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3-point CFL lighting kit
If you're on a tight budget but need a lot of light, consider a CFL lighting kit. These put out a lot of light (equivalent to 2400 watts), and the large softboxes make the light and shadows beautifully soft.
Use the two softboxes to light from the front, and then use the overhead softbox to light above and slightly behind for professional 3-point lighting.
I used a kit like this for many years and got great results!
Where to buy a 3-point CFL lighting kit:
Aputure Amaran HR672 LED lighting kit
This is the LED lighting kit I now use. The Aputure LED lights have a very high CRI (95+) for great color. But what really sold me on these lights were the features!
- 2.4 GHz wireless remote control for adjusting brightness and power
- Groups for controlling multiple lights with the same controller button, or split the lights up and control them separately
- Batteries included and can charge the batteries from AC while also using the lights
- Cool and compact
These lights come in several different kits, or you can buy them individually. I recommend the kit with two wide lights (HR672W) for front lighting and one spot light (HR672S) for overhead rim/hair lighting.
Get the Aputure Amaran HR672 LED lighting kit
Recommended accessories
Aputure AL-F7 portable LED lighting
For mobile video lighting, you need something small and battery-powered. The Aputure AL-F7 is my preferred mobile LED light! Aputure LED lights are known for having excellent CRI ratings (for accurate color rendering).
The AL-F7 offers adjustable, flicker-free lighting. And what makes the AL-F7 even more versatile is that you can adjust the color temperature from 3200K to 9500K in order to match and complement existing ambient light! So you could, for example, adjust to around 5500K to complement neutral sunlight, drop to around 3400K to complement warm incandescent lights, or try around 4100K if you're shooting around fluorescent lights. Or use the AL-F7 as a discreet accent light for special effects!
You can power the AL-F7 with Sony-NP–style batteries (or an adapter), or even any USB battery pack over USB-C.
