Monolights

A strobe light, or monolight, gives off less heat than other types of floodlights. Photographers use monolights to focus a broad light beam on their subject. How many monolights a photographer needs during any one session depends on location, film speed, and the type of effects desired. Use a mono light to soften and add natural lighting to portraits and object photography.

In monolight photography, the photographer generally uses a resizable umbrella to help offset and soften the light. Most used are the white or silver umbrellas as black umbrellas tend to absorb the light. Monolight setup includes the lamp connected to a pole, or sometimes a wall bracket.

Wedding and portrait photographers use monolights for their superb natural lighting qualities. A monolight fixed on a single subject in a darkened room creates a dramatic photographic artwork. Creative photographers know how to manipulate a strobe light to produce reflective images from metal, waxed flooring, glass and water. Monolights work well with digital cameras as well as 35mm and other photography cameras.

Bowens International leads in camera and photography lighting designs and technology. Some Bowens monolights, like the 1500 Esprit, comes with a control to switch between 500, 1000, or 1500 watt output. This item includes an AC power cord and a wide angle umbrella reflector. Bowens manufacture other monolights with lower wattage for those on a budget, or in need of soft light. These monolights work great for many photography needs, but they do occasionally need new parts. Search online for Bowens monolight repairs to find Bowen certified technicians.

Elinchrom monolights are sold individually or come included in photography kits. The Elinchrom Company continues to research and update their monolights for photography use. Elinchrom Classic Compacts come as light weight and easy to use monolights perfect for home photography studio use.

Other brands of strobe lights include Balcar, Norman, Alien Bees, SP Studios Excaliburs, Photogenic, Flashpoint and Impact monolights. Photography shops online and off sell monolights from the low end one hundred and fifty dollar range up to the high end over a thousand dollar range for full kits. On a low budget? Search for cheap monolight offers in the local and online classifieds. Online auction sites offer a way to find new and used photography monolights at varied prices from anywhere in the world.

Photography sites and books provide information on what types of monolights to use for certain circumstances.