Photo studio equipment – what to have and why?

I have recently found out that many of my friends and people I know are really good with their cameras. However, they often realize they lack something – equipment. There was a time when I had this problem too. I am going to recommend you some basic equipment you should have and which is also affordable.

I was still in high school and I was rather an outdoor photographer, I would say. I took best photos in the daylight and in the sun, that is where photos look great. As the time went on, I had to photograph for example products photos and portraits. I realized, even though the photos looked good, they lack something. I happened to try the Terronic photo studio equipment, which my former teacher got for the photo studio.

Flash heads, constant lights, filters, softboxes, umbrellas

All this equipment is essential for photography and I could continue. I mean for photography which is worthwhile, for example product photography, portraits,, jakékoliv photography.

You can basically use this equipment for any kind of photography.. After all, a well illuminated figure (illuminated with one or two flash heads, taken with high aperture and low ISO) looks simply better than a photo without flash.

Flash head or constant light?

Constant light  has several advantages for video shooting or taking photos of tricky objects, because what we see will be exactly in the photograph.

On the other hand,flash head will definitely provide more light, thus we can uselower ISO light sensitivity. So there is a little chance of image noise, and we can close the aperture even more to sharpen the scene. .  

All-in-one? No problem

Terronic studio flash heads from the Basic Line allow you to use a modeling lamp and flash together. You can illuminate the scene and see shadows and reflections and then take the photo with flash. The flash power can be set in 0.1 f-steps and because of the widely used Bowens adapater , you can attach a wide variety of accessories such as reflectors, softboxes, umbrellas and even more.

If you photograph product photos, portraits, sports photography or anything else, using these flash heads is only up toyour imagination. That’s all the magic.

It’s good to have more power than you need

People tend to use a flash head that has exactly the power they need for a certain project. So they choose Terronic Basic 200 instead of Basic 400, because it’s enough for them. Although Basic 400 is twice as powerfulas Basic 200.

Later on, when they want to illuminate more advanced project, for example sports or use the flash headsin the daylight, they realize it’s not enough.

It’s all about the light

And that’s the most beautiful thing about photography. If you are a complete beginner or slightly advanced photographer, it is quite handy to have any kind of light that you need at that moment.

Hard light right from the reflector will create sharp shadows. Soft and spread light reduces or eliminates shadows because of an umbrella or softbox. You can create straight light with a honey comb filter or a thin ray of light from a snoot reflector, which can be further pointed using a honey comb filter.

MThere are plenty of possibilities, it’s only up to you which one you choose.

Jan NovákProduct specialist - Studio Lighting System

Product specialist, photographer, photography lecturer and author of articles about lighting and photography. Takes care of technical questions, designing studios and making price offers. He focuses on portraits, glamour and nude photography using Nikon cameras and lenses.