DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

How to light a bathroom portrait mixing natural light with LED lights and cookies

May 25, 2016 by John Aldred 1 Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

damien_lovegrove_bathroom_portrait

A bathroom might seem an odd place to make a portrait, but then most of our bathrooms aren’t as appealing as this one.

In this video from Fuji X-Photographer Damien Lovegrove, we see how we can light such a scene using continuous LED lights, and cookies to help break up and scatter the light for a more natural appearance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQjeW4FGr40

Despite the advances that have been made with LED lights, many still see them as underpowered when compared to flash, but the video highlights one huge benefit to using a continuous light.

After adding a cookie (or “cocoluris”), rotating the light just a few degrees gives a very different pattern of light heading in the model’s direction.

damien_lovegrove_rotating_light

The ability to see exactly how your light is going to fall on the scene before you take the shot can be absolutely invaluable for a shot like this.  It saves a lot of time that you don’t have to waste making test shots trying to figure out exactly what a flash is going to do.

The comparison also shows the nice interplay between the LED and the ambient light in the room coming in through the window.

Mixing light sources in this way, as long as the colour temperature matches, is a great way to augment and enhance the existing light while still giving a natural look.

You don’t always have to completely overpower and obliterate the ambient light with flash.

Do you use LED lights in your shoots?  What other tips do you have for mixing LEDs with ambient light?  Let us know in the comments.

[via ISO1200]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Turn your bathroom into a natural light softbox for amazing portraits How I create Hollywood glamour portraits in the studio with continuous lights and DIY cookies Follow these four tips when mixing natural light with strobes Aputure’s new colour-mixing Accent B7c LED bulb is every practical light you’ll ever need

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: bathroom, cookies, Cucoloris, Damien Lovegrove, Fuji, LED, portrait

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« This team used drones to create an epic aerial Star Wars battle and it’s awesome
Sony pulls away from Vegas Pro, sells Creative Software suite to Magix »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy