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The bedroom set
Today I had a long discussion/argument with a friend about lighting and how many strobes one needs to conduct a photo shoot. He was adamant that to be considered a “studio” shoot, there needs to be at least two strobes involved! Where he got this idea, I don’t know. It was funny, because he was convinced that only using two or more and manipulating those lights is considered a “studio shoot”.
I’m not into labels, names or what should or should not be called. As most of you know, I have conducted “studio shoots” in a small bedroom! I used the example on the left to illustrate how I only used one strobe with a reflective umbrella to produce the image. The room was very small, barely enough room for me, the model (friend of mine), bed and one Britek strobe light with a reflector to diffuse the light. I knew that the walls/ceiling would help spread the light and after metering the light on the bed, I was pretty sure it would work.
The area I was working in was an area of about 10′x9′, so not much space between the model/bed and me. I used a higher power setting for the light so I could use a smaller aperture setting (higher aperture number) and enable a sharper image even if part of the models body was closer/further away from me. One strobe was more than enough power to do this, two would have been overkill for such a small room.
Did it create shadows? A little, but not harsh shadows as you can see, it was very soft and natural. It almost made it seem like I was shooting in natural light, which of course would have been impossible. After seeing the samples here, my friend seemed to back off a little. At first I didn’t tell him I shot this in a bedroom, told him that it was shot in a studio with a simulated bedroom “set” and he proceeded to explain how this was a studio shoot because I used at least two light sources. He thought I had a main light to the model’s left and a secondary at a lower power and higher angle to the models front, next to me as I shot.
I don’t know where he saw the second light since there is no indication of it to me, but after I admitted to him that the photos were taken in a regular bedroom with one strobe and reflector, he seemed to back off. If you are an amateur photographer getting started, whether it be as a hobby or in hopes to eventually make it a profession, then forget about the “rules” or what should and should not be done. Experiment, learn and create your own style. After all, isn’t that why we all got into photography? To create something of our own?
