10 Different Lighting Effects Using

Just One Softbox

When you start out as a photographer, you probably donʼt have a lot
of equipment or money, so you need to come up with unique ways of
using what you do have to create professional, beautiful looking
images that sell. The thing is, you can do amazing things with just
one light if you understand how that light works. This video tutorial
shows you how you can create 10 different, completely professional
looking images using just one softbox:

1. The Perfect Lighting for Jewelry Photography

With one softbox, you can light your product and create a

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 background at the same time.

You need:

a big, shiny surface (Corbell uses a black plexiglass table)

a shiny piece of jewelry
one softbox
one piece of white poster board

You need to establish what youʼre exposure is going to be and where

to put the main light. Corbell positions the main light over the
product and just slightly back to throw the shadows forward a little to
produce a higher impact, less flat image. Plus, with this angle, you
can shoot down on the product to bring the background thatʼs
reflected in the plexiglass to the front.

2. Use Your Softbox as a Rim Light to Create Depth

As Tony Corbell demonstrates, there are two options when you do a

profile light: front profile and back profile. This is great for fashion
photography, traditional portraiture, photographing children or

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 brides—pretty much any model shoot.

Place the light at an angle behind or in front of the model to create a

rim light, just lighting the modelʼs profile slightly.

3. Creating a Contemporary Beauty Look

You only need one light and just a small white reflector to get this
look.

This is a typical beauty shot, with the main light up high, directly in
line with the modelʼs nose so as not to produce any shadows to the
left or right of the nose. Place a reflector down below to catch the
light and fill in the areas under the chin, nose, and eyes, bringing out
more detail in the shadows.

If you have a plain white wall in the background, it will appear grey in
the photo because youʼre not lighting it. This is a great look that
sells.

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 4. Lighting a Face Like a Movie Poster

Using what they used to call “monster lighting” you can light from
below with just one light source. Today, itʼs becoming quite popular
for movie posters to have this type of lighting, and if done right, it
can bring out a beautiful angle of the face.

Just place the light down in front of your model and have them bend
over it slightly to get the best effect.

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 5. Using Your Main Light as a Background

Use the softbox as your background to get a nice, high-impact

silhouette of your model.

The setup is simple. Just place your model in front of the softbox
and pose them however you like. Try different poses to see which
one looks best later on. You need to make sure your exposure is rich
enough and deep enough to get complete black in the silhouette and
ensure you donʼt lose detail in the hair and neckline.

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 6. Light Your Portrait Subjects and Backgrounds Together

You can get your subject beautifully lit, at the same time lighting up
the background by just pivoting the softbox slightly. If you have a
background thatʼs kind of dark and donʼt have a second light, this is
a simple way to light it.

Take one shot where the model is lit, while the background isnʼt.
Then rotate the light a little and take a shot with half the background
lit and half the model lit.

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 7. Designing a Window with Your Softbox

Bring the softbox back to give it a deep distance from the subject
and place a translucent silk (Corbell uses 6 ft. x 6 ft.) about five or
six feet in front of it, separating the light from the model.

This will change the light dramatically as it becomes a large source,

similar to a bay window in your home. Everything in the shot gets a
little bit brighter and looks clean.

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 8. Bouncing the Softbox for Effect

You can also always increase the size of your light source by
bouncing the light off a white wall.

Find a blank white wall—in your home, studio, wherever—or put up a

roll of white seamless paper somewhere. Point the softbox at a 45
degree angle to the wall to triple—or even quadruple—the size of
your light source. This will produce bounced, soft light and increase
detail in the highlights on the model.

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 9. Using Your Softbox as a Design Element

You can create beauty shots with one light. Here, Corbell uses a
design element to light a wine bottle and glass. Understanding
specular highlights and surface efficiency helps—in this case, he
uses shiny, dark glass to capture perfect reflections. To add a design
element to the highlight, he uses black tape over the softbox to
create a window look that will be reflected in the wine bottle and
wine glass.

Place a white reflector off to the side of the wine bottle to add a
subtle highlight down the edge of the bottle and glass.

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 10. Evenly Light a Group of People

How do you light a group of people with only one light and keep the
exposure be consistent from one end to the other? It is possible,
even without moving the camera, moving the light, or changing the
exposure.

Hereʼs the easy way to do it: turn the light source horizontal, then
pivot it so it lights each person down the line, taking a photo each
time. Composite them in post production to come up with the
perfectly lit final image.

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 Softbox Tips

If you donʼt have a silk diffuser, you can always use a plain white
sheet and stretch it out a few feet in front of your softbox.
If you can only afford to buy one light, as far as light shaping
goes, you should always buy the biggest light you can, because
you can always make it smaller by blocking some of it off or by
backing it up.

So much of photography is understanding control of highlights and

shadows and if you can learn those—along with light quality and light
quantity—then everything else is pretty easy.

You can make a living with one light and one reflector. Keep
practicing these single lighting effects, and youʼll be able to capture
amazing images that you can sell to clients, put on your website, and
use to get more work.

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