Lighting are very important when shooting pictures. Not only does it make everything look better but no one wants to see a dark photo. A picture that is bright with catch my attention rather then a dull picture. Lighting equipment can fall into one of three major categories. The light sources themselves, modifiers that control the spread of light, and grips or stands that support the lights. If you were to get a professional studio light it would most likely be a kit with a flash head and a power pack or you can get a monolight kit. A head and power pack kit consists of the flash head and a small power pack that acts as the generator that supplies energy to the flash head.  Symmetric and assymetric are two kinds of power packs. An the other hand monolight are compact substitutes for a power pack head combinations. Their size limits their power, but they are often desired for their portability. The power pack makes it easier to change the settings of multiple flash heads in one place quickly. Monolights come with the controls built directly into the light itself. A head and power kit also faster flash durations than monolight, which is good when it comes to shooting action photos.  If you’re shooting indoors or inside your studio, monolights will probably be more than enough for regular work.

The most common types of light modifers are umbrellas and softboxes. Reflecting umbrellas produce a diffused and soft light due to the larger size of the reflecting surface. There are different tinted umbrellas. Silver-lined umbrellas are the most efficient and can focus light more  narrowly than the other types. White umbrellas offer a wider spread of reflected light. Gold umbrellas produce a warm tone. Softboxes are usually square or rectangular. They are lightweight boxes that come with a reflective inside and a translucent front. The difference between reflecting umbrellas and softboxes is that the spread of light with a softbox is more contained. With an umbrella light can spill beyond the boundaries of the reflective surface affecting the amount of light getting back to the subject. Some other tools that control and modify the quality of light are barn doors, snoots, and honeycomb grids. Snoots are conical shaped tools that narrow the distribution of light. Barn doors are flaps surrounding a strobe that can be opened or closed to control the light and prevent it from spilling.  Honeycomb grids, as the name suggests, are basically honeycomb shaped metallic grids that direct the light for a more focused spread. Flags are another type of light modifiers.

Stands and grips are used to support your light sources, strobes, and even light modifiers or backdrops. The two types of lights stands are lightweight stands and C-stands which are more heavy duty. Both types come in varying sizes, lengths, and prices. Heights can usually be adjusted. Sandbags can also be attached to weight the stand and better stabilize your lights. You can get a good lightweight stand for around 70 bucks. C-stands are very good, but they comes at a price. The c-stand is strong enough to hold backgrounds and seemless white paper in addition to lights. They are also very useful when you’re shooting outdoors in windy conditions because their weight adds to their stability. You can get a c-stand with an attachments kit for less than 200 bucks, sometimes far less.