Finding the right lighting solution on a budget can be overwhelming, even for the most seasoned shooters. To make things a little easier, we’ve put together a list of some our favorite lights and lighting accessories for under $100.
Speedlights
The Godox TT350 Flash is a small TTL speedlight available for most major brands. TTL stands for “through-the-lens” metering, which is as close to auto as flash photography can get. The flash unit reads the available light through the camera and adjusts its output from there. The user can override this with the use of flash exposure compensation if need be. Powered by two AA batteries, the TT350 is lightweight and offers a small footprint.
Bonus Tip: If shooting indoors, bounce the light off of the ceiling. Most ceilings are white and can serve as an impromptu reflector. This will diffuse the quality of light and spread it over a greater area to cover a larger group and soften shadows.
Speedlight Accessories
With any speedlight, the intensity and shape of light produced can be altered with the use of diffuser panels, domes or soft boxes. Many flashes come with a diffuser panel built in, some don’t. The TT350 is so small that it physically has no room for a built-in panel, so Godox offers a diffuser cap for the TT350 which simply slides onto the front of the flash head. This accessory is often used in tandem with bouncing, as the quality of light is even softer.
Softboxes
For larger flash units, a soft box can evenly distribute the output of your flash while reducing harsh shadows. The Impact Quikbox Micro On-Camera Softbox is a small, lightweight option that assembles in seconds and packs up into a nearly flat package for easy transport.
The Vello Octa Softbox delivers similar results to the standard square softbox with one key difference. The rounder shape of the box produces visually pleasing circular catch lights in the eyes of your subjects.
Reflectors
Work with what you’ve got. If you don’t have access to a dedicated speedlight, you can manipulate and shape natural light with a handy modifier like a reflector. Reflectors do what their name suggests—they reflect—but there’s more to it. Photo reflectors can be used to soften shadows, boost contrast, warm skin tones, or even block out stray light completely. You can harness all of the above in a 5-in-1 option, which features silver, gold, and white reflectors, as well as a black surface to block unwanted light and reduce reflections.
If you don’t want to try various reflectors and instead want to pair a reflector with a light stand for under $100, look no further than the 52” Impact Circular Collapsible Reflector with Handles. This reversible reflector features white and silver sides and a ¼”-20 thread on the handles for easy attachment to accessories.
Bonus Tip: Get outside. Provided there isn’t a blizzard or torrential downpour, take your family members outside and make use of the bright, natural light. If the cold is simply too much to bear, head back inside and find the biggest window in the house. If the shadows are too harsh, this is where your flash or reflector comes into play.
Light Panels
While light panels are more associated with vlogging and content creation, there are a few exceptionally bright options that can double as a great main light when working in dimly lit environments like the Lume Cube Panel Mini. While the Lume Cube won’t light a group portrait of eight or more family members, it’s perfectly suited for individual portraits or candid shots of family members. It’s important to match your light to the ambient light of the space and the Lume Cube color temperature can be adjusted from 3200 to 5600K so you can do so easily.
LED Tube Lights
Ideal for videography, content creation, and of course, photography, the Weeylite K21 Full Color Handheld RGB LED Light Stick is 12” light tube with extensive control of color. It can be used as an accent light or a dramatic main source of light that can match ambient lighting with expansive color control of 2500 to 8500K.
Bonus Tip: LED light panels and tube lights can additionally be used in the background to add festive colors to your images in a subtle, tasteful manner.
Light Stands
If it isn’t apparent, the dedication to photography gets more extreme as this article goes on. Be grateful there’s a $100 budget for this guide. That being said, we can still do wonders within that parameter and create a mobile studio. A light stand can do more than just hold an off-camera flash. They can be used to hold reflectors. To do so, an additional reflector holder will be needed. This serves as a clamp to hold the frame of the reflector in place. This exact light stand and reflector holder are available as a bundle, which can be paired with the aforementioned Impact 52” reflector for a complete, window-light-ready reflector setup for under $100.
We’re not done yet. We’re now assuming you have a flash unit and off-camera trigger. These can be purchased separately or found in the occasional bundle. Let’s take the Impact Air-Cushioned Light Stand and instead, mount the Polymer Impact Umbrella Mount and the Westcott Optical White Satin Diffusion Umbrella for another killer setup that’ll take your flash photography to the next level. Umbrellas are well-suited for portraiture, producing low-contrast images when used as a reflector and a snappier crisp contrast when shot through.
As you can see, there are a number of affordable lights and lighting accessories at your disposal. These can be used to add light to an otherwise dark scene or used to complement natural light. If you’d like to learn more about lighting, check out our other articles on the B&H Explora Page.
