Simple Strategies for a One-Light Setup

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Simple Strategies for a one-light setup 

When I started in photography almost 20 years ago, photographing outdoors with natural light was an anomaly. Most photographers had retail studios and practiced traditional, classical posing and lighting. I, on the other hand, didn’t have a photography background. I started like most photographers do these days, photographing my own kids in my backyard. When I finally opened a studio space in 2000, I knew that I needed studio lighting, but had no idea what to buy.

I had worked for another studio for about a year, but not as a photographer, so I was going into this new purchase pretty blindly. I did know that I should always look for a main light (or key light) and a fill light, even when working outdoors, so that’s exactly what I decided to purchase. I chose the biggest light modifier I could afford (a 4×6 softbox) and a large fill source (a 72″ reflector).

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