Photography Lighting Systems and Kits

There are so many photography lighting systems and kits that it's hard to choose what direction to go. It is helpful to realistically determine your needs and wants for lighting equipment first before looking at specific photography lighting systems.

There are pros and cons to all lighting systems and the lighting technique you use depends on the light sources you have available.

Here are a few systems and the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Built-in Camera Flash. My least favorite by far, this is the small flash that is already built into your camera. The biggest pluses are that is is always there, very easy to use, and ready to use at all times.

Pro

• Convenient
• Automatic
• Small and Lightweight
• Comes with the camera

Con

• Not much covering power
• Creates distinct shadows
• Not at all versatile
• Often creates Red Eye
• Can be blocked by finger position

Pop-up Camera Flash.




Usually on higher quality cameras. Has more power and a bit of flexibility.

You can add a diffuser on top (see the photo) which can help a little, but this reduces it's coverage significantly.

Pro

• Easy to open or close for use
• Automatic
• Light is above camera lens
• Can be modified with diffuser

Con

• Average covering power
• Creates distinct shadows
• Only slightly versatile
• Can't bounce the light

Speedlight.




Lots of power, versatility and options.

You can add attach the speedlite to the top of your camera or use it off-camera by using a transmitter on top. Can also be bounced in many directions and you can attach high capacity batteries to shoot photos all day.

Pro

• Still small and easy to carry
• Very powerful and versatile
• Light aim in many directions
• Can be modified many ways
• Adjustable power settings

Con

• Purchase separately
• Needs it's own batteries
• Makes your camera heavier to carry

The next group of photography lights is professional studio equipment that needs electricity. There are lights that feature a separate power pack with individual lights that plug in and also individual studio lights that are powered independently from each other, called monolights.

I recently came across some very positive reviews on a piece of lighting equipment that I wanted to pass on to you.

Some photographer likes to put their own photography lighting systems together by combining equipment that they already own and adding to it.

Monolights are versatile lights that pack plenty of power to handle almost all photography lighting situations.

They come with a modeling light that closely mimics the lighting effect that you will get when the powerful electronic part of these flash units fire.

Monolights are often used with umbrellas or soft-boxes and the Cowboy Monolight comes highly rated. Cowboy Monolight You can get Cowboy Monolights by them selves or as part of a kit.

Have a blast improving your photography and please share these digital photography tips with someone you care about!

Happy Shooting!
Photo Tipman

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Photography Lighting Techniques

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Photography Lighting Kits