An excellent lighting setup for low key photography. Playing with the white balance gives a dramatic nightish look and feel.

Low key photography lighting diagram

Photographer Pedro Moreno from Spain shares a low key lighting setup for fashion photography.

Pedro: – The camera had a WB in Tounsgten,  Canon 5D MK II, 100mm, Exposition 5.0, shutter 1/60, ISO 200 with.  Main light Elinchrom Quadra RX with a Octave 1mt in silver and 1 Canon 580EXII speedlite as a kicker light. I did trigger everything with an Skyport.

Photographer Pedro Moreno

Photographer Pedro Moreno will show you the lighting setup for some of his beautiful photos. Here is is short interview with Pedro:

Lighting For Photo: – Where are you from?

Pedro Moreno: – I am from Venezuela but I live in Spain at the moment

Lighting For Photo: – How old are you?

Pedro Moreno: – 46

Lighting For Photo: – How long have you been into photography?

Pedro Moreno: – About 7 years

Lighting For Photo: – Do you prefer studio or location sessions?

Pedro Moreno: – Location.  I like very much the challenges of lighting when you are outdoors or warehouses… Also always the background is different and I do play with that.

Lighting For Photo: – What is your dream assignment?

Pedro Moreno: – I would love to do an editorial for Italian Vogue

Lighting For Photo: – What other photographers do you like?

Pedro Moreno: – Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Koudelka, Helmut Newton, Joe Mcnally, Jordan Matthew Smith, amount others.

Lighting For Photo: – What is your favorite piece of photo equipment?

Pedro Moreno: – I love my Canon 5D MK II because is a full frame with the 100mm, 2.8 lense. I use it all the time. In lighting the one I use the most is the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra A with a Octave 1mt and deflectors. In my lenses also I use ND filters

Lighting For Photo: – What is the most common beginners misstakes when it comes to lighting?

Pedro Moreno: – Trying to buy everything they think they need. My advise is get to know what you have… I feel there is not right or wrong camera… just make the best out of it. Go out and shoot. The equipment won’t make you a better photographer.

Lighting For Photo: – What is your favorite lighting setup?

Pedro Moreno: – Elinchrom Ranger Quadra with an “A” head… love the fact is lo light to travel with it and it give me 1/6000 when I need it.

Lighting For Photo: – What is your worst photo experience?

Pedro Moreno: – Working for a client once… doing some photos at the beach… my camera got splash by a wave… I wasn’t expecting such a big wave and I thought my camera was all lost including the canon 70-200m 2.8 IS. Everything was very wet… luckily the Canon 5D MK II is build with this kind of situations in mind and nothing happen… that is one of the reason is costly… God was with me that day!!!  

Check out mor of Pedros work at: www.pmorenofotografo.com

Diagram of the clamshell lighting

Here is a clamshell lighting setup from photographer Morgan Klang. Using the umbrella and reflector together minimizes hard shadows and gives a smooth light.

Simple lighting setup gives a great result.

Photographer Morgan Klang shows us how to take great photos using only one reflector.

The hard light makes the vivid colors appear, and gives some extra punchiness to the photo.

Here’s a lighting setup  from Morgan Klang that gives us crisp vivid colors. The key light is from a strobe with just a tight reflector on. That gives a punchy and distinct light and a shadow on the background. Then there is a softer fill light from a shoot through umbrella. By not having a dedicated strobe on the background, the shadow will be more prominent and add that extra crispiness to the photo.

Photographer Morgan Klang of www.scandiphoto.co.uk gives us some inspiring lighting setups. Let’s start with a short interview so we get to know the man behind the photos.

Lighting For Photo: – Where are you from?

Morgan Klang: – I was born in Sweden by Swedish parents but I left to go travelling around the world over 15 years ago.

Since then I have lived/worked in Israel, Egypt, Palestine, UK, Ireland, Holland, Caribbean and now back live in UK again.

I will never return back to Sweden again I think…… I have found that I am too different today; I do not fit into the Scandinavian thinking and mentality any longer so I will just not feel at ease in Sweden any longer.

Actually the ONLY place I feel “home” nowadays is London, everywhere else I feel like a misfit J

Lighting For Photo: – How old are you?

Morgan Klang: – Physically or in mind? In my mind, around 25-30, but physically close to 50 and going downhill

Lighting For Photo: – How long have you been into photography?

Morgan Klang: – Since back in the late 80’s, I taught myself using silver media such as Tri-X, Rodinal, Ilford Multigrade, D76 and all that other nice stuff.

Lighting For Photo: – Do you prefer studio or location sessions?

Morgan Klang: – I am 98% outside the studio, and use available light 75% of the time.

Lighting For Photo: – What is your dream assignment?

Access to a foreign tribe somewhere in Africa/India/South America/Asia or wherever else where I can live with them for a prolonged period of time and get into understanding their thinking and outlook on life whilst shooting them.

Lighting For Photo: – What other photographers do you like?

Morgan Klang: – Soo many and too many, there are even too many fields + areas as well.

- Joey Lawrence is a very young lad, however he is better than some who have shot a lifetime.

- Yuri Arcurs is technically great; but his images can be perceived as boring, predictable and sterile for some.

- Another one is David Hobby that I like to watch in action.

- Beside the “boring ones” above I have deep respect for all who are hardcore; with that I mean all the news-photographers who go out there and put their life on the line to give us a story….. Everyone all the way back from Frank Capa up until today.

Lighting For Photo: – What is your favourite piece of photo equipment?

Morgan Klang: – Analogue: My old trusted Canon F1 and my favourite chunks of glass, 85mm 1.8 and 24mm 2.8.

Digital: Then I just love my Canon D7 and the 70-200 2.8

Besides the camera itself, it must be the reflector, ANY type of reflector such as the “proper collapsible one”, or just a door, or maybe a wall, could also be a shirt, or just a sheet of paper, yes anything that is able bounce light will do and can do wonders at times

Lighting For Photo: – What is the most common beginners mistakes when it comes to lighting?

Morgan Klang: – Not being able to “see” light before shooting, for example unable to perceive how contrast and angles of light will affect the end result before they take the shot. But this can be easily overcome by training, training, training, shooting, shooting, shooting.

Lighting For Photo: – What is your favourite lighting setup?

Morgan Klang: – Natural light, preferably large windows or doors and a reflector/bouncer.

Lighting For Photo: – What I your best photo experience?

Morgan Klang: – I came third in a Swedish competition called fotomaraton in Stockholm (before the digital age) and I think it was late 80s or early 90s.

Today I can not recall exactly, but I think we must have been around a thousand competitors who were each given a roll of film with 24 exposures. We then had to use this to shoot one subject every hour that meant we only had one attempt for each subject during 24hrs.

It was extremely tiresome but VERY funny and a GREAT experience.

Lighting For Photo: – What is your worst photo experience?

Morgan Klang: – When I shot “Ice Cube” (Rap artist & actor); he was the worst human being I have ever met.

Afraid I would classify him as socially handicapped because he was arrogant, egotistical, bigheaded, haughty and narcissistic to the extreme!!

I would not like to have him as my friend even if I was paid for it, something is not right in that mans head. I still wonder why he allowed me to shoot him, maybe because he wanted to be center of the attention and bring more tribute to himself by having his photo published.

Lighting setup and diagram for model photography

Wellknown contributor Hipolit Terpinsky is back with another great lighting setup. The key light has just a small reflector which makes the light punchy, crisp and fresh. Then there’s a soft fill light from an octa which stands near the camera.

Lighting setup and lighting diagram

Cecilie Harris tells us how she took this photo using only a window and a reflector: – “Shot indoor at the Ragged School Museum that provides a lot of natural light coming in through windows and even holes in the ceiling. This image was shot for my “Boys by Girls” project (www.boysbygirls.co.uk) for the first coffee table book for this project.
When I have enough daylight to play with that comes in even if I’m shooting on an indoor location, I really prefer using the natural light I have. So I tend to adapt my outdoor techniques indoor. If I don’t have enough light, then I will bring with me my lighting kit. But for those who follow my work, they’ll know I’m addicted to what you can do with natural light and bouncing that around, be it using reflectors or reflective surfaces.”

You better pay attention to these lighting tips, or Cecilie might give you a detention.

A lighting diagram for you to study

Cecilia Harris takes us to an old class room to teach us about lighting setups.

– “Shot indoor at the Ragged School Museum that provides a lot of natural light coming in through windows and even holes in the ceiling. This image was shot for my “Boys by Girls” project (www.boysbygirls.co.uk ) for the first coffee table book for this project.
For this image in particular I really utilised the holes in the ceiling which were letting in so much natural light. This really makes this location so amazing to work with. A simple reflector added to filling in any shadows on the model’s face.”

Natural light FTW!

Lighting diagram of the window and the reflector

Cecilie Harris gives us the details for this lighting setup:

– Shot indoor at the Ragged School Museum that provides a lot of natural light coming in through windows and even holes in the ceiling. This image was shot for my “Boys by Girls” project (www.boysbygirls.co.uk) for the first coffee table book for this project.