Learning Studio Lighting by Practicing with People You Know
When you're learning studio lighting, the best thing you can do is just start—and sometimes, that means asking someone close to you to step in front of the camera.
For this session, I photographed my brother in the studio at school. It was a simple setup: just us, a white background, and one main light. But that simplicity gave me room to focus, experiment, and build confidence using artificial light.
Why Practicing with Friends or Family Makes a Difference
When you’re learning something new—especially something as technical as studio lighting—it helps to shoot with someone you’re comfortable around. There’s no pressure, no time crunch, and no expectation of perfection. That freedom allows you to:
Try different light placements without rushing
Make mistakes and adjust on the fly
Focus more on learning than impressing
My brother was patient, relaxed, and open to letting me try a few different things—which made all the difference.
What I Played With in This Session
Lighting Direction: I experimented with where to place my main light—starting with it directly in front, then shifting it off to the side to create a bit more dimension in the shadows.
Background + Simplicity: The white backdrop helped me isolate the subject and keep attention on how the light was hitting his face and body.
Black & White vs. Color: Some of the final images felt stronger in black and white. I looked for frames where the lighting created interesting contrast or texture—great qualities for monochrome edits. Others, with more softness and subtle skin tones, worked better in color.
Takeaways from this Shoot
This shoot reminded me that you don’t need fancy setups or styled models to start learning studio work. You just need:
A basic light source
A subject who’s willing to help
A curious mindset
Sometimes, your best test subjects are the people already around you. Practicing with my brother not only helped me sharpen my technique—it gave me a set of portraits I could start building my portfolio with.
