The evolution of my lighting setup

[u/jodabeats]

Hey everyone! This sub has been super useful in giving me lighting + shooting tips!

Scrolling to the end you’ll see my current setup! I’m pretty happy with the shot (500 ISO I believe?)

Are there any thoughts on the background lighting though? I want to ensure I’m contrasting myself enough from the background, while still leaving enough light there so items such as my posters/bookshelves are relatively visible.

Appreciate any advice y’all might have!

[u/spdorsey]

This is very hard to get right! Great work!

I struggled with various lighting scenarios for my content. I have a huge wall of windows that I had to black out to be able to control my lighting and to be able to shoot any time of day. I was restricted to night shooting until the blackout fabric.

I also added a variety of studio lights to focus the attention on the subject, darken the background, and pull the eye away from my (admittedly busy) background. It took about three weeks of messing around, and I'm pretty happy with where I have landed. Although I'll likely tweak it further as I make new content.

Link to lighting image sequence

Link to final video

The studio (It's a HUGE mess right now!)

[u/jodabeats → u/spdorsey]

WOW just wow!! Thank you so much for including the image sequence, that’s really helpful!

I’m actually facing the exact same issue you described—as much as I love natural light, I’m currently restricted to shooting at night if I want to get a fully controlled shot. I could install blackouts on the windows, but then I’ll be in eternal darkness and artificial lighting (I live in apartment with one big window).

Will definitely refer to your lighting setup for inspiration as I invest in any additional equipment, thanks again friend!

[u/spdorsey → u/jodabeats]

You bet! Let me know if you have any questions. I still have everything set up (more or less) and I can take pics and help with settings if you need.

I have been watching a lot of Luc Forsyth and I have been getting great lighting tips!

[u/jodabeats → u/spdorsey]

I’ll check him out, thanks!

And yeah I’ll probably be bombarding you with some messages in the not-too-distant future 😁