Everything you need for studio photography

There is an incredible amount of studio equipment on the market, so it's easy to lose sight of the wood for the trees. That's why we have selected a number of must-haves below. They are indispensable when you get started in the studio.

Light meter

A light meter is almost indispensable when working with studio flashes. Because your camera's built-in meter can't measure flash, you only see the result of the flash after you've taken the picture. Even with a single flash, it can easily take three shots or so before the flash is set correctly. When you work with several flashes or complex setups, a light meter is practically essential. By entering your camera settings, you can easily check for each flash whether it needs to fire stronger or weaker.

Triggers

An infrared or radio trigger is a wireless set consisting of a transmitter and receiver that handles communication between a flash and the camera. When working with separate studio flashes, you need to be able to control them remotely so that the moment of firing and the moment of shooting are perfectly in sync. The big advantage of a trigger is that it can control multiple light sources, so you can light your subject exactly the way you want.

Reflector

A reflector is a real studio must-have and can be used in many ways. It can soften harsh shadows caused by flash and is almost indispensable in single-flash setups.

Reflectors come in various types and sizes. A 5-in-1 reflector usually consists of a white (translucent) base that gives a soft reflection, with a cover that has silver, gold, black and white sides. The silver and gold sides are for strong reflections, and the black side can be used to remove unwanted reflections. The black side (blackout screen) is often needed in small studios to block unwanted reflections from a (white) wall. But blackout screens are also widely used in complex lighting setups to prevent stray light.

Studio flashes for beginners

These studio flashes are ideal for the beginning studio photographer. They are easy to use and keenly priced. To create a good lighting setup you often use more than one flash. That's why we've also included two kits, so you're ready to head into the studio right away.

Studio flashes for advanced users

If you already have some studio experience and have worked with different flashes before, these are the must-haves for you. They are packed with options and large LCD screens so you can set up the light in the studio exactly the way you want. They are all wireless, offer high power, and there's a huge range of light modifiers available for them.

Studio flashes for professionals

The following studio flashes all come with enough accessories to get started straight away. These flashes are among the very best studio flashes available and are a true must-have for the professional photographer. The price tag is substantial, but if you ask us and other photographers, they are worth every penny. This is an investment in even better photos.

Light modifiers

A flash or lamp on its own isn't enough for perfect light. To direct or shape the light from this equipment, you need light modifiers. Think of softboxes and octaboxes, reflectors, umbrellas, beauty dishes, grids and snoots. Each type shapes the light from your studio flashes in its own way.

Background system

In the studio, a background system is arguably just as important as the lights you use. There are various types of backgrounds available, such as a paper background roll, a cloth or even collapsible backgrounds. All of these come in different colours, so you can create the right setting for every shoot. An advantage of collapsible backgrounds is that they are easy to move, crease-free and reusable.

Backgrounds

A paper background is much quicker and cheaper to replace than a cloth. If it gets creased or dirty, you simply cut off that part and roll out some more. A cloth is much harder to keep clean, which is why cloths are usually used purely as a backdrop. You can let paper rolls run across the floor so that the same colour continues all the way to the bottom of your photo. That way your model stands on a floor in the same colour as the background. A collapsible background is set up in no time and is much more portable than the other types.

LED lights

LED lights come in all shapes and sizes. The advantage of LED compared with other lights is that you have a lot of control over the light. Almost all LED lights are dimmable, and many let you adjust the colour temperature, which is expressed in Kelvin (K). A bi-colour LED light can therefore produce both cool and warm light, giving you lots of flexibility in the studio. The CRI value indicates how accurately the light renders the colours of your subject. 100 is the maximum, and anything above 90 gives excellent colours. If you're going to film in the studio, these LED lights are ideal. Older LED lights sometimes caused flicker in the image, but today almost all professional LED lights are suitable for video.

Studio bags

As this must-have page shows, there is a huge range of studio equipment – and we haven't even talked about cameras yet. Of course, you need to be able to carry all this valuable gear safely to the studio. These selected cases protect your equipment and make it easy to keep everything in the right place.

Effect machines

Sometimes you need a little extra help to create the effect or atmosphere you want in the studio. That's what our range of effect machines is for. You can use them for photos, but also while filming. When filming, keep in mind that these machines can be quite noisy, so they're not ideal when you're recording audio.