I built an essential kit for portrait photography and video, that is small, portable and affordable using the GODOX ML100Bi and the CL10 LED lights.
If you’re in Canada, you can buy these lights at and
If you can’t buy local, here are the amazon links to the gear I used in this video:
Godox ML100Bi Light –
Godox CL10 background light –
Godox MLSF-50 Softbox –
33″ Umbrella –
43″ Bounce Panel –
Light stand –
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If this video helped you, please buy me a coffee or send me a YouTube Super Thanks:
Or donate using PayPal:
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For a deep dive into using your LUMIX camera for both video and photography, my friend Dustin has created the course I wish I had made.
All the details are here:
Yes this is an affiliate link, and I’m very happy to promote and support Dustin on this.
I’m a proud Micro Four Thirds shooter. Here’s a list of my gear and tools I use, with affiliate links.
My full frame LUMIX:
My MFT LUMIX:
My other MFT OM-1
Lumix G9 Camera
My favourite small Camera
My birding lens
Lumix 100-300mm lens
Lumix 12-35mm lens
Lumix 35-100mm lens
Leica 12-60mm lens
Lumix G 25mm f1.7 lens
My favourite PRIME lens
My favourite wide prime lens
My best Microphone
Manfrotto 055 Tripod
Manfrotto Tripod compact ball head
My Flash:
My camera Strap:
My Red video button:
My Espresso Machine
My vlogging camera:
Topaz Labs
And more items I use:
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Marlene Hielema
Calgary, AB Canada
** All video and audio content created by myself and or used with permission from the creator.
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Disclaimer: Some of these links go to my website and some are affiliate links where I’ll earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Comments
19 responses to “Essential Portrait Lighting Kit for Photos and Videos”
I’m sold on the disco effect 😂
Great review, lighting looks great. Thanks for the support!
Probably the umbrella looks best for me ✌️
Hi Marlene,
I am new to your site and super surprised, – to see all the nice and good instructions you have put on the web.!
Many thanks here from Denmark❤🙂
Wow, interesting video. I have that light is amazing.
Marlene, good video. I like the blue you chose for background. Keep up the good work.
You asked, and yes I could hear the fans on the light.
Excellent video thanks for sharing
Good review. I love what you did with the background. Thank you for the information about setting white balance with a colored background. I just bought a cheap gray card, so I will try it. In other news, Curtis Judd's said his model's 5400k setting was actually 5200k. So he set his camera to 5200k to match it.
Control of apparent “softness” which perceptually mostly a reaction to the tone of the shadows, is easier if as a foundation for any lighting pattern you start with centered intentionally flat fill as follows:
1) Set camera aperture for desired DOF
2) Place fill behind and above camera with large umbrella or bounce backwards off scrim or white wall near ceiling. The goal here is to create a northern skylight fill effect.
3) Using a black towel / clothing as exposure guide raise fill until the camera records the shadows with normal levels of detail
4) Then add your off axis key light as before raising its power level until highlights in white towel/clothing it hits are exposed optimally.
I learned that approach from a Kodak “How to Make Portraits” book back in 1970 and it was the same technique used by top wedding photographer Monte Zucker who I assisted and Joe Zeltsman who taught him. In Zeltsman’s studio he mounted a bank of fill lights to the ceiling aimed backward at a white wall flooding the space with diffused fill just like skylight.
Once the power level is set for any particular f/stop the shadow exposures will be consistently optimal above the noise threshold and unlike a reflector it will fall all front to back, nose to ears on the face. It just takes care of the technical requirement of matching scene range to sensor.
For full face talking head shots a vertical “Butterfly” key / fill pattern is very flattering. I started most portrait sessions with that set-up because it allows a lot of freedom of movement by the subject. It is a also a good way to evaluate if the subject’s face is symmetrical or not. If not that’s when putting the key light on one side or the other at 45° to the nose can trick the viewer’s eye into thinking a lopsided face is more balanced. 😊
Hi Marlene. Thanks. Perfect timing for this video. I am looking at lighting. 🙂
What a great kit. My favourite colour is Teal, but 2nd favourite is the blue you are using. Not something I’m ever likely to need, but I found it interesting anyway. 👍
Molto interessante. Sono molto curioso di vedere il progetto fotografico realizzato con queste luci. Grazie
I tried to purchase with your Amazon link its not working in USA
Wait a minute…you like small cameras (g100/ s9)and now want to discuss lighting…a CDN Markus Pix! Kidding, but I really enjoyed this. Looks like a great light! Opening talking head portion looked best (#2).
That was a really informative and helpful review/tutorial and I will be stealing those tips and ideas.
I like the third setup. You have good seperation from the background and a good design choice of primary colours. The blue and red really popped, complementing your skin tone.
I also liked the fact that the YouTube compression DID NOT cause any banding of the blue background. It looked like a professional lighting set-up costing 10 times more than what you spent.
You could go all Hollywood and have a Teal background as that really complements skin tones.
May I ask how you exposed for your skin tone?
Did you use zebras or the waveform?
Marlene you ARE a rock star! ♥️
Thank you for another really interesting video. I think the setup with the umbrella gives the best results, and I really liked the blue background.
Setup #2 was the most flattering
I really like the coloured light for the background. Might get one to spice up my video conferences hehe
G100 looking great!
Thanks again, Marlene. The days are as dark as a coal hole here in the UK just now.