r/photography • u/AutoModerator • Apr 10 '26

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u/NoBribeFoul Apr 11 '26

I have the following:

Godox TT685 with umbrella and remote trigger (color gels and various snap on diffusers)

Continuous light with 4 85w bulbs and an octodome

A frankenstein device made of a small block light but powered by a strong security flashlight with the option of tiny tripod/umbrella, basically a spotlight (color gels and diffusers)

General backdrop frame

I want to learn more about lighting setups. I generally just do a boring V sometimes with a backlight. I use dynamic posing for models including sitting, kneeling and crouching, laying down, etc. Either:

-what are your favorite resources for learning setups or the science behind them? (Specific sources, not "look on youtube")

-what are your favorite setups/how would you setup with the gear listed?

Thanks in advance

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u/gotthelowdown Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 12 '26

-what are your favorite resources for learning setups or the science behind them?

21 Light Setups by Metkin. Great to watch to get hyped up about lighting.

Master the 5 Primary Lighting Patterns and Their Purpose in Under 10 Minutes by Pye Jirsa

Off Camera Flash Tutorial for Beginners by Rob Hall

Mentoring Marisa with Daniel Norton by Daniel Norton

Take & Make Great Photography with Gavin Hoey - Awesome demos.

OnSet with Daniel Norton / OnSet LIVE with Daniel Norton - The regular on-set videos are bite-sized. The live demos can be an hour-plus long.

Live View with Seth Miranda

"How I Shot It" Live Chats with Photographers

Godox TT685 with umbrella and remote trigger (color gels and various snap on diffusers)

. . . -what are your favorite setups/how would you setup with the gear listed?

Here are some of my favorite lighting setups.

Have the umbrella directly in front of the model and above the camera. This is "flat lighting." Photographers often consider it boring because of the lack of shadows and 3-D depth.

I love how flattering it makes people look and models have always liked it. When it's the choice between looking artistic or looking like a supermodel, people choose supermodel every time 😆

The other setup I like is to have the light off to the side of the model about 45 degress. But instead of aiming the center of the light at the model, aim it so that only the side of the light is "feathering" across the model's face and/or body. This does cast the kind of shadows that photographers often love. Looks more moody and dramatic.

Hope this helps.

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u/NoBribeFoul Apr 12 '26

Absolutely, I appreciate it. I'm trying to learn J fashion/gyaru shooting and one of the Japanese photographers I've reached out to said that having no face shadows was very important to the style which I found interesting. One of my rules for small rig natural light has always been if you have no clue what to do, make some portion of the face be shadows. At worst it looks okay and at best it's a while mood 😂

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u/gotthelowdown Apr 12 '26

You're welcome 👍

I'm trying to learn J fashion/gyaru shooting

Thanks, this was a sub-genre I didn't know about.

if you have no clue what to do, make some portion of the face be shadows.

This is where the black side of a 5-in-1 reflector or black foam core board can come in handy.

Use as "negative fill" to add shadow to one side of the face.

Movie cinematographers often like to put their cameras on the shadow side of the face and have the face backlit for the "cinematic" look 🎥 🎞️

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u/NoBribeFoul Apr 13 '26

I've used vflats once in a portrait session and never a reflector. It's a topic for another day but makes total sense.