Most Important Rule of Lighting

[@AliDrew]

I love how you give such important information in such a short amount of time! Thank you as usual

[@christianmcnally4323]

These videos are bussin, respectfully

[@yoginatali]

You are one of the best teacher I have encounter! And an amazing photographer. What a talent you have. Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge with us. I have learned so much with you over the past few year!

[@Ishllustrator]

Love that Lindsay videos are so short yet very concise.

[@fluffyelvis2]

this is the first video that clearly explains the concept of harsher/softer light so easily! after weeks of practicing i wasn't able to pin down what made the difference but this clears it up.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

So glad that I was able to help! :)

[@manishmishra6945]

Wonderful video Lindsay...thanks much

[@apjones58]

Lindsey, you are always on point and I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and expertise. Thank you, I'm always inspired by your teaching.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Thanks for watching!

[@andyraeber6044]

Lindsay, always a pleasure learning from you, a MASTER teacher.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Thank you so much for the kind words! :)

[@yahmanml]

Love your videos Lindsey! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. 🙏🏾

[@RichardsWorld]

I wouldn't use this technique on people, because someone would have to be very still. But for taking pictures of items I played around in a very dark room, and used a very weak light in the room aimed at the ceiling, then I use a very long shutter speed with low ISO. Camera mounted on a tripod of course.The pictures came out great. I then messed around with doing some light painting around the item and that came out great as well.

[@vvmac1]

Thank you Lindsey.👍

[@wangson]

Wow! Well done and thoughtfully considered. Thank you!

[@Nicosalgadophotography]

thanks for the refresher... I love your Master Studio lightning . The best class ., you teach it very well, love the homework made me practice more. you rock Lindsay !

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

So glad to hear that!!

[@_bluishthoughts]

This is excellent! Many thanks

[@audiophile1838]

I’ve bought a couple of your courses on CreativeLive and they are all amazing! I’ve learned so much from you! Great to see you on KZbin Lindsay!

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Thank you so much for the kind words Stan!

[@thediversityshow9464]

Thhhhannnk you...will try this in the studio

[@Bassemphotos]

Amazing keep up 👍👍👍

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Thanks! :)

[@kingmuhu]

The larger the source in relation to your subject, the softer the light. - joel grimes. I love your tuts Lindsay! And loved your book about posing! Love from the Netherlands!

[@ctrice]

Great video. Straight to the point in a short amount of time!

[@eldave89]

I do agree with the importance of the inverse square law even if I don’t “get” the math behind it, knowing it in practice is imperative Thanks a lot Lindsay, I never comment but your content, your work and your classes have been a great tool for inspiration and development of my photography 💕

[@marteung]

Super well explained! Thank you

[@GabrielTiedtkeFilm]

You are probably the first person, besides my ex light mentor, that actually understand how light actually work and not spreading misinformation. Nice to see and great work! 💯✨

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

[@KT-ei4sh]

Another useful video! Thank you so much for sharing your expertise!

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Thanks for watching!

[@Bonobo3D]

Excellent and concise explanation with great visual examples.

[@peterhayward1848]

Thanks for another great video. Happy new year from the UK.

[@dannydiazphoto]

Thank you Lindsey for all your efforts to teach. Love your style and I learn a lot! I can’t wait to take class with you in NYC, much respect! :)

[@phil9466]

I honestly can’t understand how there can be one let alone seven (at this moment) dislikes. This video is brief, well articulated and to-the-point, well videographed, free and 100% spot on! It is an excellent explanation of a key concept that many new and early hobby photographers do not know or understand. It’s a great contribution. Thank you Lindsay!

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

hahaha. You are so sweet. Yea.. I just shrug my shoulders and go 'people'. Thanks for the support.

[@feralmode]

Because it’s simplistic and reductive. There are many different variables to consider when lighting a person - the amount of light, the direction, the quality, is it suitable for your subject, etc. To imply there is only one main thing to consider is doing a disservice to those who take their lighting seriously. I’m not saying she’s wrong about a light source getting softer as you get closer and harder as you get far away. She’s technically correct. But this video is clickbait and over simplifying in an effort to appear authoritative and probably puts people backwards in their progress of studying lighting if they think that hard vs. soft is the most important thing to consider.

[@phil9466]

@@feralmode Your second sentence is a almost verbatim what Lindsay states at the opening of this video before referencing her comprehensive Master Studio Lighting. She then goes on to say, though it feels "audacious", she she could boil down the rules to one "most important", not "the only" rule of lighting. She also states that it's her opinion. I don't see where she implied anything more. People don't come here to watch 2 hour videos in order to earn an online PhD. Most (not all) come looking for brief, useful take-aways that they can apply to their learning curve. This video did exactly that. It's like being at the gym. I don't ask the scrawny guy for advice on how to get strong. I look to the power-houses who have proven they know what they're doing. I hold to my original comments and remain grateful to people like Lindsay who invest their time, talents and treasures giving back to the community.

[@feralmode]

@@phil9466 yes you liked it. Good for you. I didn’t and I’m tired of people giving bad advice to amateurs like yourself and you swallowing it up like it’s gospel .

[@phil9466]

@@feralmode They are some rather arrogant and presumptuous remarks in your short response. First of all, I'm in the sciences - I don't 'swallow up' anything. I question and challenge. Second, the reason I like this is because I'm not an amateur. I have a reasonably sophisticated light setup that I understand very well and I have been paid for work. So I'm a full time scientist and a part time professional photog. The contrary to your uninformed remarks. If it's of interest, I did a review of Profoto's Foundations of Light course and, though they break lighting basics up into three parts, holistically it is akin to what Lindsay is saying. Her advice is not bad and is actually a very good foundation to working with light. Look I get it. You're frustrated with your life or career or whatever so what better place to turn than the anonymity of the internet to vent; however this isn't Twitter and I'm not interested in a debate. Some advice: humility and gratitude will take you much further in life than self righteousness. Lastly, I have no interest in further communication with you so please bugger off now.

[@Smashingdon]

Thank you for this tip. Very eye opening. I always thought moving the source away would make the light softer, glad I know the right thing now. Will definitely change the way I use the light source now!

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Glad I could help! :)

[@ThomasECahill]

Great explanation and examples! Thank you.

[@oneeyedphotographer]

There is also the direction of the light. I like to photograph small stuff, flowers, interesting leaves and the like with the sun full on them. It's bright light, strong light, but even light. Buildings, I generally prefer them the same way. If I find a dead tree or similar - statues maybe, then a strong cross light and high contrast. Young leaves glow when the sun shines on them from behind.

[@en-zu8jl]

This video was on point. Thanks !

[@sonianongmaithem4948]

Thanks for this valuable lesson.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Sure thing!

[@sonianongmaithem4948]

@@lindsayadlerphoto ❤️

[@serkanoez4352]

The Force is with you my Emporer,hehe.Thank you!

[@kevinpeters1507]

I love your book on posing. I just found your channel and am subscribing.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Thank you so much! :D

[@creativityrevealed3659]

Getting tips from the master! Now its time to go practice.

[@bj1676]

Yet another amazing masterclass 😀

[@peterpeterson7784]

My first rule in lighting is... Light the eyes.

[@craigroethler1495]

Yep, most important rule. Wow, in 3 minutes you taught me the most valuable lesson about lighting...how’d you do that?!?

[@EddieMerino]

She's the best 😊

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

xoxo

[@user-km9fz1sy5y]

Straight to the point. I like it.

[@leonjohnson3780]

Lindsey do you ever discuss your video setup for creating your videos?

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

I don't really have a reason to since it's not really relevant to my content.

[@ErwinSprezzatura]

Fantastic video!!

[@TumiObasanmi]

brilliant detailing

[@rsooljassim3394]

Thank you very much

[@Richie5480]

Thank you Lindsay, really helpful. I did photography back in the film days & Nikon F3 was my mind camera.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

You are so welcome!

[@phucho5702]

Thank you!!

[@abhishekcherath2323]

Thank you.

[@tonythomas5978]

Another great and informative video Lindsay, thank you for taking the time to create these tutorials. BTW don't know if you had any feedback re the Photography Show at the NEC but I enquired and the organisers tell me you were immensely popular (no surprise there), receiving lots of great feedback. They don't repeat the MainStage speakers on consecutive years, I think you should be there every year :-) Sounds like they're keen to get you back asap though.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

You are so sweet to take time to send a message about this.

[@tonythomas5978]

@@lindsayadlerphoto Your'e most welcome. I'm sure any of the major brands or exhibitors would love to have you as a guest speaker, would be great for that to happen :-)

[@anneonime9386]

You're a great photographer ( and probably business woman ;-) ) The most important rule is to know all the characteristics of light and especially to know how and where to measure it !!

[@yesthatsvegan]

amazing thank you so much :)

[@lucaraimondo5967]

the 3ft octabox light looks softer on the dark chick side ( 2:23 ) when is farther away while harder on the forehead hair's shadow... why is that?

[@gilbertgan1893]

Lindsay, when you said when we move the modifier and light source closer to create softer effect, in that case, do we need to adjust the power of the light? (because it's so near)

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Yes that's absolutely correct.

[@adventuresofjandk]

Fantastic video. Curious how you lit yourself for this video. I’m always washed out in my videos.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Softbox and a rim light!

[@beatapraska]

Your rock Lindsay!

[@vuvu4561]

nice thank u .

[@dancingshiva7008]

I notice there's more light falloff in the images on the right. The images on the right look more dramatic. Is it because the light source is closer to the subject? (And maybe no longer reaching the background in the field of vision?)

[@longliveclassicmusic]

Dancing Shiva Another thing to consider in conjunction with the subject simply blocking the light from reaching the area of the background behind them is the spill of light in the room. If your light is further away from your subject and background, the light is going to fan out everywhere in the room bouncing off the ceiling and walls and furnishings before coming back and hitting the background more evenly. If the modifier is closer and more flat-on to the flat background and subject, less spill is being reflected off of the rest of the room and walls to the sides. Keep in mind the inverse square law. The pictures in the comparisons are all identically exposed. That means the lighting setups with the light further away are at much higher power to achieve the same exposure (she didn't mention this because inverse square law isn't the point of the video). All that extra light goes everywhere, not just straight onto the subject, and in closer lighting setups the background is proportionally further from the light relative to the subject and therefore the lower power will fall off much quicker before reaching the background.

[@dancingshiva7008]

longliveclassicmusic: Excellent explanation! Thank you! That makes perfect sense! (Lol by the way, I'm a fan of Wagner's music, along with a number of others.)

[@dancingshiva7008]

Lindsay Adler Photography Right on! Thank you! 😊

[@longliveclassicmusic]

Dancing Shiva Love that you read it as “classical” music, because that's what it means. “Classical” was just taken! I'm more a fan of Verdi than Wagner (an age-old composer war!), but I love Wagner too! I made the name years ago so nothing I comment on YT would be connected to my image as a singer… And you're welcome! Just answering stuff like that helps me think about it more myself, as well! I love how Lindsay makes some of the simplest photography concepts into broader learning experiences like that since her work is so damn excellent and we all want want to learn to create similar photographic results and can't stop looking at her work. 😂

[@dancingshiva7008]

longliveclassicmusic AHHH!! LOL Yes! The musical rivalry from of old! I enjoyed watching Stephen Fry's Wagner vs. Verdi debate. It's fair to say that both sides won. 😋 Hah! Wow! I did see "classical," but I guess that actually isn't quite what it says, is it? Lol Yes! Lindsay Adler really does make beautiful, compelling art accessible for us aspiring photographers--and it's so inspiring! So many ideas I can't wait to try out! And I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge! It's very empowering! 🙂

[@Reactor10k]

Well taught.

[@Barzyz01]

ugh... sooo much to learn! thanks for sharing!!! Prost!

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

[@luludeoli]

Lindsay are awesome!

[@navdragoni]

There is another factor. The closer the light is to the subject, the more volume you will get, because of the exponencial way that light intensity work. When you're closer, light will hit different parts of the subject with different intensities, and when you're away the subject will get more even light distribution. So there is a difference in using a smaller light source closer to the subject and a bigger light source farther away, even If both will give a softer light.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Yes, I have a 15 hour video series that covers this in detail. Lindsayadler.photo/msl . This video was focused only on one element.

[@BODYBYSTRUGGLE]

anybody else love listening to Lindsay teach?

[@p.burley4533]

Great video! So much knowledge packed into a small timeframe. Question: Your one octa looks so much cooler than the light kits costing half as much (where you get LED’s, boxes, and stands). What is the difference?

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

can you reframe the question? wasn't sure what you meant.

[@RunNGunPhoto]

I 100% agree Lindsay! *Lighting is as much of a Science as it is an Art* This rule is probably the most difficult to comprehend for most photographers.

[@avril2227]

I did my first studio session last weekend - it was a nightmare for lots of reasons, but one was that sometimes my camera and the strobes wouldn't sync. In fact, the camera wouldn't even take a shot at some points. I worked with one light for the remainder of the shoot. Any advice? (and please don't say give up ;) ) Thanks

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Im not exactly sure what the problem was. Were you using a trigger? a sync cord? how were they connected? What was your sync speed? I recommend you check out my course lindsayadler.photo/msl for a super duper in depth class on studio lighting. xo

[@johnwilliams3984]

Wait, help me out here: at 3:24, the hard light CLOSE has faster falloff/sharper shadows, while the hard light FAR seems to have slower falloff/softer shadows...doesn't that contradict what happens when using a bigger, softer modifier?

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Closer = faster fall off but softer light. Its not the same thing. Shadow edge and fall off are different.

[@johnwilliams3984]

@@lindsayadlerphoto I didn't know there was a difference. What's the diference?

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

@@johnwilliams3984 Hardness you will look at the edge of the shadow-- how abrupt it is? How crisp and defined? For fall off, look at the overall light hitting the subject... how quickly does it get darker opposite the light?

[@johnwilliams3984]

Ok, I see the entire shadow as one thing, including the edge, so to me, the shadow is one big edge.

[@manurandula]

This is interesting. Thanks. But my definition of most important rule of lighting is, check if it's on

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

lol omg.

[@Udhbhavana]

Hi, You yourself look like a model. Nice. Thanks for the ideas. Your way of explanation was fine. Much interested to attend a session with you.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Thanks! I have workshops that you can attend in person: workshops.lindsayadlerphotography.com

[@robertbalogdotcom]

LOVE IT!!!

[@madphotographer762]

This video was a work of art!! Just sayin.

[@ipedros7]

Protracted start. When Lindsay then went on to her presentation, it was great: simple, clear and detailed. One can appreciate really good tuition. Still wish suspense intro and plug hadn't taken 1/4 of the video.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

lol its only 4 minute video. I'm sure it wasn't too long of a wait lololol

[@ipedros7]

@@lindsayadlerphoto 😂 No doubt I'll continue purchasing your content on CL as well as the membership.

[@bien.mp4]

who's the model

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

"questionablexi" on insta

[@didierperrusset]

For many and many photographers, according to many books about photography, the main rule is the NEWTON's' rule, I mean : the inverse square law of distance. Agree ??

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

second most important, as this rule actually changes with LEDS and other continuous lights.

[@robertvarner9519]

Inverse square law.

[@janiththarinduheenatigala4374]

Inverse Square Law.

[@83442handle]

My first rule in lighting is... You do not talk about lighting

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

smh. lol

[@tykimikk8605]

isnt this wrong? i mean according to the inverse square law if you move the light farther (making it smaller relative to the subject) the softer it gets cause the light spreads.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

The spread of the light doesn't make it softer.It makes it less concentrated and less have less direction contrast.

[@tykimikk8605]

@@lindsayadlerphoto well uhm less concentration of light, less contrast means SOFT right. Cause there is no hard falloff

[@navdragoni]

@@tykimikk8605 when you move the light away It spreads and the subject will lose volume, but the spreads light mostly won't hit the subject. What makes the light edges soft is the fact that It is being lit from "straight lines" light and being softened by light coming from other direcions. When you put your light further away, you lose all this fill light. When you do the opposite and get your light closer, your subject will then start getting light from the whole source, which being relatively larger will now have light coming from more direction than just coming straight. Basically that's what a diffuser does, It takes light that's coming in a straight direction and makes It go on every direction. That same logic applies to the size of the light source. The sun is very harsh from far away, but it's so big that if you were close to It you would get light from all sides, making It soft. Maybe It wasn't clear, but she's right. I'm a comercial photgrapher working 12 years now. It would be easier to explain with a picture, but look for It online, i'm sure you can find it.

[@tykimikk8605]

@@navdragoni law of physics says otherwise. id rather believe joe edelman (look for him in KZbin) he's been a studio photographer for 40yrs+

[@CentaurusRelax314]

Is the thumbnail supposed to be an example of good or bad lighting? That shadow is far too dark and matches her hair color, so it all looks like one large dark nebulous blob. Definitely needs some delineation between hair/background/shadow.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

Neither... its not about good or bad. Its about shadow edges.

[@IRG_fotografia]

I thought the most important rule was inverse square law,

[@ipedros7]

As Lindsay said, there are many factors involved with the inverse square law (ISL) being one. The isl gives an idea of light 'quantity' reaching a subject as you change distance/light intensity. So its fulcral to figure out if you will have enough humpf /power reaching subject to create the look (hard/soft) with the light source/modifier you have or want to use.

[@lindsayadlerphoto]

I specifically say in the beginning about quality and modifying. PLUS I do definitely say. there are several.

[@stephanfinsterbusch6261]

who thought of this ....