ISSUE 126
22 / LIGHTING
Beyond natural light From taming harsh sunlight to adding vibrant colour, we explore how flash and LED can reshape your images
Whichever way you measure success in your
images, getting the light just right will help immeasurably. Whether chasing camera club awards, social media likes or just the satisfaction of creating a beautiful photo, light is a crucial element. Of course, mother nature often doesn’t play ball either. While using additional lighting won’t help much if you are shooting distant landscapes, there are lots of times when these power-packed fixtures can make a real difference. Portraits, weddings, events and sports can benefit from some additional lighting, for example. That doesn’t just mean when the light is low or it’s almost dark because filling in harsh shadows on a sunny day can work wonders for your images. Get this crucial element right and you can really push your creativity. But what should you use and why? The biggest choice is whether you go for flash power or continuous lights. So we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of each and how to get the best out of your lighting.
MOBILE WORKSHOP Taking a set of four LED lights on location is now a real possibility thanks to battery-powered units like Astera’s Quikbeam
LED there be light! The latest wave of LED lighting
ISO settings, there are few worries about noise creeping into images. For portrait work, fixtures like the Amaran Pano 120c light panel offer white light as well as full colour control, enabling creative background washes or precise skin tone balancing. Being able to dial in colour temperature or add subtle gels without physical filters speeds up workflow dramatically. For shooting both stills and video, LEDs remove the need for separate lighting systems. A unit like the Neewer FS150C offers strong output suitable for stills, while also delivering flicker-free performance for video capture. This dual-purpose functionality is a major cost and space saver. LEDs run cooler and consume less power than traditional tungsten lights, and battery-powered systems are now powerful enough for serious
use. Compact fresnel-style units, like the Astera Quikbeam, combine high- output punch with portability and advanced control, including wireless options. For location shooters, this reduces cable clutter and set-up time. There are lots of different types of LED lights, from large light panels for soft lighting, tube lights and COB fixtures that feature a hard point light source. This can be modified by using fresnel lenses to focus the beam or grids to control the direction, barn doors to stop light spreading or softboxes to soften the output. That makes them very versatile. The ability to instantly adjust brightness and colour temperature also simplifies modifier use. You can fine-tune light quality first, then sculpt it with accessories. Despite their advantages, LED lights aren’t perfect. They put out lower peak power compared to flash. So for freezing fast action or overpowering bright sunlight outdoors, flash still delivers. Continuous LEDs may require higher ISO settings or wider apertures – which you might prefer. From speedlight to studio For those who want precision, power and the ability to freeze motion, flash remains unrivalled. Unlike continuous lighting, flash delivers its energy in an ultra-fast burst often lasting just a fraction of a millisecond. That instantaneous output gives photographers the ability to stop motion crisply, overpower bright
has fundamentally changed the way photographers approach artificial light. Once seen as a compromise compared to flash, modern LED fixtures now offer high output, accurate colour rendering and creative flexibility – all in compact, energy-efficient packages. From studio portraiture to product photography and hybrid photo-video workflows, LEDs have become a staple tool in your kit. The key benefit of constant light is that what you see is what you get, in real time. This makes shaping light easier, particularly for beginners or photographers refining subtle lighting set-ups. Shadows, highlights and catchlights are visible instantly, allowing fine adjustments without test shots. And with cameras now offering incredible performance even at high
LED CHOICE The daylight-only Profoto L1600D (left), full-colour Neewer FS150C COBs (right) and
Amaran Pano 120c (above)
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