Best portable photography light kits on the market (2021 Complete Guide)

If you want to bring your A-Game every time you are on a photo shoot, then you need to have the best portable lighting kit for photography with you. 

Like Soft boxes and umbrellas to fully equip you with the knowledge you need for getting perfect photography lighting. That being said, let's start:

If you are in A hurry!  So Check below top picks and best sellers:

keyenergypark.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost, By advertising Amazon.com

Types of studio lights: What lights do photographers use?

Continuous Lighting Kits:

You can easily adjust color temperature and white balance in real-time while checking how the subject looks under the light. 

Plus, it is perfect for video shoots as you must need the lights turned on to capture the video. The main drawback is that it produces a lot of heat, which makes sense because of continuous light production.

Speed- light Kit:

You can use them with remote control if you want the light to come from a different direction than you are taking the picture from or if you want the light to fall from a distance. 

Keep in mind that beginners will not find this best portable lighting kit very convenient as they will have to continuously turn the flash on and off to see how the product will look in the light settings you are choosing.

Mono-light Strobe Lighting Kit:

However, the bulbs in moonlights can easily be broken, and new ones can cost a lot, so you need to be very vigilant when using them.

Recommended strobe photography lights

Which lighting is best for photography?

Now that you know which the best portable lighting kit for photography is, you must be wondering which lighting bulb I should go for. 

Well, we suggest LED light bulbs when you are not using the strobes because of several practical reasons.

Firstly, they come in an array of color temperatures so you can get the one as per your needs.

Secondly, they are extremely affordable; you can get 10 of them in under 100 bucks. This means you can get different color temperatures and brightness levels and use them for different types of shoots and their lighting requirements.

What lighting equipment is needed for portrait photography?

Since you are searching for the equipment for portrait photography, it is highly likely that you are just starting out. So if that's the case, we have some pretty awesome suggestions for you, let's see:

• Lens : For beginners who want to enter into the portrait photography market, we suggest the 50mm lens because of its inexpensiveness and quality results.
  
  
• Reflector : You will also need to have a reflector in your photography arsenal if you are planning on shooting outdoor portraits. A 5-in-1 reflector should work great for you.
  
  
• Off-Camera Flash : Light is the backbone of photography, and you need a separate flash to ensure it is enough for perfect portraits. Plus, in outdoor environments where there is aputure light storm coming in, your camera flash won't be enough to put the focus on the subject, another source is needed.
  
  
• Tripod : You need a sturdy tripod, mostly for indoor purposes, where you need to capture the model at a specific place like in front of a green screen. Make sure to get the one that can hold at least double the weight of your camera.
  
  
• Sturdy Camera Bag : This goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, you need a durable and comfortable camera bag. Since your camera and lens will be the most expensive equipment in your gear, you need to keep them someplace safe, and a bag will help you with that. It should also be comfortable to carry as your shoulder can become sore from hours of carrying it around.

Why do photographers use a softbox?

The enclosure surrounding the light that you see in photo studios is the softbox – just pointing out in case you didn't know! The practical uses of these lightweight but essential lightboxes are endless. 

Before their invention, photographers used and regarded the north-facing window as the best source of soft light.

However, you cannot have a north-facing window everywhere, and even if you have, sunlight won't be there at night. So considering the beauty that natural light adds, soft-boxes were invented. They send out pretty much the same soft light without the photographers having to wait for daylight.

Want to up your outdoor photography game with portable photography lighting? Or maybe you are just dipping your toes into it and want to get the best lighting for photography at affordable prices? 

Well, whatever the reasons are, you are rest assured to get a bang for your buck with the products we have suggested below:

Are LED lights good for photography?

YES, they are, and as discussed above, they hare several practical uses in the photography space.

To give you a further idea of their benefits and why they are often part of the best photography lighting kit, we have mentioned some features below:

Due to the ample benefits you get from LEDs, they are considered one of the best portable lighting kits.

What is the black umbrella used for photography?

If you have been doing photography for some time or even if you are new, you will often notice that there is more spread of light than you need. 

Whether you use average or the best photography lighting kit, you can come across this problem, and that can decrease shadow detail or the contrast of the image.

So to ensure that the light doesn't spread much and focuses more on the subject, black umbrellas are used. One of the many qualities of black color is that it absorbs light.

By eating up the unnecessary light spread, it allows the subject to be the focus of light, adding more contrast and shadow detail. You can, of course, move the black umbrella close or away depending on how low or high speed sync you want these factors to be.

Which is a better softbox or umbrella?

There are differences between both the box and the umbrella, and we cannot say which one is better because both work great depending on your needs. However, we can provide you with a side by side comparison so you can decide on your own. With that said, let's get started:

Light Control and Quality:

Both of them will generate great light quality. However, the soft-box is best most of the time. The color of the room makes a difference in their qualities. If everything in the room from ceilings to roof is white, the umbrella will create the softest light.

However, in colored rooms, the softbox is the best as its light won't pick the room's colors because it will come directly from the box. As for light control, you can expect more precise control from softboxes.

Outdoor Shoots:

One of the major issues you come across with umbrellas in outdoor areas is that the wind can carry it away. Even if you put something solid in its foundation, it will still move and cause disturbances in lighting.

Softboxes, on the other hand, are less likely to move as they don't scoop up the wind inside like the umbrella does.

Ease of Setup and Use:

In small sizes, softboxes are more comfortable to carry around and weigh less. However, if you need large boxes, you might have less comfort in bringing them along, the umbrella is more comfortable to carry in large sizes.

As for the setup, softboxes can easily open and close because of the Velcro attachment and umbrellas are not difficult either. In terms of ease of use, softbox and umbrella both are easy as you just need to point on the subject, and that's it. So it's a tie!

Affordability:

Softboxes are a bit expensive, but they come in different options depending on the size, so it is hard to put the finger on any one price.

Small softboxes have the same price as the umbrella, but larger ones can cost a lot more. It depends on what you are shooting and how close or far you need to be.