LED Photography Lights: A Practical Guide

LED has become the standard light source for photography and video for practical reasons. It runs cool enough to sit close to a subject, it draws modest power, it dims smoothly, and it can change colour temperature without changing a bulb or a filter. Those four facts explain why almost every light in this range is an LED light.

Comparing LED lights fairly means comparing the same figures. Brightness should be compared at a stated distance, because a figure without a distance cannot be checked. Colour temperature should be compared as a range, not as a single number, since a light that only gives one temperature suits fewer situations. Colour rendering should be compared as a published value, not assumed from brightness.

LED lights also differ in how they are controlled. Some adjust with buttons on the body, some with a remote, and some through an app. On a set, the control method decides how quickly a light can be changed between takes, and a light that is hard to adjust will be left at one setting even when the scene changes.

For still photography, LED continuous light has the advantage of preview: what is seen before the shot is what the camera records. For video, continuous light is the only option. A buyer who works in both stills and video therefore gets more use from one LED continuous light than from a flash unit that serves stills alone.

The LED photography lights on this site are the video lights, ring lights, tube lights and sun-style lights, each with its own category page and, where a full specification sheet exists, its own detail page. The guides on studio lighting, fill light and camera lights explain how those lights are used together.