Here’s an interesting fact:
Fashion photography is one of the steadiest and highest paying jobs a professional photographer can get.
Why?
Because when it’s done correctly, the photos you take help other people make more money, but it’s hard.
Why is fashion photography so difficult?
Because you need to be prepared to capture every color imaginable, and you’re dealing with one of the most fickle elements to make beautiful on camera—skin.
It’s like portraits meets macro photography with every shot!
How do you crush your fashion photographs so you can make more money?
With a great camera and the best fashion photography lighting.
You probably already have a solid camera; let’s find you the best light that will level up your game overnight.
Today you will learn the best lighting for fashion photography, that also fits in your budget.
Let’s dive in.
In This Article
Best Fashion Photography Lighting
- Best light for fashion photography: Profoto B10 AirTTL
- Best bang for the buck: Godox AD600Pro
- Best affordable fashion photography light: Godox AD600BM
- Best cheap fashion photography light: Neewer Vision 4
- Best fashion photography lighting kit: Profoto 901054 D1 Studio Kit
- Best budget fashion photography kit: Godox 1800W 3X DP600II
- Best cheap fashion photography kit: Neewer Photo Studio Strobe Flash Light and Softbox Lighting Kit
- Best flash for fashion photography: Godox V860II
- Best ring flash for fashion photography: Nikon R1C1
- Best ring light for fashion photography: IVISII Ring Light
- Best underwater fashion photography light: Ikelite DS-161
- Best Indoor Fashion Photography Light: Profoto B10 AirTTL
- Best Shooting Tent for Fashion Photography: Konseen Shooting Tent Cube
- Reflector for outdoor fashion photography: Lastolite Halo Compact Reflector
Best Fashion Photography Lighting
| Editor’s Pick | Brand |
| Best light for fashion photography | Profoto B10 AirTTL |
| Best bang for the buck | Godox AD600Pro |
| Best affordable fashion photography light | Godox AD600BM |
| Best cheap fashion photography light | Neewer Vision 4 |
| Best fashion photography lighting kit | Profoto 901054 D1 Studio Kit |
| Best budget fashion photography lightning kit | Godox 1800W 3X DP600II |
| Best cheap fashion photography kit | Neewer Photo Studio Strobe Flash Light and Softbox Lighting Kit |
| Best flash for fashion photography | Godox V860II |
| Best ring flash for fashion photography | Nikon R1C1 |
| Best ring light for fashion photography | IVISII Ring Light |
| Best Shooting Tent for Fashion Photography | Konseen Professional Shooting Tent Cube |
| Best Indoor Fashion Photography Light | Profoto B10 AirTTL |
| Best underwater fashion photography light | Ikelite DS-161 |
| Reflector for outdoor fashion photography | Lastolite Halo Compact Reflector |
Best Light for Fashion Photography: Profoto B10 AirTTL
The Profoto B10 AirTTL is the smallest and lightest off-camera flash that Profoto has ever produced.
The B10 AirTTL is a decent option to explore when size matters and you can’t compromise on quality.
If you’re concerned about space when it comes to packing for a shoot, or if you are shooting on location, then perhaps the compact size of this flash will suit your fashion photography needs.
The battery is also quick and easy to replace. If you’re working against the clock, you can charge the equipment while you’re shooting. The recharge time is approximately 90 minutes and a full charge will offer you 400 flashes for your shoot.
The small camera-like lens shape offers five times the power of a Speedlight and will allow you to shoot video with its integrated continuous light option. The continuous lighting option has fashion photography in mind with its bright and dimmable options and adjustable color temperature which enables you to blend with ambient lighting options.
Some of the features of the Profoto B10 AirTTL include:
- Small and lightweight
- Powerful in a tiny package
- An impressive color temperature of 5,600K which can be adjusted from 3000K-6500K.
Included in the Profoto B10 AirTTL package are the following items:
- Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery
- Battery Charger and Stand Adapter
- Protective Cap and USB cables (A-C)
Best Bang for the Buck: Godox AD600 Pro
If you want to really get the best bang for your buck, the Godox AD600 will not disappoint. Even though it’s reasonably priced, Godox hasn’t compromised on quality.
That’s why we chose the Godox AD600 Pro for you. The price is manageable for the average photographer’s budget and falls below the $1,000 mark. While the quality is solid for your fashion photography needs.
The brilliant output of this photography light will give you exactly what you need to brighten up your fashion shoots. And it refreshes quickly.
It has daylight-type brightness that can be adjusted for moodier vibes.
This reasonably-priced light is also sturdy and robust. The price tag might be lower, but you won’t be disappointed with the quality and build of this fashion light.
The Godox AD600Pro features 600W’s, 1/256 to 1/1 power output, and a 28.8V at 2600mAh lithium battery pack that offers a minimum of 360 full-power flashes. The stable color temperature will allow you to change within +-75K over the full range of power and 0.01 – 0.9 seconds is the recycling time behind this outdoor flash.
Some additional features that may influence your decision include:
- A color temperature of 4800K and a flash duration of 1/10,000 to 1/220 seconds
- Lightweight at 6.6 pounds, including the battery weight
- Wireless Frequency Bands of 2.4 GHz and a wireless range of 328’/100m
Best Affordable Fashion Photography Light: Godox AD600BM
One of the best selling points for the Godox AD600BM is the fact that it is an all-in-one unit. It has a removable lithium battery built right into the unit itself, thus eliminating the need for you to have additional battery packs hanging from the flash head. Like they say, “less is more”!
You can get an amazing 400-500 flashes from a full battery on this product. And depending on what and how you’re shooting, you might even get more!
The battery indicator on the battery lets you know when the power is running low, which is a great feature so you’re not caught off guard.
The high-speed sync works well for fashion portraits that need more depth and if you require out of focus shots on brighter days out in the sun.
Staying true to being budget-friendly, the spares and accessories are also fairly priced, and they’re easy to find.
Additional features for the AD600BM include:
- A flash duration of 1/10,000 to 1/220 seconds and a recycling time of 0.01 to 2.5 seconds
- A color temperature of 5600K which can be adjusted to suit your photography needs
- Lightweight at only 5.86 pounds, including the battery
Best Cheap Fashion Photography Light: Neewer Vision 4
The best part of this light is that the quality remains while catering to a tight budget. The closest rival to the Neewer Vision 4 is the Godox AD200. The brands seem similar in quality. So opting for the cheaper Neewer Vision 4 might be the best solution for your fashion photography needs.
Over time more the Neewer Vision 4 has been gaining in popularity. Perhaps because it’s designed to specifically dominate the outdoor strobe light niche.
Although the TTL function of the Vision 4 will work effectively with all cameras, they have branched out to offer wireless capability with other brands such as Canon, Sony, Nikon, Pentax, Fuji, Olympus, and Panasonic.
While many of the brands mentioned above have a focus on outdoor use, the Neewer Vision 4 is a 300W monolight that’s suitable for both outdoor and in-studio use. It runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery with 6000mAh capacity. This means that at full battery power you will get approximately 700 flashes.
Fashion photography has been integrated into the functionality of the Vision4 with its adjustable output that can go from full power to 1/64 power, allowing you a 6-stop exposure range. In addition, the multi-mode allows programmable sequential shots to be taken, firing up to 15 flashes sequentially.
Below is a list of additional features of the Vision4:
- Maximum power output of 300Ws
- Flash duration is similar to more expensive models at 1/10,000 to 1/1000 Sec and a recycling time of 0.4 to 2.5 Sec
- Lightweight at just 3.97 pounds, including the battery
Best Fashion Photography Lighting Kit: Profoto 901054 D1 Studio Kit
If you’re not worried about the price tag for the best lighting for your fashion photography, then you should definitely take a look at the Profoto 901054 D1 Studio Kit.
This lighting kit might cost more than the other options here, but keep in mind that it’s a full kit and not just a single device. The kit includes the following equipment:
- 2 x D1 Units
- 2 x D1 Small white umbrellas
- 2 x D1 Light stands
- 1 x Studio kit case
- Either a Profoto Air remote (for the Air equipped kits) or a sync cord
The price seems reasonable when you see what’s included. This kit would be ideal for the photographer who lives for fashion photography daily and needs a full kit.
The Profoto D1 Studio Kit introduces quality and consistency from a well-known brand with a key focus being placed on professional 1000W monolight photography lighting.
The Profoto brand is well-known as a world leader in electronic flash photography and 40 years of experience has fuelled its versatile and effective flash units. The design and creation of the D1 Air kit was specifically made to provide professional studio light kits at a price non professional photographers could afford.
The D1 studio kit is fully digital, and not just the display panel; the flash output circuitry is a digital feature that ensures consistency in flash-to-flash color temperature and overall flash energy.
The D1 Studio Kit simplifies and enhances your fashion photography. The 7f-stop power range gives you creative freedom by allowing you to shoot high-speed shots with a full open lens.
The built-in reflector also adds a unique touch because it helps you minimize any stray light.
The D1 Studio Kit boasts the following additional features:
- The tungsten lights offer an impressive 300W of power to effectively light your studio.
- The maximum power output when fully charged is 250 Ws.
- The recycle time between flashes is 0.65 seconds.
Best Budget Fashion Photography Lighting Kit: Godox1800W 3X DP600II
Fashion photography may be your passion, but maybe your budget doesn’t match your passion just yet.
If budget is a hindrance when selecting lighting equipment, then the Godox 1800W 3X DP600II is a great option to explore that features great lighting for your fashion photography requirements.
Included in the Godox DP600II kit are the following items:
- 3 Godox DP600II units with a maximum power of 600Ws and color temperature of 5600+/-200k
- Recycle time of 0.3-1.2 seconds and average flash duration of 1/2000 to 1/800s
- 2 60cm x 90cm softboxes with silver reflective mats and water bubble shapes throughout the pattern design
- 1 FW120cm softbox
- 2 Light Stands
- 1 X1T Trigger
- 1 Studio Boom Arm
- 1 BD-04 Barn Door Honeycomb Grid
- 4 color filters are also included
- B1 x Bowens Mount Reflector as well as 1 x 5-in-1 reflector board
With a particular interest in fashion photography, this kit is ideal for lighting because it’s designed for shooting studio portraits and e-commerce products. The kit is perfect for headshots, waist shoots, and product shooting. It offers highlight, hair light, and background light for large studios and workshop areas.
Best Cheap Fashion Photography Kit: Neewer Photo Studio Strobe Flash Light and Softbox Lighting Kit
The competition between the Godox and Neewer brands is fairly tight when it comes down to quality. Price is where they part ways. And while one may offer features that the other doesn’t, the quality is still great and will meet your lighting needs to shoot great fashion photos.
2 x N-300W Strobe lights that have a flash energy of 300WS and a flash duration of 1/2000 seconds. The recharge time for these lights is 0.3-1.8 and the color temperature peaks at 5600K. There are also three different trigger modes including flash trigger, test button trigger, and photo sensor.
Below is a list of items included in this lighting kit:
- 2 x N-300W Strobe lights
- 2 x Light Stands
- 2 x Softboxes at 22.5x52x3 cm
- 1 x RT-16 Wireless Trigger that provides high-speed and synchronous for 1/200 second and a maximum working distance of 30m
- 1 x Carry Bag
Best Flash for Fashion Photography: Godox V860II
Godox released the V860II with TTL and HSS for Nikon, Canon, and Sony cameras. It has 2.4GHz X series radio transceivers built inside and provides both Radio Master and Slave modes as well as Nikon Optic Wireless Master and Slave modes too.
The Lithium-ion battery can provide approximately 650 flashes when fully charged and has a recycling time of 1.5 seconds.
The V860II is fully compatible with Canon’s E-TTL II metering system and fully supports high-speed synchronization across all its supported makes and models. The pricing varies between the different brands.
- Canon is the most expensive model supported.
- Nikon and Sony are within the same price range.
The features of the Godox V860II remain standard across the brands and include the following features:
- The head features an auto-zoom function and can swivel 360°
- The flash incorporates two different flash modes, including Hi-speed sync mode and second-curtain sync.
- The flash duration is also fair at 1/300 to 1/20000 Second
- Full wireless operation is available across 32 channels and 2 wireless groups.
Best Ring Flash for Fashion Photography: Nikon R1C1
Nikon has been an industry leader and well-known photography brand for many years. Their history has enabled them to combine experience and modern technology together to stay on the game with their lighting accessories.
The Nikon R1C1 kit is made up of two SB-R200 remote units attached to the lens as well as SU-800 Commander unit which is attached to the camera’s i-TTL metering system. Infra-red wireless communication runs exposure and triggering communication.
The Nikon R1C1 kit includes adaptors for frontal lighting, adaptor rings for NIKKOR lens, and filters.
The Nikon R1C1 offers lighting techniques that are ideal for a budding fashion photographer that needs effective lighting for the apparel/model they are shooting, and it offers more versatility than a ring light.
Some of the key features for the Nikon R1C1 include:
- There is an angle of coverage of 78° and an impressive lens compatibility range of 52mm/62mm/67mm/72mm/77mm.
- The recycle time is approximately 5 to 6 seconds and the wireless operation across 4 channels is via optical pulse.
Best Ring Light for Fashion Photography: IVISII Ring Light
Using ring lights for photography lighting effects is becoming increasingly popular, and not only amongst professional photographers. Ring lights are quickly making their way into homes to help anyone take quality photos.
They’re great for taking some seriously good selfies and for lighting the way for Tik Tok videos too!
The IVISII Ring Light is a popular option for fashion photography. It’s helped a whole new market of self-photographers to display their apparel and garments.
This ring light comes with various mounts that fit into three cold shoe sockets on the IVISII Ring Light. This means you can mount a camera or a smartphone together with an external microphone. The five programmable groups allow you to configure the lighting setting combos.
The ring light can operate using both AC or DC power and it has two battery connections to Sony NP- style batteries. This battery option will give you 12-18 volts of power which is optimal to run the ring light.
The battery option allows you to take the ring light anywhere, especially if AC power is not available.
If the price for this ring light has you raising your eyebrows, then you might feel better knowing that it comes as a complete set.
The kit includes the following:
- 1 x 19” Ring LED Light with a 3000K – 5800K adjustable color temperature and 240 LED bulbs. The brightness of these lights can be adjusted from 1% to 100%, all of which can be viewed and adjusted on the LCD display.
- 1 x Light Stand
- 1 x White filter
- 1 x Phone Holder
- 1 x Camera Hot Shoe adapter
- 1 x Screwdriver
- 1 x UL listed Multi-Voltage AC Adapter
- 1 x Bluetooth Remote
- 1 x Wireless Remote Controller
Best Indoor Fashion Photography Light: Profoto B10 AirTTL
The Profoto B10 is a great on-the-go light. It has an extremely short flash duration of up to 1/80,000s. And the recycling time is very short and high up on the power scale compared to other flashes.
The Profoto B10 is one of the smallest cordless off-camera flashes available on the market. This will enable you to set up quickly and pack up just as quickly with minimal equipment to haul around from one shoot to another.
The rechargeable lithium-ion battery also offers added convenience if you’re a photographer that’s always on the go.
This best indoor fashion photography light offers the power of 5 or 10 speedlights and is compatible with over 120 light shaping tools. The B10 also offers exclusive AirX technology, which allows you to synchronize your flash with any camera whether it’s a traditional camera or smartphone.
Below are some of the features of the Profoto B10:
- When fully charged you will get approximately 400 flashes that have a recycle time of 0.05 to 2 seconds.
- The rechargeable Lithium-ion battery takes roughly 90 minutes to charge to full power and offers a maximum power of 250 Ws.
- The 150W LED modeling light has excellent light control that allows dimming of 10%-100% and an adjustable color temperature of 3000 – 6500K. The modeling light rendering is 90-96.
- The weight of this flash is 3.3 pounds—very light considering the weight of the battery and stand adapter is included.
Best Shooting Tent for Fashion Photography: Konseen Shooting Tent Cube
The Konseen large shooting tent utilizes 8 LED beads strips, each containing 96 LEDs that deliver a color temperature of 5500K for perfect fashion photography easily. With specially woven and heat resistant silver reflectors these materials offer uniform illumination and eliminate any unwanted shadows and reflective glare on the model or the fashion apparel you’re photographing within the tent cube.
The LED lights are dimmable to offer adjustable lighting easily.
Included in the Konseen light tent cube kit are the following items:
- 1 47x39x78 inch lightbox tent; tall enough and wide enough for a fashion model to stand in
- 3 soft light cloths
- 3 PVC backdrops to vary your backdrop for your photos
- 8 LED light boards to change the angle of your lighting
- 8 AC dimmable adaptors
Based on what’s included in this kit, you can see the Konseen light tent’s best features are:
- Large enough for a model
- Dimmable lighting to achieve your perfect vibe
- Also can change the angle of your lighting for the perfect look
Best Underwater Fashion Photography Light: Ikelite DS-161
It may not be common for fashion photographers to shoot underwater, but this is an up and coming trend. So get ahead of the curve and be ready for it with this underwater light!
The Ikelite DS-161 features extra-large flash capacitors that have been specifically designed to use underwater to illuminate the area with a colorful and natural wide-angle light. The professional-grade round xenon flash tube together with the powder-coated reflector produces a warm and soft 4800K.
The rechargeable battery pack offers convenience and provides twice as much energy compared to smaller strobes. At full power and on a single charge you will be able to get approximately 450 flashes and an energy output of 160Ws.
The Ikelite DS-191 includes the following features:
- Underwater depth rating of 300′, although the buoyancy is slightly negative in saltwater
- Lightweight at 2.7 pounds, crucial when underwater
- Color temperature is 4800K; recycling time is 1.4 second
Best Reflector for Outdoor Fashion Photography: Lastolite Halo Compact Reflector
The Lastolite Reflector is really small and lightweight and packs away smaller than most reflectors on the market.
This silver/white 32″ Lastolite Halo Compact Reflector is great for photographers who want to travel light while still taking full advantage of the ambient light. It pops up in seconds and has a reversible reflective material that is built around a rigid metal frame.
The ergonomic handgrip allows one-handed operation for a simple setup, especially when your hands are full with other gear.
The silver reflection offers punchy light and varying contrast and the white material illuminates a soft and neutral environment.
Key features of the Lastolite Reflector:
- Easy to carry and set up
- Great for a shoot with minimal gear
- Two-sided for different looks
Final Flash
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced fashion photographer, having the right lighting to carefully illuminate your fashion photographs will definitely make a difference to the quality of the photographs you produce.
The equipment you need for effective lighting is all dependent on your budget, photography style, and where you shoot your images.
If you shoot outside regularly, then you’ll want to explore lightweight, on-the-go lighting equipment that is well-suited for outdoor exposure. If you shoot underwater images, then there will be no compromise on fully waterproofed and high-quality equipment that will endure underwater conditions and offer crisp photos.
At the end of the day, your lighting equipment needs to contribute to professional and consistent photos that will help you grow as a fashion photographer. If your equipment is not offering you the best quality lighting you need, then it may be time to upgrade to a full studio kit.
Regardless of whether you are shooting in the studio or at an outdoor location, the right lighting is needed to bring everything together including the backdrop, environment, model, and of course, the fashion you need to focus on.