Pro lighting SETUP

tim uses lots of heads and diffusers for good lighting to show off the wildlife’s fur or feathers at their best. For Hot Shot #1 (right) he used two lights on the background for a smooth gradation effect, one light high to the left bouncing from inside a large umbrella and then shooting through a large diffusing panel for the catch light in the bird’s eye, one strip light right to brighten up the side of the bird in shadow, and finally one ringflash front and centre for fill-in light. It’s a complex setup, but you can still capture great animal portraits with a two or four-light setup.