So many lights, but which to choose? Even if you’re a seasoned professional photographer, there is a bewildering choice of lighting kits for studio photography around these days. Choosing the right lighting kits to suit you and the photography you do is a key factor - a studio lighting kit will be with you for several years, so it makes sense to buy one that you’re going to find easy to use, yet powerful enough for your needs.
Don’t worry, we’re here with our quick guide to the best photography lighting kits 2020. We’re going to cover the best lighting kits for beginner, intermediate, and professional photographers, so there’s sure to be something here for everyone.
What are the Best Lighting Kits for a Beginner?
Continuous Lighting for Beginners
If you’re just finding your feet in the world of photography, continuous lighting is a great place to start. Unlike studio strobes, continuous lights stay lit when switched on, so you can see exactly how the light will look on your subject. That also means you don’t have to worry about flash wireless triggers or maximum sync speed.
Continuous lighting kits are also very easy to set up and use - you can just set and forget, and you don’t need any experience to use them as they are so straightforward. Video shooters also require continuous lighting to record their videos, so these lighting kits will work well for vloggers or other videography projects too.
The “Illuminate Mate” Double Rectangle Softbox Lighting Kit includes:
- 2 x 50x70cm Rectangular Soft Boxes with E27 Mount
- 2 x 135W 5500k Studio Daylight Bulbs
- 2 x 180cm Adjustable Light Stand
For those who want an extra softbox for a three-point lighting setup, there’s the Triple “Illuminate Mate” Rectangle Softbox and Boom Arm Lighting Kit. This includes:
- 3 x 50x70cm Rectangular Soft Boxes
- 3 x 125W 5500k Studio Daylight Bulbs
- 3 x 180cm Adjustable Light Stand
- 1 x Boom Arm with Sandbag
For a double softbox continuous lighting kit with a backdrop stand included, there’s the Photography Lighting ‘Startup Fashion' Lookbook Kit, which contains:
- 2 x 50x70cm Rectangular Soft Boxes
- 2 x 125W 5500k Studio Daylight Bulbs
- 2 x 180cm Adjustable Light Stand
- 1 x Backdrop Adjustable Stand (2.8m x 3.0m)
The backdrop stand can be used with paper or muslin backdrops (which are sold separately).
Flash Kits for Beginners
While flash strobes are more complicated than continuous lighting, most beginner photographers are familiar with on-camera flashes, (speedlights) so making the transition to the Godox Dual TT685 Complete Starter Speedlite Flash Lighting Kit is fairly easy. These speedlight flash kits are also compact, so you can use them at home or on location without needing a lot of space.
Godox Dual TT685 Complete Starter Speedlite Flash Lighting Kit
The kit includes:
- 2 x Godox TT685 Godox TT685 2.4G HSS 1/8000s TTL Speedlite Flash (Chosen Brand)
- 2 x Godox 80cm Octagon Reflective Umbrella Softbox (Portable) for Flash
- 2 x Godox S2 Speedlite Flash Bracket For Bowens / S-Type Mounts
- 2 x Hypop 180cm Photography Light Stand
- 1 x Godox X1T TTL HSS Single Transmitter Wireless Camera Flash Trigger (Chosen Brand)
- 1 x Hypop 120cm/48 inch Photography Studio Carry Bag
For a more in-depth look at starter lighting kits, have a look at our blog post here: https://www.hypop.com.au/blogs/blogs/best-starter-studio-photography-lighting-kits-for-beginner-photographers
What are the Best Lighting Kits for an Intermediate
Whilst all the following kits are fairly easy to use, they provide more power and extra features compared to the kits recommended for beginners. All the kits in this section include intermediate lighting modifiers instead of the rectangular softboxes in the beginner’s section.
Continuous Lighting Kits for Intermediates
The Godox 2x SL-60W Advanced Kit is good for both photo and video. Because it’s a Bowens Mount, you can change out the included lighting modifier and use any other Bowens modifiers you already have.
This kit includes:
- 2 x Godox SL-60W LED Continuous Light
- 2 x Godox Large Octagon Softbox
- 2 x Hypop 2.6m Heavy Duty Light Stand
For an all-in-one kit in a carry case, there’s the Spectrum-Pro Duo ‘S-Beam 150’ LED Softbox Advanced Fashion Lookbook Lighting Kit, which includes:
- 2x Spectrum PRO 'S-Beam 150' LED Video Light
- 2x Spectrum PRO 'S-Beam 150' 80cm Octagon Softbox
- 2x 4.5m Power Cable
- 2x Carry Case
- 2x Cat 5 cable
- 2x Heavy Duty Light Stand
Flash Lighting Kits for Intermediates
The Godox Starter 800W (2x SK400II) Studio Flash Lighting Kit also has a Bowens mount for use with any other Bowens modifiers you may have as well as the ones included. This kit comes with:- 2x Godox SK400II 400W Studio Flash Lights
- 2x 260cm Heavy Duty Light Stands
- 1x Godox X1T Transmitter (Available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic / Olympus, Fujifilm
- 2x 80cm Collapsible Godox Octagon Softboxes with Grid
The Godox 2x AD200Pro Witstro 200W Cordless Portable TTL Strobes & Stand Kit with XPro Trigger (Optional Modifiers) is a complete lighting kit. This kit gives you the option to choose which modifier you want to use with it - and you can always change modifiers later on because it contains a Godox S2 Bracket which allows you to use any Bowens mount modifier. This kit contains:
- 2x Godox Witstro AD200Pro 200W Wireless Portable Outdoor TTL Flash
- 2x AD200 WB29 Battery
- 2x AD200 Speedlite Flash Head
- 2x Bare Bulb Flash Head
- 2x AD200Pro 200W Bare Bulb
- 2x Flash Bracket
- 2x Battery Charger and Cable
- 2x Godox Soft Carry Case
- 2x 260cm Heavy Duty Light Stands
- 2x Godox S-Bracket (Bowens Mount)
- 1x Godox XPro Trigger (Suitable for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Olympus/Panasonic)
- Optional: 2 x Hypop 40" Soft Diffuser Umbrella
- Optional: 2 x Godox 80cm Octagon Bowens Collapsible Softbox
What are the Best Lighting Kits for a Professional?
Professional lighting kits need to be high-powered, with fast recycle times, more features and specifications and also be well-built and durable. All of the kits listed below meet those standards so you can use these kits with confidence for all kinds of professional photography.
Flash Lighting Kits for Professionals
The Godox 2x QT400IIM 400W (800W) HSS Flash Strobe Lighting Kit is a high-powered lighting kit that offers the latest in high-speed sync technology so you’re no longer forced to shoot within a small bracket of shutter speeds. This kit contains:
- 2x Godox QT400IIM 400W Flash Heads
- 2x Power Cord
- 2x Standard Reflector
- 2x Lamp Cover
- 2x Glass Protection Cover
- 2x Modeling Lamp
- 2x Instruction Manual
- 1x Godox X1 Trigger (select camera brand)
- 2x Heavy Duty 260cm Stand
- 2x Godox Large 90x90 Softboxes with Grid
The Godox 2x AD600Pro Professional 1200W Portable Studio Flash Lighting Kit is the ideal solution for location and studio shoots, as it comes with a powerful lithium-ion battery pack but you can also purchase an AC adapter for maximum versatility. It’s also stronger than the sun! This kit comes with:
- 2 x Godox AD600Pro Witstro 2.4GHz HSS TTL All-In-One Outdoor Flash Strobe Light
- 2 x Reflector for AD600Pro Flash
- 2 x WB26 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Pack for AD600Pro Flash (28.8V, 2600mAh)
- 2 x C26 Battery Charger for AD600Pro Flash
- 2 x Flash Tube for AD600Pro Flash
- 2 x Power Cord
- 2 x Heavy Duty 260cm Light Stand
- 2 x Godox 120cm Collapsible Octagon Softbox with Grid
- 1 x Godox CB-06 Lighting Kit Roller Bag
- 1 x Godox XPro Trigger (Option to select brand)
Continuous Lighting Kits for Professionals
These powerful kits are ideal for shooting professional photos and videos. The - Aputure LS C120D II Pro Kit (Including Light Dome II Softbox and Light Stand) is a versatile and high-powered continuous lighting setup, which includes:
- Aputure C120d II Light + Carry Bag
- Aputure Light Dome II 90cm Octagon Softbox
- Hypop 2.6m Heavy Duty Light Stand
The Boling 2x BL-2250P LED Video & Photography Lighting Kit setup is an all-in-one two-point lighting kit with high-powered, continuous LED lights for all your photo and video shooting needs. It includes:
- 2 x Boling BL-2250P LED Light Panel
- 2 x 100-240V AC Adaptor
- 2 x Removable Soft White Diffuser (For BL-2250P)
- 2 x Removable Soft Orange Diffusion Board (For BL-2250P)
- 2 x LED Panel Carry Case for BL-2250P
- 2 x 280cm Heavy Duty Light Stand
Conclusion
Having lighting setups that are reliable and provide enough power for your photo or video shoots will help make sure your images or footage always looks professional and awesome. Hopefully, we’ve managed to narrow down the huge choice of lighting kits for beginners, intermediate, and professional photographers, but before we go, here’s a couple of extra tips:
- You can use continuous lighting to take professional-looking photos or videos with your smartphone
- When using softboxes with your lighting, moving them closer to your subject will make the shadows softer, while moving them further away will increase the shadow contrast and give an edgier look
