Affordable Lighting Setup for Youtube Beginners

Lighting setup for YouTube beginners that won’t break the bank

So you’ve started a Youtube channel, but don’t know how to get the best lighting. This affordable Youtube light setup is simple and great for beginners or Youtube veterans alike!

In this lighting tutorial, Youtuber Gordon Laing shows the lighting setup he has been using for years and finds to be the best lighting for his Youtube channel.

Best lighting setup for youtube beginners!

Lighting can be a confusing world of gear to get into, but this easy setup will help you to get started! Using the Godox UL150 and attached Godox soft box QR-P70.

Natural light is the best light, but it is not consistent enough for filming for youtube

While soft, bright and diffused natural daylight is preferred, it is really inconsistent and limited in day hours. 

The colors and shadows change a lot as the sun moves throughout the day which is very noticeable when editing frames together!

Gordon Laing in this photo shows that the natural lighting is good, but won’t stay that way:

Lighting setup for youtube beginners: Use artificial light

You can use artificial lights to create a lighting setup that closely resembles the soft and diffused light that natural light has.

The standard overhead lighting in you house wont be good lighting for filming videos. Overhead light can be too harsh and causes shadows from the downward direction of the light. 

In this photo, Gordon Laing shows the example of using the ceiling LEDs which are causing shadows and dark spots:

Lighting setup for youtube beginners: Using a direct light

Creating a great light setup is required for good Youtube video recording. 

Godox is a brand of lights that get amazing reviews and are relatively inexpensive, too.

For Youtube recording, the Godox UL150 light is a great light for that kind of setup. It runs pretty silently which is great for filming video. 

The light has a settings panel which you can use to adjust the brightness. And it’s very bright! This light by itself can be a bit too harsh and create obvious shadowing behind the subject.

In this photo only using the light on it’s own you can see how harsh it is:

Lighting setup for youtube beginners: Add the softbox attached to the light

This is where the QR-P70 27 inch comes in! Its a small soft box that attaches to the front of the camera. 

Soft boxes diffuse the light coming from the bulb, which makes the light softer and more evenly distributed on what it’s pointing at.

Adding the soft box also decreases the amount and darkness of shadows and lessens harshness of the lighting. 

The Godox QR-P70 has a few light defusal options to choose from. This means you can remove or fit extra layers or fabric to increase or decrease how diffused the light is.

There is also a medium and large version of the softbox, which you can find here:

• QR-P70 medium 35 inches
• QR-P70 Large 47 inches

While two lights in this setup would be actually ideal, it is 100% doable to create YouTube videos with one light and softbox setup. 

Start filming today with this affordable lighting setup for Youtube beginners!

The one light Godox setup is a quick and simple set up that is affordable with helpful brightness and filtering options. 

Which of these lighting setup tips will you apply to your Youtube filming TODAY?

Comment below!