Jan 82 min read

Save Time and Money - 2024 lighting idea for at-home creators on a budget. (pt.1)

This is how I made this image:

The Situation: It’s the top of 2024, very early in the morning at the Elliott's home, and I need to shoot some fresh promotional content of myself to get this new year started right.

The dilemma: Our kids will be up raiding the refrigerator for breakfast soon so I must move fast to get all the content I need while keeping the production footprint as small as possible.

The Process: Instead of pulling out powerful studio lights on C-Stands, heavy-duty tripods, and backdrops, I decided to scale back greatly, only using my DSLR camera, and a couple of battery-powered RGB lights on travel light poles to get the desired cinematic look I was going for.

(watch the video using the link below)

https://youtube.com/shorts/_D7UxYfodXw?si=m9kq17jdSCu4qD-i

The outcomes: From this effort, I recorded 1 social media promo, a mini photoshoot, and filmed this tutorial video, and had it all broken down before the kids came out of their rooms.

The Point of it all: This is proof that you can create with minimal equipment if you allow yourself to think creatively! Let's put it in perspective. This particular camera was released 8 years ago. So compared to newer models, it's a dinosaur. The lens is a few dollars above the cost of a stock lens. These small tube lights are amazing however, they're not made to be key (main front) lights. They are great accent lights for background aesthetics at best. And yet, I was still able to achieve an above-average image from this setup. Not because of top-tier equipment, but because I approached the shoot with a vision. I knew what the result should look like. Knowing this, I also knew which equipment was capable of producing this look.

The bottom line, anyone can get these results or better with a little practice and creative thinking.

Here are some of my affiliate links to see exactly what equipment I used to achieve this cinematic image. When you purchase, I receive a commission at no cost to you.

LIGHTING:

Used to bounce off of the foam board