Studio Lighting

Joel Grimes' 10-Step Lighting Formula: What It Actually Teaches You About Light Ratios
Video Tutorials

Joel Grimes' 10-Step Lighting Formula: What It Actually Teaches You About Light Ratios

I’ve been shooting portraits on a tight budget for years, and the single thing that separated my early work from anything worth showing was not the camera or the lens. It was having no real system for light. I’d move a softbox around until something looked “pretty good,” chimp the screen, adjust again. It worked sometimes. But I couldn’t repeat it, and I definitely couldn’t explain what I’d done after the fact.

Joel Grimes' Lighting Breakdown: What I Actually Took Away (And What I'd Change)
Video Tutorials

Joel Grimes' Lighting Breakdown: What I Actually Took Away (And What I'd Change)

Dramatic portrait lighting is one of those things that looks impossibly complex until someone pulls back the curtain and shows you exactly what’s happening. I’ve spent a lot of time reverse-engineering lighting setups from behind-the-scenes photos, squinting at catch lights in subjects’ eyes, trying to figure out where the photographer put their gear. It’s a frustrating way to learn. So when I came across a breakdown that just tells you directly, I pay attention.