How To Make A Lighting Setup With Just One Light

Note: This article was published over 6 months ago, but it is important enough to bear re-posting.

How To Make A Lighting Setup With Just One Light

by William Lulow

One single light can be a very effective source for creating interesting portraits, and that’s where we begin. It is also helpful to note that by studying applications of artificial light, we become much more aware of natural light and how it behaves in the world around us. This will ultimately help us to make much more interesting images.

We usually have to direct light to make any kind of visual statement, so we begin with a single bulb  – can be any bulb but usually a 500 or 250watt photoflood placed in a 10-inch reflector will give enough intensity and direction. You can get one with a spring-clamp so that it can be placed anywhere, but a light stand is a better idea. Remember that 500watt bulbs get kind of hot after a while, so make sure you’ve got a towel or pot holder to handle them.

But before you even begin using the reflector, try to do a portrait of someone with just room light. How will you get enough light on your subject to make a decent exposure? What do you say to your subject? How can you direct them so that you will have enough light on them? These are all questions you need to ask yourself. Once you try to make a picture of your subject with room light, you will have a better “feel” for what it will take to make a decent portrait of them with your flood light. 

Here is an image I made quite a while ago, before I acquired any artificial lights at all. Where do you think the light came from? 

This image was made with one photoflood light in a ten-inch reflector. Where was it coming from? 

You are going to start by placing the light to the left or right of the camera and just looking at the effect. Don’t take any pictures yet, but just notice what happens when you begin to move the light around your subject. Notice where the shadows fall. Notice what the highlights look like. Also notice how your subject reacts.  Watch how the face changes characteristics with light coming from different angles.

A word about subjects: it’s best to use people you know and who know you as your “guinea pigs.” You should observe them while you are setting up the light to see how they “feel” about sitting for you while you fumble around with your new equipment. It is information you can and should use later on. 

So, this is how you begin learning to use artificial light. You need to observe closely all the things I mentioned. Even if you have already used electronic flash units, you need to stop and notice what can be achieved with a single light bulb in a reflector. This will help you greatly in your application of artificial light even with much more sophisticated equipment that you will acquire later on.