More photographers are using digital cameras and some form of studio lighting than ever before. We’ll explain the basics of studio lighting so you can set up the system that will best serve your needs.

One option is to use studio lights that have a photoflood or quartz halogen lamp (also called "hot" lights) to create a continuous source of light. An advantage of this type of lighting is the ease of previewing the effect you'll get in the picture. Shadows, reflections and other characteristics are apparent before you shoot, so you can make the adjustments then. Digital cameras can white balance easily to the lighting color produced by photofloods and quartz lights. There is no sync cord needed, so the connection and sync problem is eliminated. The disadvantage of these lights is they require a slower shutter speed than when using flash, so subject movement may cause a blur. Portrait subjects may object to the discomfort of excessive heat and bright light generated by high-wattage quartz and photoflood lights. Some examples of this type of lighting are the Interfit Tungsten Lights and the JTL Digilite 250 Light with softbox, both shown on page 78 of Porter's #76 Catalog.

The other main type of lighting is studio flash. This type of flash usually has a small quartz or photoflood lamp to act as a modeling light, so you can preview the lighting pattern. But the exposure is captured by flash that fires when the shutter is released, so any subject movement is frozen. There are two styles of studio flash; monolights and power pack flash systems. Monolights such as JTL Versalights have the all of the circuitry to generate light built into the head. Novatron flashes have a central power pack that feeds power through cables to 1 to 4 remotely positioned flash heads.

Studio flash, whether monolights or a power pack system, needs to synchronize with the camera. This can be done by using the camera's own flash to fire the slave sensors built into most studio flashes. If the camera has a PC flash cord terminal, a sync cord connecting the camera to the flash will fire it properly. When a group of monolights is used, a sync cord can be used to connect one light to the camera, then the other flashes will fire via their built-in slave sensors.
For digital SLRs and cameras which have a hot shoe, connection is easy with a Hot Shoe to PC adapter. To protect your camera from excessive electrical current coming from the lights, the voltage-regulated Wein PC to Hot Shoe Adapter, #13-0509, $60.95 is recommended. These adapters are shown on page 73.

Another option for firing a studio flash is to be totally wireless by using the Porter's Wireless Radio Flash Trigger Set, #13-0580, $159.99. The transmitter sits on the hot shoe of the camera and sends a radio frequency signal to the receiver attached to the main light. This eliminates the need for any cords between the camera and lights.

As photo equipment becomes more sophisticated, the ability to create beautiful works of art becomes easier for everyone. Using the tools available will make the journey exciting and rewarding.