effects. Whenever you see a gobo being used on set, it’s always coming from one of these very hard-light modifiers.

*Gobos are useful to add shaped shadows to your scenes and subjects and they come in a wide variety of patterns.*

The Spotlight can also sculpt the light without gobos and due to their very hard and focused light, it’s even possible to create simple slits or slices of light too.

*Due to the very controlled nature of the light exiting the spotlights, it’s very easy to shape that light. Here we can see some very precise slices of light as an example.*

As I mentioned, the control of light that these spotlight modifiers have is due to that lens on the front of them and that’s ultimately what makes these modifiers so unique.

*Check out my article where I discuss the properties of hard light in my* *Optical Snoot Review*

Déjà vu - The Optical Snoots

Several years ago, I wrote a very popular article that discussed some of the creative uses that were possible via modifiers called ‘Optical Snoots’. From here we saw a wave of these modifiers being used, abused, adapted and rebranded, but the look that these optical snoots produce seems very similar to what’s possible with this new Godox Spotlight. So what’s the difference?

If you’re new to photography or even just new to creative lighting and missed the optical snoot boat all those years ago, take a look at my updated article from back then that showcased what was possible. This article is good foundational reading too, as with this current Godox Spotlight review, I’ll skip over certain fundamental elements of hard lighting that are discussed in more detail in my Optical Snoot article here.

Baby Spotlight AKA The Optical Snoot

As I mentioned, the Optical Snoot can do a lot that the Spotlight can do, so why do we even need this Spotlight? I think many photographers forget or simply aren’t aware that the Spotlight has been around far, far longer than the Optical Snoot. Remember that these Spotlights have been used in theatres for generations. Comparatively, the Optical Snoot is a relatively modern adaptation of the Spotlight and that happened primarily due to cost and making that type of hard light accessible to photographers with studio strobes. For example, you can get a usable Optical Snoot for around £100, but the Spotlights are often upwards of £400. Sure, there are always exceptions to this and there are bizarrely rebranded Optical Snoots out there that somehow cost more than a £400 Spotlight!!!! But in general, Optical Snoots are typically cheaper.

So yes, you can usually save a bunch of money by buying an Optical Snoot over a Spotlight, so what do we lose to save that money?

Defining Quality of Light

We’re going to get into the weeds of defining light here for a bit, so I apologise in advance, but I do think this should be fundamental knowledge when it comes to understanding why your images may be stuck looking good when you really want to know how to make them look great.

At the start of this article, I mentioned that my thoughts on lighting modifiers don’t always align with others. If you’ve been here a while, you’ll likely know this already, but it’s no secret that I detest softboxes. I know, crazy right? Jake’s surely being a contrarian for the ‘clicks’, but no, I haven’t painted my nails matte-black just yet and there is actually a very important reason as to why I do everything in my power to never use a softbox, and that’s simply down to ‘quality of light’.

Below is an image of a light being shone through a standard softbox and onto a white wall. Next to it, that same light is instead being shone through a standard beauty dish. I’d urge you to look at the resulting light from each of those modifiers as I hope that goes some way in explaining why softboxes are better suited as ashtrays over lighting modifiers.

*Due to their design, softboxes will always produce hotspots when used close to the subject, compared to beauty dishes that almost entirely eliminate it.*

If you’re still unsure of what you’re supposed to be looking at, it’s the significant hotspot present from the softbox on the left compared to a far cleaner and more even spread of light from the beauty dish on the right.

Of course, if you’re happy using your softbox, that’s absolutely fine and in their defence, this hotspot diminishes when we move it further away to enlarge that centre bright spot. But the example still stands in that I’m trying to show you what I’m personally looking to avoid. As I said at the start, we want to be looking at taking our shots from good to great and managing elements like hotspots from our lights is one way to do that.

Quality of Light and Spotlights

So now that we know what we’re looking for and after seeing some examples of it relating to soft light, how does that affect the hard lights? Below I’ll show you some similar examples of how some hard light modifiers, including the Godox Spotlight, compare.

*Click to enlarge: Comparing hard lights and their quality of light.*

On the left, we can see the Godox Spotlight and the resulting light it produces. In the middle we have the Optical Snoot we may already be familiar with and lastly on the right, we have a regular reflector dish with a honeycomb/grid inserted. For reference, these lights are positioned roughly 2 metres from the white-ish wall.

Immediately we can see just how controlled the Godox Spotlight is, as that circle spot is razor sharp with no light going anywhere apart from where it’s supposed to. More importantly, we can see that it’s an extremely even light from edge to edge with no bright centre at all. In contrast to that, we can see the other two modifiers producing a far more gradual pool of light, that seemingly immediately dims from the centre, AKA hot-spotting.

It’s worth noting here that the optical snoot relies on you using a camera lens on the front of it to focus the light, Consequently, the vignetting or hot spotting you see is very dependent on the type of lens you use. Here I’m using a fairly old Nikon 50mm lens that likely vignettes naturally anyway.

Sidebar: You may be looking at the optical snoot versus the regular grid above and be wondering why you’d use the optical snoot over it, after all, they seemingly produce a similar vignette. Remember that the optical snoot is focussing the light with that lens and this results in sharper shadows. This test doesn’t show this aspect particularly well, but if you open up that image and look at the shadows cast on the wall from the stand, you’ll see that the reflector and grid are fuzzy, whereas the optical snoot ones are razor-sharp.

So again, we’re looking for this beautifully ‘clean light’ and this Spotlight does an extremely good job of achieving it. Even from the limited tests I’ve shown you so far, it’s clear that the Spotlight produces some of the hardest-looking light possible, but with this extra knowledge of how clean it is edge-to-edge, this extremely hard-light modifier is far more versatile than you may think.

It’s just a hard light!

As soon as I saw how clean and even the light from this spot was from edge to edge, my brain was immediately struck by how controllable and in turn how versatile this modifier could be. Surely it can do more than shine slices of light and Venetian blind effects across my model.

If you’re curious as to just how diverse this modifier can be, take a look at some of the shots below where I’ve used this Godox Spotlight as either the sole light on set or as a supplemental within a setup.

Click on any of the images below to fit them to your screen.

That’s pretty crazy, right?! Never before have I had a modifier so diverse and adaptable! And we’re not talking about ‘oh, but my softbox can be used with and without a grid to produce different looks’, that’s the sort of weak-sauce marketing tag-lines we’re used to seeing, but this Spotlight can genuinely produce incredibly diverse looks, and bizarrely, it can simultaneously produce some of the hardest light available as well as some of the softest light available! So how is this even possible?

How to think creatively with the Godox Spotlight

Below I will share some of the breakdowns of these setups. I won’t cover them all as this article is already massive enough as is, but I will share a few of the more dramatically different looks we can achieve with this Spotlight.

Keeping it Simple: The Slice of Light

This is the classic and most popular use for a projector/snoot/spotlight that you’ve likely all seen a million times by now, but although a little dated, it’s tough to argue with the results when they look this cool.

*The Spotlight has 4 blades that can be adjusted independently to achieve clean slices of light.*

Just 2 lights, one of which is the Spotlight and that’s casting that slice of light we see on the model and background. One nice little feature of the Godox Spotlight is the internal blades that you can adjust to create these slices of light. I’m not actually using a Gobo here and instead, I’m simply pushing the external blades together until I get the exact slice I’m happy with.

The second light here is a large softbox and inside that is a coloured gel over the flash tube. - Yes I know I said I hate softboxes and that you shouldn’t use them, but as fill-lights, they do a reasonable job if positioned far enough away, plus I actually didn’t use a softbox here, I used my Rotolight AEOS 2 PRO LED light. I appreciate that not all people have access to larger LED panels like this, hence my showing you a large softbox as an alternative just to keep this simple setup as achievable as possible.

One Light Wonder: L.A. Shadow-Light

I’ve joked for many years about the L.A. ‘shadow-light’ as you’ll often see the City of Angels photographers take a subject to the shadow-side of a building to take a portrait. The incredibly bright and harsh sunlight in L.A. doesn’t make for great portraits on its own, but if you bounce that very hard sunlight off of the prolific mid-grey concrete surrounding you, you can get a very beautiful shot. You’re simply turning an incredibly hard light into an incredibly soft light, and that’s exactly what this setup replicates here with the Spotlight.

Simply place the Godox Spotlight directly behind and above your model and point it straight back at you. Then you position 2 large poly-boards or white V-flats on either side of your camera and let that very hard light bounce off of the large pale surfaces next to you, which will then bounce onto the model.

It quite literally doesn’t get any simpler than a one-light setup, but this is a great look and is flattering on anybody due to the unreliably soft light you’re producing with this bounced technique. Yes, you need to be very mindful of flare into the lens, but if you have space to put the spotlight higher up behind your model, this quickly becomes far less of an issue.

Finally, a good Softbox: Spotlight Softbox

My grumblings surrounding softboxes are never based on build quality, size or even that they’re a pain in the ass to setup, my moaning is purely based on the hotspots of light they produce due to the fact the flash is positioned so close to the diffusion in front, there’s simply no way to avoid that hotspot without modifying that direct light in some way. You saw me show you the beauty dish alternative earlier and that all but eliminates the hotspot by bouncing the flash into a diffusion cone first. With this next simple Spotlight setup, we’ll be modifying the light first via the Spotlight lens, but this setup gives us infinitely more options over the one-size beauty dish.

*You can see here that I’ve adjusted the Spotlight blades to make this very clean and crisp square of light on my large scrim.*

This is very simple in practice, but all I’m doing is placing a large scrim in front of my model and then shining the Spotlight through it. I’ve adjusted the Spotlight blades to get the size of square that I want, but this is now simply a softbox. More importantly, it’s a beautifully clean and even light coming from that softbox.

Without the flash being mere inches from the diffusion like regular softboxes and the Spotlight lens doing such an incredible job of spreading the light evenly without a hotspot, we’re left with the ability to make any size softbox (up to the size of your scrim or diffusion material - which is not expensive) and no matter the size, we get clean, even lighting edge to edge!

Toplight Anywhere: Bounced Toplight

A very popular lighting technique, especially in cinema, is to have a large soft light directly above your subject. This can be more focused for a dramatic look, but more often than not, the light above is super-soft and is simply bathes the subject beneath in beautifully soft light. That sounds fantastic in principle, but the reality is often very, very different, after all, not everybody has access to 30ft ceilings and cherrypickers to suspend your softboxes. But, once again, the Godox Spotlight offers us an alternative.

*Here you can see that the Spotlight is perfectly illuminating the bounce-board overhead and again, that’s thanks to the adjustable blades.*

The setup itself is simple; position the Spotlight on the floor and angle it directly up to the bounce board above the model. Adjust the blades so that the Spotlight square of light is only hitting the board and then add a fill light if needed. In this image I’m using a folded white V-flat and supporting it above the model with C-stands. This board is now my light source, but look again at how clean and even that bounced light is above the model. Again I’ll say it, but we have no hotspot on that board and again this results in beautifully clean and even light from directly above the model without the need to actually get a light plus modifier suspended above her. In the BTS above you can see the white V-flat to the edge of frame on camera-left, this is for the fill-light to be bounced into it and this helps to open up some of the heavy shadows caused by the very directional top-light.

Lastly, I’m using the large bounce-board here, but you could just as easily use the white ceiling above if it’s low enough and I’ve already done that on several shoots to great effect. The bounce board here just allows you to get a larger square of light directly above thereby making it appear even softer and with a shorter drop-off.

And it doesn’t stop there….

I know I showed you a bunch of example shots at the start of this article, but I’ll leave the lighting setup explanations there for now to keep this article a manageable size. The ones I’ve shown above quickly showcase just how easily this Spotlight can be manipulated to get some very unique looks, but there are so many other creative ways to use this modifier so if anyone is interested, I’m happy to explain some of the other setups in a future article, just let me know.

Here comes the ‘but’

If you’re still here and have read everything I’ve had to say so far, then it should be clear I’m a huge fan of this modifier. But before you all throw money at the screen, there is one very important caveat to all of this that I need to make you aware of, as it wasn’t something I noticed until I’d used it a few times.

Compatibility

This modifier is touted as an S-fit modifier, or to my more mature readers, a Bowens fit. This is great, right? S-fit has long been by far the most popular lighting mount for decades, so to have this modifier available as an S-fit is great for most of you…. or is it?

As many of you know, in the last couple of years I’ve been transitioning from flash to LED. In fact the vast majority of all my shoots this year have all been shot with LED lights alone. This has largely been possible due to the Rotolight lights that are able to still flash if needed, plus they can do so in any of the 16+ million colours available. LEDs are simply bright enough now that I can comfortably shoot with them in most situations. Sure, there are times when I need to shoot at ISO 200 or 400 (I know, crazy right?!), but the huge number of benefits to shooting with LEDs today, far outstrips the minimal concern of shooting at any ISO above 100.

My point?

I’m getting there, but essentially using the Rotolight panels is all buttercups-and-rainbows right up until I need a hard-light. Panels produce some gorgeous-looking soft light, but no matter how much you try, you aren’t going to get a snoot attachment for them anytime soon. So to combat this problem, I also own a Godox SZ150R. This light is perfect for all my hard-light needs as it also has the complete RGB spectrum as well as the full Kelvin range and all at the twist of a dial. Sadly, this doesn’t flash and although I’d love a little more juice than the base 150 version, it does a very respectable job. Most importantly though, it’s an S-fit light, meaning all of my old Bowens and S-fit modifiers simply slot on the front. The SZ150R coupled with my Rotolight panels, and I can do everything I used to do with my flashes, just now it’s a lot faster and more convenient.

Now that my LED sermon is out of the way, what’s the issue?

Use any S-fit you like… just as long as it’s this one!

When I received my Godox Spotlight, I simply used it on my Godox SZ150R and of course, everything was fine. It wasn’t until I started to use it on a livestream where I was testing out other S-fit heads that I found out it wasn’t compatible with any of them. Here’s why.

Simply put, the magnifying lens at the back of the Godox Spotlight doesn’t leave a lot of room for the bulb from the light you’re attaching to it. It fits beautifully with the Godox S150R and likely all of their other S-fit LED heads, but I’ve yet to find any other flash heads with a small enough bulb that will also fit.

*Click to enlarge - Multiple flash head bulb heights versus the Godox SZ150R bulb height.*

As you can see, it’s close on a lot of these lights, but due to the nature of the glass flash tube cage on most of them, none will actually allow the Spotlight to be affixed. On one of my older strobes (Lumi 200), I was able to use it without the modelling bulb, but without that, it becomes very tricky to use due to the lens at the front of the Spotlight needing to be focused and without any light to do so, it becomes very difficult to use effectively.

There is also the issue of diffusion and how this Spotlight does such a great job of spreading the light edge-to-edge across its beam with almost no hot-spotting. Yes, the huge purpose-built lens on the front plays a large part in this, but so does the SZ150R diffusion dome. Take a look below to see what I mean.

*Click to enlarge - on the left, we have the SZ150R and on the right, we have a traditional torus flash tube*

On the left we have the regular SZ150R as the light source on the Godox Spotlight and on the right, I’m using my old strobe with the modelling bulb removed. So yes, that is flash on the right and ambient on the left, but you can clearly see the dip in light quality thanks to the flash tube shape and lack of diffusion. Using flash would be possible, but the trade-off in light quality across the spot wouldn’t be worth it for me.

I’ve spoken at length to several people online as we tried a variety of ideas to make it work, but ultimately, as it stands right now, using this Spotlight with flash simply isn’t viable in my opinion.

In a pinch, I could manage without a modelling bulb and yes I even purchased mini screw-fit LED bulbs, but they were still too big. In reality though, even if those mini-bulbs did work, I think they would have blocked too much light from the flash as it’s a very tight space at the back of that Spotlight. There were also suggestions to use diffusion gels over the flash tube to soften the light, but I am never okay with having anything sat against or that close to the flash tube like that. Ultimately, this Spotlight was NOT designed for flash. These spotlights have been designed for film and theatre, they are designed for ambient lights like the Godox SZ150R. Remember, we as flash users adapted the Spotlight to make the Optical Snoot all those years ago, so although it is technically possible to use a flash with this, I personally won’t be doing so. I didn’t even feel comfortable firing too many flashes with it attached as it was. Flashes can get notoriously hot if kept in a sealed unit like that and that heat often translates to dark scorch spots on glass which is something I desperately wanted to avoid on the big magnifier in the back of my Spotlight.

Again, this Godox Spotlight was not designed for flash. Yes, it states S-fit on the sales page, but Godox is referring to their ever-growing lineup of S-fit LED heads. This quite literally means it isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to S-fit anymore and we need to be more aware of the differences between these LED modifiers as we move forward.

In fact, I think we as photographers will begin seeing more and more of this crossover in the coming years as LEDs become bright enough and in turn, more viable for commercial high-end photography. This was an interesting lesson to learn and as much as I tried to make it work with flash, this Spotlight won’t be doing so to the same quality as the LED head for me.

Spotlight Sizes

If you’re an Optical Snoot owner, you’re likely used to changing the size of your spot by simply changing the lens on the front of your snoot. The Godox Spotlight works in a similar way in that you can swap out the lenses, but they are expensive, purpose-built lenses, so it’s best to choose the right lens for your work when initially purchasing your Spotlight.

The initial choices are 36°, 26° and 19°. I was using the 36° and for me, it was an easy choice.

*This image shows the relative sizes of the 3 available lens choices. The outer ring is my 36° lens and that is placed 2m from the wall.*

The choice was a simple one for me as the 36° lens casts the biggest spot. That is important to me for a number of reasons, but mainly a larger spot allows me to do more with it in small shooting spaces. If you are planning on using this in small studios or even home studios, the larger spot will simply allow you to cast a larger light without having to move the light too far away.

Of course, the opposite is also true. If you’re planning on using this in a theatre or suspending it from the ceiling of a large studio, the smaller spot may be more controllable for you.

Also, even if you choose a larger lens, you could also reduce the size of the spot via the internal blades anyway, so again, the larger one may give you more flexibility.

Are there any downsides to the 36° option?

The only minor downside that I found on the larger lens, was some slight distortions towards the edges of the projected light. This larger lens likely comes with slightly more hot-spotting than the tighter lenses, plus those tighter lenses will also have less noticeable distortions at the edges.

*Click to enlarge - The 36° lens creates the largest spot, but it also has some slight bowing at the corners that would be lessened with the alternate lenses.*

Plus, this huge lens has an extremely shallow depth of field and consequently, along with the slight bowing, the edges will also be slightly softer if you’ve focused on the centre. You can see in the image above that the corners are slightly blurred compared to the sharp centre.

All of this is extremely minor in my opinion as it’s extremely unlikely that I’ll ever have the Spotlight perfectly parallel to a perfectly flat surface in front of it, nor will I be focusing my camera on the actual projected light either. On top of that, I also rarely use very geometric shapes as you see here, so even if all of the above did happen, you’d likely never see any of it due to the type of light you were projecting. Yes, it’s good to know where the limitations lie, but the larger 36° lens was an easy pick for me.

*Godox Spotlight used as a bounced top-light.*

In Conclusion

This Spotlight genuinely is one of the best modifiers I’ve ever used and yes, it really is in my top 5 if not top 3 modifiers of all time. Its near-flawless edge-to-edge illumination with almost no hotspot is extremely powerful for me and my work. With this incredibly clean light I’m able to not only use it as a regular hard-light, but I’m also able to turn it into one of the softest light sources I own and due to how I achieve that via the bounced light, I’m able to achieve that beautifully soft light in extremely small spaces.

The downside is not insignificant though, as if you don’t already own an S-fit LED light, this Spotlight likely won't fit your current S-fit light. The receiver depth is only ~50mm so check how high your bulb sits first, but again, not many will be shallow enough for this and again I’ll say it, but this modifier was not designed for flash.

If you already have an S-fit LED head that will fit this, the choice is a no-brainer for me as I can’t see how you won't be using it on nearly every shoot. We’ve all spent a few hundred quid on an off-meta focal length lens before that we barely use, this Spotlight certainly won’t be one of those purchases I assure you. I’m still finding new ways to use this Spotlight that I’ve not had chance to share here yet and with so many lighting possibilities, I can’t go back to not having one now.

If you don’t already have a head that would fit this, but you’re already shooting with LED panels like I am, I’d highly recommend you look at getting at least one S-fit LED head as I have for hard-light modifiers like this. I think we’ll start seeing more and more LED modifier crossovers in the coming years as LEDs are getting brighter and brighter every few months. The LED lighting solutions are just so convenient that it's all but inevitable at this point.

PROS

Extremely versatile
Adaptable to many lighting looks
Very clean and even light edge-to-edge
Useful for creating soft light in small spaces
Internal blades allow you to finely define areas of light down to a pinprick of light if needed

CONS

Can only be used effectively with S-fit Godox LEDs
The wider lenses show some distortion on geometric shapes at the edges
Larger lenses have a very shallow depth of field that can result is slightly soft corners
The thing weights a ton! With the 36° lens, it’s about 5.5KG, then you need to hang your light off the back and then you need to attach the entire thing to a light stand. C-Stands are a must for this beast!

A big thank you to Webb Stacy for his tolerance of my obsession with these Spotlights and for providing workarounds and solutions to potential problems. Same goes to Dale for taking the time to offer up varying ideas to make the flash option a reality.

Big thanks as well to the featured model Basia Panecka, as I tested and played with many of these ideas with her for the first time.

Lastly, I promise…

I appreciate I’m not the brightest bulb in the box, but can anyone explain to me why that when attaching the Godox light to the Godox modifier, that they aren’t aligned? See in the shot that no matter how I attach the S-fit at the back, the light is never level at the back and you can see the buttons and dials are skewed as a result. Not a big deal, but I’m obviously missing something as there’s no way it was designed like that…. right?😅