Videos

Karl Taylor lists ten projects for one light: one-light portrait setups in small spaces, outdoor portraits mixing flash and ambient light, still life challenges like an egg, bubbles in a fish tank, splash shots using flash duration, product and watch photography, and macro on a glass tabletop.

Manny Ortiz assembles an affordable one-light portrait setup from a speedlight, wireless trigger, umbrella with flash holder adaptor and budget light stand, paired with a Sony camera and an inexpensive portrait lens for APS-C bodies. He photographs model Diana to show what a single, cheaply modified flash can achieve.

Karl Taylor answers critics who credit his results to a Hasselblad and expensive lights. A KTM motorcycle and fire-safety kit needed ten to twelve lights, but feta cheese, a model in a coastal pool, rim-lit portraits and advertising images each used one light plus cardboard or a single umbrella.

Peter Coulson shows how many looks one light gives without touching its power or position, moving himself or Rhiannon. On a Hasselblad H6D-50c and 100mm at f/9, 1/160 and ISO 100, with a Profoto D2 in a softbox on a boom, he shifts from Rembrandt to softer, flatter light.

Jerry Ghionis isolates beauty in a cluttered location by shooting up from the floor so out-of-focus chandelier bulbs become bokeh behind Kristen, leaning in to correct perspective. He exposes for ambience at 1/160, f/2.8 and ISO 800, dials the Ice Light brighter, and makes her laugh for warm eyes.

Jerry Ghionis lights Amy against a purple wall with an Ice Light 2, using barn doors or its sleeve to light her face but not her body. A second Ice Light behind provides hair light at ISO 1600, 1/125 and f/2.8, then a narrow beam across her face adds drama.

Jerry Ghionis uses an Ice Light 2 to emulate window light on a sofa, posing a gold-dressed model with hips rolled, elbow resting, hands occupied and a gap under the wrist. Held vertically the light is sharper, angled it softens; he shoots at 1/125, f/2.8 and ISO 1000.

Karl Taylor shoots a model in a yellow dress on a staircase, backlit by sun, the sky darkened by ND and polarising filters, and lit by two battery flash heads in umbrellas for light between hard and soft. Stairs form leading lines and she steps so the dress flows.

Mark Wallace shows why white seamless paper is versatile: it falls into shadow for grey or near-black, while grids, flags and black foil shape light. Shooting Sam Kazuch at ISO 200, 1/250 and f/10, he cuts arcs into a black-foil gobo over a 10-degree grid for film noir contrast.

Peter Coulson photographs Abbey in his studio's concrete area with one Razer 7 HMI light bounced off mirrors to mimic multiple sources, rotating them to fine-tune shadows and spraying water on the glass to mottle reflections. He shoots a Sony with a 70-200mm at 200mm, tethered to Imaging Edge.