![]() ![]() The built-in modeling light is mostly there to enable your camera to find focus before the shutter is pressed and show you where the light will fall – but it doesn’t always give an accurate representation of what the image will look like. It does mean that you have no idea what your photo will look like until after you’ve taken the shot. This feature makes strobe lights the standard for studio photographers in general. Because you are freezing motion, you will never have an issue getting sharp images, even when you are photographing a larger group, or when you have subjects in motion. Strobe lights are studio lights that are synced to your camera (via triggers and receivers) and produces a flash when you press your shutter. But for newborns, who are not moving and are usually shot at wider apertures, a continuous light is perfect. However, many of the lower-priced continuous lights are not as powerful as their strobe counterparts, and so when you have to shoot at a higher f-stop (like for families), or have to shoot with a faster shutter speed (like for fast-moving toddlers), you may not have enough light without having to increase your ISO to an unacceptably high level. Continuous lights allow you to see the result you will be getting as you make adjustments. These characteristics make it an easy to use option for beginners. You also do not need any further equipment (triggers and receivers) to make it work. What you see is what you get, so you can move the light around until you see it fall on your subject exactly the way you want. The first decision you will have to make when delving into studio lighting: will you use continuous lights or strobe lights? Continuous lightsĬontinuous lights are studio lights that stay on all the time. So I would advise to stay away from the cheap light setups you find on Amazon – while they are adequate for general studio portraits, they are usually too powerful for newborn photography. ![]() Very simply: You need a light, something to mount the light onto, something to soften and spread the light more equally, and, in some instances, something that will make the light flash every time you press the shutter.įor newborn photographers, the challenge is not finding the strongest light, but rather one that can adjust low enough to not overpower your little subjects when you want to shoot wide open. You just need a single-light setup for your newborn studio. While you may have seen photography studios with multiple light sources, a bunch of umbrellas pointing in all directions, and wires everywhere, studio lighting for newborns doesn’t need all of that. (and editing is so, so much faster!) Which equipment do you need? The advantage of studio lights over natural light is that it provides the look of gorgeous, natural light, but in a predictable and consistent way that is fully controlled by the photographer. When you create a gallery of images for a client, you want to make sure that the lighting setup is consistent throughout the gallery.Īnd when you look at your portfolio, you want the same look for all of your work, because clients trust you to create the same images for their newborns as you have displayed on your website. (If you live in the Pacific Northwest like I do, count on days to be grey for months on end). Some days are bright and sunny, while others are dark and gloomy. The problem with natural light is that it doesn’t stay the same – not from one session to the next, and not even from the first hour to the last hour of your session. So if natural light is so great, why are you even reading this post? In fact, can you tell which of these images use studio light vs natural light? Bet you can’t tell which is which….and that’s the whole point! So much so that our entire aim with studio lighting is not to create a new look, but rather to use studio lighting to look as close as possible to natural light! In fact … nothing beats the look of natural light for newborn photographs. You can make gorgeous newborn portraits using just a large window that lets in lots of light. ![]() Let me say firstly that there is nothing wrong with just using natural light. So allow me to provide a gentle, non-intimidating introduction to studio lighting for newborns, so you can finally check off that last item on your to-do list Why studio lighting? Because it sure is easier (and a whole lot more fun) to shop for baby bonnets than to figure out the difference between continuous and strobe lighting.Ĭan I let you in on a secret? It’s not half as complicated as it looks and sounds. The crowd of you with hands in the air … I feel you. ![]() Hands up, how many of you avoid that last item on your list, and rather cycle through the other items on your list one more time? ![]()
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