You can set up home photo studio lighting kits in a surprisingly small space so it’s probably a lot less of an upheaval that you might imagine. Maybe move a bit of furniture out the way and you’re ready for portraits, still lifes and anything else you can imagine.
So what home studio lighting kit do you need to buy? There are all kinds of lighting kits available and the more you spend the better the quality will be. You could begin with a Hot Shoe flash which is a softbox and stand you can mount a speed light into and exposure is handled by your camera’s TTL metering.
A larger lighting kit will give you more lighting power and if you can afford it go for it. You can always lose a bit of light if there’s too much but it’s a pain when you don’t have enough to get the depth of field you might need.
Home studio lighting kits come with a range of accessories to soften the light such as softboxes, umbrellas or you could just bounce light off the ceiling provided it’s a plain white. There’s more on bounce flash photography at
Mike Browne
she loves you yeah yeah yeah
she loves you yeah yeah yeah
I do like that shop mike they have everything our shops would not stock as much stuff at all.
who is the whippersnapper boy ? he needs a kick in the ass for behaving the way he is doing
Sorry I meant the flashgun setup for clarification
Great video very informative and I never thought about that set up very good for beginners and pros alike does it work as well with two heads synced do you know?
Which kit is that you're using
You gonna eat that sandwich or wave it around?
Hey Mike, I have been following your videos and tutorials andI have learned a lot. Thanks for that!
I'm in the process of setting up a home studio and I use a Olympus OM-D EM 5 and I'm looking for getting some studio lights. In one of your video where you clicked a picture, your studio light flashed. My question is how did that flash? What was the trigger to make the studio light flash? The reason why I'm asking is because I want to be able to do the same with my Olympus OM-D. So the question to you is – What should I buy additionally that would trigger the flash from the Studio light when I hit the shutter button on my camera?
Hi Mike – I am trying to get in to lighting in a very simple and low budget level…..for now. Can you remember the soft box used with the flashgun in this vid?! Are all soft boxes the same kind of set up? I mean on connecting to a stand or the fixing where the flashgun fits through. For now I was going to use my tripod with an umbrella/ flash adapter. Congratulations on being in the top 10 by the way. In my view you should be in the top 3 at least.
Please bite that sandwich already. Great video though, helped me decide on the softbox
tom just wants to be a oasis fan
thank you!
Thanks Mike. Lots of useful information, especially for a beginner such as myself. Earned yourself a sub 😉
thanks…
I believe at 6:20 an optical slave flash was triggered by the light variation.Â
I want a sandwichÂ
what was the cable called and what make so i can buy one thanks? Andy
I have just discovered your videos, and I like them fine. Â Very informative. Â Thanks for posting them.
sucks…
In this video I disappoint because it is 16 min. and information you give is not as sufficient also you don't apply price point of view in this when you talk about home setup it is must require budget. Sorry if I write muchÂ
Mayur from India
If Mr.Rogers and Paul McCartney had a baby.
Mike Browne is Great ,, I’ve been an accountant for 26 years and I’ve got into professional photography recently and have made $ 6,680.00 In four month's just by watching and applying mikes concepts in my approach ,, watch and learn from this guy.!!!!!!!!!
I enjoy your tutorials.
Love your video's Mike, all excellent. Got to say I felt for you on this one as Tom was a bit camera shy!
thanks sir
Hi Mike . Great video and I have learnt a great deal again thanks 🙂
The problem is that lights are really overpriced as is most of the equipment we need to help get that perfect shot. I do wish that these manufacturers would be more realistic when pricing up their products and then we would not have to buy direct from the same places that they do if the truth be known.. before they add the profit mark up  i.e. China /Japan  etc… I mean we all know that nothing of any use to us in this great art of ours in made in Great Britain !!
I am more than happy to pay for quality but there as to be a realistic limit ….
Thanks again ..and please keep them videos coming 🙂
Looks like LCE Southampton…
I use a couple of older version Bowens Gemini 200 lights at work and I can confirm they are a very good and reliable studio head. Although I have never used them myself I have only ever heard good things about Elemental Lighting kits which is a British company owned by the CEO of 3 Legged Thing Tripods. Mike I have only just found your channel and can I say what a breath of fresh air it is, thanks and I look forward to your future videos.
What about broncolor there some serious lights haha, i do love gemini 1000 pro's though
shopkeeper like OASIS band
Hi Chad – good point about the auto zoom. I've never used a speedlight with softbox (always use Bowens) so I'm not an expert on this. The only way to find out is experiment and learn from the experience.
Thank you. Yes but as far as know there's no written rule on this – just experience. For example if you have a big 5 foot Soft box it'll absorb loads more light than a small one. I always tell people to go for the biggest light output you can because you can always cut it down with the flash controls or by hanging muslin cloth over it but if it's not there you can't get more out of it.
I also wonder this, many videos discuss just throwing a modifier on, but I assume you have to take the zoom of the flash gun into consideration to see if it will fully illuminate the umbrella. What if it's TTL and tries to auto zoom and just leaves a point light in the middle of your umbrella? Do you always use a diffuser on the flash head when it's behind a box or umbrella to get maximum scatter, etc? Still trying to wrap my head around a lot of this! Thanks for all the great tips!
Do you mean to put a highlight / rimlight into a portrait? A snoot works well and you can make one from a bit of rolled cardboard if you don't want to buy one for your lighting kit. A Honeycombe works well too.
Mike, what do you personally use for a hair light?
Thank you Ricky
Thank you Kieron. Expensive pro gadgets are all well and good if you're shooting professionally but most people on here aren't. It's also a mission of mine to show that you don't need to spend megga bucks to take great kit. It's the photographer that does that – not the size of the budget 🙂
I don't know if anyone has already said this, but thanks for showing the 'budget' end of the market i.e speedlites. So many videos and magazines tend to focus on the studio lights etc and forget that sometimes people are working to a budget. Great video, really informative, hope to see more.
What a great personality you have Mike, the kid at the store is explaining to you what a Softbox is, and yet you listen to him to attentively. Great guy mate!
Thanks. Hmmm – You can get huge softboxes but I'm not a specialist with them. I think you would need to increase the power of the flash head for a big box because the larger area and baffling inside it would absorb light. It will depend on how small an aperture you want to use and how far from your subject the light is too.
Is there a limit to size of softbox in comparison to the power of the flash unit? Keep up the good work
Thank you
Really great video! I like the way you keep everything simple! Easy to understand! 🙂
Oasis
tom needs a hair cut
Thank you ..
Hi Mike, I really love your videos. They are so pure and you keep everything simple and understandable. Keep going!
Made me smile 🙂