STUDIO LIGHTING

FROM BASEMENT STUDIO TO ON-LOCATION MASTERY

I received my formal training in studio lighting at Portfolio Center in Atlanta—now part of the Miami Ad School. Looking back, it was the best kind of education I could have asked for. After the first semester, we were each given a tiny shared space in the basement. No frills, just a room, a light, and the responsibility to make something happen.

WHY THAT BASEMENT WAS THE BEST EDUCATION

It taught self-reliance. Instructors were busy upstairs, and while advanced students might offer the occasional tip, they were deep in their own demanding projects. Portfolio Center didn’t claim to “teach talent”—they expected you to bring it. What they offered was refinement: structure, critique, and room to grow.

MY VIEW ON TALENT

I believe talent starts with the desire to learn. That’s the foundation. What sets people apart is the willingness to develop it over a lifetime. If you truly love your craft, you form a lasting bond with it. It’s like a marriage—you work at it. And if you don’t love it enough, that marriage may not be what you hoped for.

CAREER BEGINNINGS and ON-LOCATION WORK

After school, my photography career gained momentum. Most of my assignments were on location, which meant packing up a full studio and hitting the road. I had a small studio space for portraits, but the real challenge—and thrill—came from lighting unfamiliar places.

That early basement experience paid off. I learned that you don’t need a lot of space unless your subject demands it—and when it does, you’ll need more light. A working studio, whether in a building or a conference room, is a dark cave. Our job as photographers is to bring the light.

WHY LIGHTING MATTERS EVEN MORE on the ROAD

When your income depends on mobile setups, lighting can’t be an afterthought. Unlike a fixed studio where conditions are controlled, on-location shoots are unpredictable. You never know what you’ll walk into—an office, a church, a theater, a trade show. There’s no luxury of second chances, and no one cares if the space was hard to work with. The results have to speak for themselves.

And they must never look like “just flash.” If your lighting feels generic, it undermines your work. In this profession, your images are your resume. Done right, lighting can elevate your portfolio. Done poorly, it can work against you.

My journey with lighting has taken me from a tiny basement studio to every kind of location imaginable. The tools may have changed, but the core lesson remains the same: bring the light, shape it with purpose, and let the work speak for itself.

For the past two decades, I’ve used Profoto D1 500 Air strobes for most of my studio work. Since I typically shoot in a compact space, the 500-watt model is more than sufficient. When I built my studio, I worked with a licensed electrician to ensure the wiring could handle the load. Still, I’ve occasionally tripped a breaker when plugging more than one light into the same outlet. Lesson learned: as long as I spread the load out, everything runs smoothly—but older buildings are a different story.

Take my friend’s historic railroad depot, now converted into a theater. The wiring there is… let’s just say delicate. I only use speedlights when working on location in that space, as I’m certain my Profotos would trip a fuse—or worse, bring the show to a halt. As photographers, we have to consider more than just our gear. Even if you own the Cadillac of lighting equipment, it’s worthless if the building’s electrical system can’t support it.

Over the years, I’ve collected a variety of Profoto modifiers and accessories that I’ve enjoyed using in both my personal studio and the classroom. The last school I taught at also used Profoto D1s, which made transitioning between teaching and shooting seamless. The beauty dish remains one of my favorite tools, especially for teaching portraiture.

And the honeycomb grid—always nice to have on hand when you’re designing dramatic lighting for a product ad. It allows for controlled, directional light and beautiful falloff. Since I started my lighting journey long before things like the Profoto Air Remote existed, you can believe how much I appreciate that little device now. But I’ll always have a soft spot for the days of tiny Wein “Peanut” slaves and Vivitar 285HV speedlights—they were darlings in their time.

I could list many others, but we’d be here all day.

Instead, I plan to gradually add articles to this site covering lighting setups and techniques that have worked for me in real-world scenarios. While it won’t be a traditional classroom experience, I’ll provide practical checklists and step-by-step guidance that I’ve relied on in my own work. This page will continue to grow over time—so check back often if lighting is part of your photographic journey.

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