Lighting Essentials

Without light there wouldn’t be photography. Period. It doesn’t matter whether you’re shooting a landscape, a still life, or a portrait, all photographs need light in order to make an exposure. That clearly makes lighting a fundamental part of the photographic equation, and it’s even more critical in fashion photography: not because there are conventions that need to be followed, or rules that need to be adhered to if you want to take a “good” shot, but the exact opposite. In fashion, there is no right or wrong.

Because there are no set guidelines, fashion photography is much more open to experimentation than most genres, and as you’ll see when you look at the 50 stunning images in the following chapters, anything and everything goes when it comes to lighting a fashion shot. From shots taken outdoors with just the sun for company, through to elaborate multi-light setups, the only thing that ultimately counts in each of these shots is the result. Yet whether a picture is taken using flash, daylight, or something else altogether in the case of Marcelo Nunes’s “black light” image, on page 62, that core fact remains: without light there wouldn’t be photography. So let’s take a look at the options to get you started.