Top Lighting Tips for Great Digital Photography
It doesn"t have to cost a lot of money to create effective studio lighting. Use the following lighting tips to eliminate shadow, reduce flash glare, and improve the overall look of your photos.Just because you"re not a professional photographer, doesn"t mean that your pictures will not benefit from good digital photography lighting. You may find lighting tips particularly beneficial if you plan to sell products on eBay or take pictures of valuable items for insurance purposes.
The good news is that an effective studio lighting setup does not have to be complicated or expensive. The following lighting tips will help you reduce flash glare, eliminate shadow, and improve the overall clarity of your pictures.
What Lights are Needed
As already mentioned, setting up good photography lighting does not have to be expensive. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that you do not need lights that are specifically designed for photography. Try using halogen desk lamps. However, you should try to avoid fluorescent or tinted bulbs, as these will require a lot of correction in the editing phase.
How to Achieve a Good Lighting Setup
There are, of course, several different setups that can be used. Your setup of choice will almost certainly depend upon what and where you are shooting. You will probably find it helpful to experiment with various setups until you find the one that works best for you.
Some methods of setting your "studio" include:
Basic Setup - A basic setup consists of using your lights at an angle. If you would like to create shadow, then use just one light. However, if you would like to minimize the amount of shadow use two or more lights.
You will find that glare is reflected back at the lights rather than into the camera lens. Try moving your lights around until your subject looks as you wish. Always remember to look through the camera"s viewfinder though, as this will be different from what can be seen with the naked eye.
Backlit Setup - As its name suggests, the backlit setup involves lighting your subject from behind. The aim of this form of lighting is to enhance the three-dimensional quality of your subject. To achieve a good backlighting setup, you will need to have a clear backdrop.
This does not have to be an expensive piece of equipment; however, it is possible to use a clean white sheet. The difficulty in setting up backlighting is to ensure that the light, which is pointing at the backdrop, does not cast a shadow or cause any other unsightly effects in the shot.
Backlit with Diffusers - Using a diffuser on your lights helps to reduce the number of shadows and the amount of glare. This is particularly effective when shooting dark objects, metals or glass. Of course, like any other setup, you can experiment with using diffusers on just one or all of your lights.
However, you should be careful when choosing a material for your diffusers. For example, you can use white plastic or white paper, but this could catch fire if the bulbs are too hot. Therefore, ensure that any diffusers are attached with a clamp and the material is not touching the bulb. In addition, keep an eye on your diffusers and never leave the bulbs on and unattended.
Of course, these are just some of the digital photography lighting setups that you may like to consider. The important thing to remember is that lighting does not have to cost a fortune. Moreover, don"t be afraid to try different things with your lighting setup.