20 Resources That Will Get You Lit

Lighting… It's a complicated mixture of knowledge, equipment, and magic. You shouldn't attempt it unless you're a trained professional with lots of money and a big studio of your own. In addition, you'll need to memorize thousands of rules and lighting setups in order for your photos to look decent.

Oh wait… forget what I just said. That's just how it appears before you take the time to learn it.

I have to admit that I'm just starting that learning process, and I wanted to share some great resources recently suggested by the readers of Epic Edits. I've split up the links into lighting diagrams, lighting tutorials, lighting websites, and lighting courses/workshops. Start clicking!

LIGHTING DIAGRAMS

LIGHTING DIAGRAMS FROM JAKE GARN PHOTOGRAPHY
4 lighting diagrams and sample shots from a fashion photographer.

EXPLAINED LIGHTING SCHEMES FROM FOTOPUNTO.COM
16 simple lighting setups with simple explanations.

SELF PORTRAITS AND LIGHTING DIAGRAMS FROM KRIS MITCHELL
Documentation of a Project 52, including 11 lighting diagrams (and counting).

LIGHTING TUTORIALS

PORTRAIT LIGHTING SET-UPS FROM PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY 101
Five of the most basic portrait lighting techniques.

PORTRAIT LIGHTING CHEAT SHEET CARD FROM DIYPHOTOGRAPHY.NET
A great concept that shows a full spectrum of effects by moving a single light.

VISUALIZING STUDIO LIGHTING FROM PHOTOCRITIC
An exploration of simple lighting to achieve different effects on the same subject.

PROPHOTOLIFE YOUTUBE CHANNEL
A collection of 33 video tutorials, mostly having to do with lighting techniques.

SNAPFACTORY YOUTUBE CHANNEL
This playlist titled “Digital Photography 1 on 1” has great lighting Q&A with examples.

MOMENTOUS BREAKDOWN! FROM YOUR PHOTO TIPS
A good example of the “less is more” motto — check out the photo and diagram!

HOW TO LIGHT ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING – THE DISCERNING PHOTOGRAPHER
An intuitive approach to photographic lighting — start with one!

LIGHTING WEBSITES

STROBIST
Learning how to use off-camera flash with your dSLR.

LIGHTING ESSENTIALS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
Lighting, Photography, Fashion and Editorial Portraiture on Location and In Studio.

ZARIAS.COM
The blog of editorial photographer Zack Arias

PIXSYLATED
Honestly Biased Insights on Photography by Syl Arena.

PROPHOTORESOURCE.COM
Articles by Chris Grey dealing with lighting techniques and equipment.

STEFAN TELL
Many example photos and lighting diagrams for portraits.

RICHARD AVEDON
Ok… so this one isn't really a lighting resource, but the photos are awesome to study!

WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING COURSES

THE ONELIGHT WORKSHOP BY ZACK ARIAS
A nuts and bolts type of workshop — Off Camera. Manual Mode. Old School.

LIGHTING ESSENTIALS WORKSHOPS
Learn to light without spending a fortune.

KELBY TRAINING
Online training for photographers — check out the stuff by McNally and Ziser.

Special thanks to Nathan Nontell, William Beem, Kris Mitchell, Steve, Shawn, Tomas Webb, Janne, Kunal Daswani, udi, Don Winkler, Mike Blanchard, Stefan Tell, Damien Franco, Jay, and Andrew Boyd for commenting on my previous post asking for lighting resources. You guys are awesome.