
01. One light is often all you need to make great studio portraits. All the shots in this grid were taken with just one light. Incidentally I love my Chinese fighter pilots helmet. What a great addition to my props store.
In this series of shots I show how applying knowledge to lighting can result in very marketable portraits for both the social and corporate markets. It’s not how many lights you have in the studio that matters, it’s what you can do with them that counts. Here are 26 frames from a recent 1:1 session that show what can be achieved with just one or two lights, enjoy…
Model: Victoria L Coutts
Makeup and hair: Vicki Waghorn
Camera: Fujifilm X-T1
Lenses: 35mm f/1.4 and 56mm f/1.2

02. Adding a second light to the mix is great at providing some separation from the background. With the right control the key light can also become the background light and any spill can be reflected back in to control contrast.

03. A single light was used here to create this ethereal look. The shot looks like it used many lights but it was the work of a single Elinchrom 500Ws Studio head and a reflector.

04. This one light sequence is perhaps a bit more obvious but there is still some control of contrast and tone to be had at the taking stage.

05. I specialise in teaching upstage lighting for effect. It generates simple yet striking images that can be used for dramatic portraits as well as pregnancy photography.

06. One light, one wall moments. In my sessions I teach how to control shadows and separate tones.

07. In camera diffusion is one of the tricks used last century on film that we can still use today for a great look.

08. Sometimes you just ‘see’ the light and want to capture it however it presents itself. The shot on the left was lit with just the modeling light in the flash head. The shot on the right involved one head and a reflector.

09. These shots were lit with a single Lupolux spotlight aimed through my make shift Venetian blind. I pushed the exposure several stops on my Fuji X-T1 knowing I’d have complete control of the raw file. These are the kind of exposure control skills I teach on my 1:1 sessions.
Even when I’m restricting the studio lighting session to one or two lights I get very advanced quickly. My delegates always keep up because the fundamental information and secrets that I share are very easy to follow. Once you have the knowledge these kinds of images are easy to recreate. My job is to empower you with that knowledge and the skills you need to take your studio photography to a much higher level.

10. These frames were lit with one Lupolux LED spotlight. It really doesn’t matter what gear you have I can show you how to get the most from it. My studio 1:1 sessions can happen in my studio in Somerset UK or in a studio of your choice. Ring Blaise or Laura on +44(0)1275 853204 or email them for prices, my availability and information. You’ll be surprised at just how much you can learn in a short period of time and just how cost effective a 1:1 session can be.
Feel free to comment below.
It’s true that less is so often more
Indeed Tracy. I love working with one light :)
Hi Damien
Any idea why the x100s fires my elinchrom heads with only the commander setting in the flash settings ( no flash triggers) yet the xt1 does not seem to do this even when the set up is identical? With the xt1 I’m using the elinchrom skyport to trigger?
Thx
Hi Tony,
The X100s and X100t emits a small pulse of flash when in commander mode and your Elinchroms are picking up the flash and retriggering etc. Unless you put the auxillary flash unit on the X-T1 the camera can’t emit the flash pulse needed to trigger the Elinchroms.
I hope this helps,
Damien.
Very inspiring to see so many different styles with 1-2 lights … amazing shots!
Thanks Jin :)