5 in 1 LED Spotlight
A chavett style all LED task light that features a tight-beam spotlight and wide area floodlight on a single bar. Easy control via DMX, wireless RF remote or the included footswitch.
Employee spotlights are an excellent Outdoor Wall Washer way to highlight company achievements and motivate employees. Written profiles, video interviews or Q&A sessions are great examples of how employee spotlights can be used.
Brightness
If you have never purchased an LED spotlight before, it may seem a bit intimidating at first. You have many different factors to consider, and a lot of the terminology might be unfamiliar.
One of the first things you will need to determine is what mechanical size and shape of bulb your application will require. Most manufacturers will be able to give you this information in the product specifications sheet or packaging.
Watts are a good way to gauge a halogen bulbs brightness, but LED bulbs are far more efficient and use much less electrical power. They measure their brightness in lumens, and you can usually find this number listed along with the other product specifications.
MR16 LED spotlights are the smallest type of bulb, and have a 2 inch diameter. These are commonly used in lower ceiling applications. BR16 bulbs are similar in shape, but have a slightly larger bulb diameter of 3 inches. These are commonly used in higher ceiling applications. PAR20 bulbs are also a common type of LED bulb that has a 2.5 inch diameter. These bulbs are most commonly used in residential applications. They are typically 13 Watts. These are a great choice for most applications and provide a good amount of brightness in most cases.
Color Temperature
Color temperature, or Correlated Color Temperature in lighting tech jargon, is a gauge of how warm or cool a light appears. It can help you decide whether you want your space to feel inviting and cozy or energetic and active.
Lower color temperatures like 2200K-2700K produce a warm glow of white, similar to that of incandescent bulbs. They’re best for low-light areas where ambient illumination is needed. Higher color temperatures like 3000K-4500K produce a bright white light that’s closer to that of halogen bulbs. They’re ideal for kitchens, offices and work spaces where task lighting is needed. 5000K and up produce a bright, bluish white light that’s close to the appearance of daylight. They’re best for commercial and retail spaces where you need to keep customers alert and productive.
You’ll find the Kelvin rating for a bulb listed on its packaging or in its product specs page. Typically, it’s the last number in the rating. You can also look for a 5 in 1 spotlight that offers field-adjustable color tuning or a tunable white option. For example, the Good Earth Lighting flat panel LED flush mount ceiling light has a spotlight beam that’s moving head beam designed for distance illumination and a floodlight that’s expressly designed for close area coverage. The fixture’s tunable white feature allows you to select from warm (2700K), soft white (3000K), bright white (4000K) or daylight deluxe (6000K). You can adjust the light to your preference on the fly using the included remote, no hub or gateway required.
Diffusion Panel
Whether you’re shooting in the studio or outside, a reflector is an absolute workhorse of a piece of gear. They’re cheap, portable and can be used to bounce or soften a light in almost any shooting situation.
This reflector comes with a collapsible disk that can be swapped out for any one of 5 different surfaces to modify the shape of your light. The reversible zip-up sleeve allows you to add a silver surface for bright, cool fill; a gold surface for warm, neutral fill; a black side for “negative” reflection or a white translucent one for softer fill.
The main use for a reflector, however, is to subdue harsh lighting. This can be done by simply placing the reflector between your subject and your light source. The white or silver surface of the 5-in-1 will soften the light and add a more subtle and natural look to your image.
Another way to use the reflector is to bounce back any hard light that’s hitting your subject. This can be used with a flash or a small on-camera LED light to create a more even, softer light. Depending on the lighting conditions, you may also choose to place the reflector up close to your subject to soften the highlights and shadows of their face. This can be particularly useful if you’re shooting outdoors during the day and are trying to avoid harsh sun flares.
Swap Out the Reflectors
Using a reflector is not just about the softness or hardness of the light it can also alter its color and intensity. For example swapping out the reflector from white to silver will change the quality of the light, increasing its intensity as it reflects more. However, as the reflector will also be changing the color of the light, you may have to alter your exposure settings.
The curved surface of a 5-in-1 reflector can also be used to fill in shadows on your subject. This is particularly useful for people who have a double chin or other features that you might not want to highlight, but it can also be helpful with still life images and food photography. Simply place a silver reflector under your subject and move it in or out to lighten or darken the shadows.
Another way to use a reflector is to bounce the light off of it, effectively increasing the size of your light source and therefore softening it. The reflected light will still have its own characteristics though, and it can be useful to add some contrast by placing a black flag over the reflector, which will increase the amount of darkening that it does. Ultimately, by going through these 10 different examples of modifying your lighting with a reflector, you will quickly learn to see the effects and how it can affect your photographs.
