One Big Beautiful Light
Let's look at this lighting solution that soves so many challenges
I help photographers and creative entrepreneurs over 40 reclaim their confidence, cut through the noise, and build bold, independent lives through no-BS insight, experience, and action. Welcome to my Substack.
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One big light.
My go-to for over 50 years.
Why?
Because it works for nearly everything.
Oh, there are plenty of times when I have used more lights. I own fourteen large lighting instruments and a box full of smaller lights.
But I still return to one light, usually a big one, for product and still life.
I have a philosophy that guides me; every additional light past the main removes a little humanity from the subject. And, yeah, I’m good with a rim or hair light, but every other light adds a layer of non-realism.
Hey, did I say that was bad?
Nope… that’s fine, and there are hundreds of times when you want to create that magical image with four light sources.
But when I want it to connect, emotionally connect with the viewer, I go for that single light.
The basis for one big light is the window.
A big window is the beginning of photography in a frame… light.
And when you start to control light, you start to understand the power and subtlety of photography.
But there are times when there’s no window available, you have to shoot at night, or when it is raining.
Then we create our own window in the studio.
If you want to learn this technique, you will come face to face with several of photography’s basic tenants.
ISL (Inverse Square Law)
The size of the light source vs the size of the subject
Angle of Incidence = Angle of Reflection
These are maxims, truths, and science.
And they are repeatable.
Here is the very first thing you need to do to learn how to use this singular, large, light source.
Start with the basics.
1. The Setup
This is going to be a comfortable light, like an old friend:
• 4×4 scrim with a strobe behind it, or a 2×3 softbox turned vertically
• Light edge right at the table, not at any distance, right at the table.
• Height: bottom edge near the table’s edge
• Angle: straight on the table edge, straight up as a window in your studio would be.
I always think of this as the simplest, most comfortable, and most seen light we can create. We’ve all grown up with window light, so we are super familiar with it.
Everything starts from this baseline.
2. The Food
Pick food that behaves well under soft light: tomatoes (for shine), tomatillos, or brussels sprouts (for texture), eggplant (gloss + shape), mushrooms (earthy matte finish), squash (dimension + color). These are only suggestions, but think about the food you get. Make sure we have a variety of textures and colors.
For this assignment, these aren’t props. They’re tiny, tasty, lighting teachers.
Don’t overthink styling right now.
We’re studying how the light behaves, not whether you can make a salad look like a magazine cover.
3. Technical Exploration Phase
This is where you learn the inside knowledge of the shot.
We are using side light, a classic approach to still life photography.
Distance From Light
Get a ruler.
Choose a camera position and lock it down… tripod suggested.
Place a shiny tomato 4 inches from the scrim.
Shoot.
Then move it 8 inches.
Shoot.
Then 12 inches.
Shoot.
Do this with two other veggies of different texture… a group of tomatillos or mushrooms, an eggplant or squash.
Note the differences.
• Closer = softer, wider wrap, lower contrast
• Farther = sharper contrast, defined shadows, more shape, more “artisan” feel
• This is the one variable most mid-level photographers think they understand but rarely control intentionally
Fill Card Position
We’re going to add a white card opposite the light.
Move it in tight.
Then pull it 6 inches back.
Then a foot.
So, the same exercise as above, but this time you are going to add a fill card to the opposite side.
Tomato at 4″ / fill card at 4″, then 8″, then 12″.
Tomato at 8″ / fill card at 4″, then 8″, then 12″.
Tomato at 12″ / fill card at 4″, then 8″, then 12″.
Note what you are seeing right there on the screen in front of you.
Now do the same exercise above with a different vegetable, one with a matte surface.
When you are done, do it with a veggie you picked for shape, like an eggplant or an artichoke.
(Aren’t you glad we aren’t shooting film… cha ching)
What you will notice:
• Fill closes the shadows, but it also changes the mood
• Too much fill can flatten the subjects
• Too little makes it look like a Rembrandt painting of a tomato
• Find the tension point between “natural” and “dramatic.”
Most photographers will not do this exercise because it seems boring, repetitive.
My experience… do it, and you will never have to do it again. Your knowledge of how light works with shiny subjects, matte subjects, round, square… any of them - becomes a huge asset for shooting anything.
The results can be stunning.
Top left: Inge Harris
Top right": Inge Harris
Bottom left: Inge Harris
Bottom right: Luciana Rizzi
Give this a shot. See what you get.
If you’re over 40 and still hungry to make, build, and create, stick around. This space is for people who aren’t done yet (and never will be). I’ve got five decades of wins, failures, comebacks, and creative battles under my belt, and I’m sharing everything that still works—and burning the rest.
No fluff.
No hustle porn.
Just real tools for building a creative life on your own damn terms.
I write in portuguese about light, but I will ask my readers to translate this, cross-posting right now
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