What do I need and which is best? Lets look at the main studio lighting options available to stock photographers. I have also included a few photos which demonstrate what can be achieved on a very small budget. Points covered are:

• Budget lights (daylight bulbs)
• Constant lighting (pro's and cons)
• Flash lighting (Bowens, Elinchrom)
• Diffusion, shadows and light tents
• Lighting outdoors, flash and ISO

Expensive professional studio lighting is best. But the first myth that should be dispelled, is that you do not need professional or expensive lighting equipment to take good stock photos. I have progressed to bowens studio flash lighting (softbox and umbrealla) and I do prefer flash as my results are somewhat better and more consistent than they were with cheap constant lighting. But like many people I started out on a small budget, and began shooting products using ordinary, inexpensive daylight bulbs fitted into normal household lamps, and the results I could achieve with a bit of hard work were usually satisfactory.

A daylight bulb, also known as a craft bulb (most commonly used by artists who require natural sunlight after dark) is usually blue in appearance and has a temperature of approximately 5500k (kelvin). The bulbs themselves only cost £2 to £3 each, ie about $5 per bulb. A normal 'household' tungsten bulb produces an orange colored light (of about 3000k) which, 99% of the time, is not suitable for taking stock photographs. The photograph below was taken in a light tent using four cheap 60w and 100w daylight balanced bulbs in normal household lamps.

As you can see, you do not need expensive studio lighting in order to take correctly exposed stock photos which will sell. Whether you decide to buy professional lighting equipment is something you can decide for yourself in time. Below is another photo, also taken with the same inexpensive daylight bulbs.

Daylight bulbs (unlike flash) are referred to as constant lighting. In a studio, constant lighting can be used to control the trajectory of light which can be used to create shadows and other details which make some subjects appear more interesting and less flat in appearance. However, when working with constant lighting, you will need exceedingly bright bulbs (and hundreds of watts of power) if your stock photography involves handheld objects, moving objects, or live subjects. Pets, and liquid in motion (wine, water, etc) is best captured using flash lighting. I used studio flash to photograph the gerbil below (with ease)

Some people complain that flash lighting (Bowens and Elinchrom are good brands) can sometimes be too harsh. There is some truth in this, depending on the color and texture of the subject and background. Used properly though, studio flash should give the stock photographer more control and the best possible result.

In microstock photography, to sell a photo you need to provide the buyer with something they want, and subjects which are shot on a white background sell very well indeed! The people who buy photos (typically graphic designers) often need to cut out or isolate your subjects before they can insert them into their own publications. By shooting on white you are assisting them to some degree by isolating their subjects for them. Providing a clipping path also helps boost sales.

Whatever method you use, it would be worth experimenting with a light tent. Light tents (also called infinity tents) are cheap (usually cube shaped) frames, covered with a thin layer of white material which diffuses light. The light inside a light tent is softer and bounces around the inside of the tent and helps to reduce harsh shadows. Studio lighting (ie softboxes and umbrellas) is already diffused, and using a light tent in conjunction with studio flash further softens the light. I know people who have made their own light tents at home, with great success.

I put white card inside my light tent for two reasons. Firstly, light tents are made from fabric and I prefer the area in focus to be smooth white card rather than the fibres of a fabric cloth. Secondly, if you can find a few sheets of extra bright white card, then your backgrounds will be slightly more blown out, and whiter.

The orange below was also shot in a light tent. Two oranges are more attractive to buyers, who get 2 'photos' for the price of one. I propped up the slice on the left with a piece of Blu Tack to get a nice angle, which also helped boost sales.

To prevent your white card from becoming stained by foods (or blu tack marks, etc) place your subjects on an additional piece of A4 paper. This also saves you from having to remove the stains which are in focus using photoshop.

If you are starting out, I would highly recommend that everyone experiment on a low budget with CHEAP daylight balanced bulbs first. You will quickly discover the limitations of cheap lighting, and you will also learn about constant lighting. You will then be in a better position to decide whether you want to buy expensive flash lighting or expensive constant lighting. Professional "constant lighting" is sometimes almost as expensive as professional studio flash lighting. It boils down to preference in the end.

Use reflectors as well as flash when shooting products or models outdoors, and always use a difusser with the flash if you have one. Good models are not cheap, and you run the risk of ruining an entire shoot if your lighting is not good enough. Two of my photos were once rejected by dreamstime due to a tiny spec of dirt under my thumbnail, which was easily fixed in photoshop. Your best ever photos may be rejected if your shadows and highlights are not spot on, so take care when shooting outdoors, especially under the mid day sun when ligting conditions are at their worst, to ensure the subjects you are photographing are properly lit.

Shooting under cloud cover has benefits, as the clouds themselves act as difussers bringing the color temperature down from 10'000 - 20'000k (skylight) to a more managable 6000 - 8000k. It is far easier to manage products in a light tent under controlled studio lighting conditions where the photographer has control, than shooting outdoors where consistant lighting is a hit and miss affair.

Dont become too emotionally attached to your images and try to allow common sense be your critique. Show 100 people two photos of food, and nearly all 100 people will agree which one looks best, tastiest, and nicest. Photography is the study of composition and lighting (no more) and when working in a studio, with the benefit of being able to work on a trial and error basis, there is no reason why you shouldnt be able to achieve near-perfect results with consistency.