what you can do with one light

as a photographer, i like to keep things simple. especially when it comes to lighting. yes, there are definitely times to break out a bunch of lights, but i love to just see what i can do with one light.last month i lead an event for the seattle flickr photography group, we like to call it the garage shoot. essentially it's an event where photographers who don't have any experience with lighting, can come out and get some hands on experience from folks who have some know how, like me!to get started we did a lighting 101, where i reviewed some speed light basics and showed a variety of modifiers, highlighting the Westcott 2331 28-Inch Apollo Flash Kit (Black/Silver) and Expoimaging Rogue FlashBender Kit, with Bounce Card / Flag, Large Positionable Reflector & Small Positionable Reflector.this first image is from the lighting 101 demo, i'm proud to say it's the first image i shot that night. i'm a proponent for knowing your gear for sure. the more you know it, the more you can set it up and get rolling.this is done with one nikon sb-800 speed light at 1/32nd power in a Westcott 28" Apollo Softbox. what i love about this softbox first, is it's portability, it collapses like an umbrella which makes is super easy to set up and take down. you can use it with speed lights or even some small strobes like alien bees.by moving the father away from your subject you can take this simple one light set up and create even more drama. like this:now for these two images i used editing tools like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 and alien skin software: exposure 5 to intensify the contrast.remember you can keep it simple and create beautiful images with one simple light setup!