I get it. Not everyone reading this post and watches the video above can afford Profoto gear, so let’s get beyond that right from the start. So many people commenting on Profoto videos talk about Profoto being so expensive. I hope they, along with you, get beyond that and learn from the videos.

Personally, I love the Profto YouTube Channel primarily because they have a lot of videos that are 5 minutes (+/-) or less that show some nice lighting techniques. Yes, they are showing Profoto gear because it’s the Profoto Channel. Yes, Profoto gear is not cheap. However, you can put the techniques to work with the lighting gear that you have even if that is speedlites. Does that mean you’ll get the same results? Not necessarily. But it does mean that you can do the best you can with what you can afford.

Although you can do a lot of work with just one light, you will likely still have to spend some money on some kind of extra gear unless you have multiple speedlites (or studio strobes) and modifiers. For example, this grid shot in the video uses 4 lights with grids. So if you want to attempt to mimic it exactly, guess what? You will need 4 lights of some kind and 4 grids plus 4 light stands. No matter how you look at it, you’ll have several hundred dollars in lighting and modifiers even if you are using Yongnuo speedlites.

I shot the portrait below with a Profoto B2 head with a 24 inch octabox with a grid on it. The grid helps keep the light tight and prevents spill onto the background. Guess what? You can shoot the same shot with a speedlite. If that’s all you have, then make it work with what you have to work with.

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