Why Felix Kunze Thinks We’ve Been Overcomplicating Lighting

When it involves lighting in pictures, most of us instinctively attain for mushy, flattering mild. We diffuse our flashes, shoot via umbrellas, and hunt down cloudy days. But what if I instructed you that a few of the most placing portraitYou know the second: your topic is prepared, you’ve acquired about 5 toes of area to work with, and the window mild you had been relying on is nearly gone. You fumble along with your flash, reposition a softbox, and surprise — why does this nonetheless really feel so exhausting?s truly come from embracing exhausting mild?

Felix Kunze is aware of that second too nicely, and he’s on a mission to ensure it by no means ruins your shoot once more.

The acclaimed portrait photographer and lighting educator is again with Lighting for Everyone, his first studio lighting class since 2017’s legendary Lighting Series. But don’t name it a sequel. This is one thing else solely.

“The world has changed. Shoots move faster. Spaces are tighter. We don’t always get an hour and a softbox,” says Felix. “So I built the class I wish I had at the beginning, something that helps you create world-class light with less gear, less stress, and way more confidence.”

The Myth of Complexity

Over the final decade, Felix has lit everybody from astronauts to Vogue covers. But what units him aside isn’t simply who he pictures, it’s how he teaches lighting.

In Lighting for Everyone, Felix strips away jargon and dives into real-world setups with on a regular basis gear. We’re speaking bounce boards made out of insulation foam, residing rooms as a substitute of studios, and unscripted moments that mirror what wedding ceremony and portrait photographers face each day.

“Lighting is about direction, shape, and feel,” Felix explains. “You don’t need five lights to create drama. You just need to know what to do with one.”

Lessons From the Field

Each phase within the course was filmed on-location, no huge studios, no film crews, simply Felix, a lightweight, and an actual photographer’s challenges. He demonstrates the best way to:

• Use feathered bounce mild to wrap your topic in softness
• Create cinematic backlight with a single fixed mild (and no modifier)
• Adapt lighting methods for teams, tight areas, and imperfect circumstances
• Troubleshoot issues on the fly, from spill to hotspots to combined mild

And maybe most powerfully, he enables you to see all of it go unsuitable on objective.

“I mess things up on camera. That’s the point. You get to watch how I fix it. Because that’s what we do on real shoots.”

Why This Course Matters Now

With AI retouching, tighter budgets, and the rise of content-style imagery, the stress to ship natural-looking, emotive pictures quick is greater than ever. Many photographers really feel like lighting is both “too hard” or “not their thing.”

Felix needs to flip that narrative.

“Lighting is your thing. If you want creative freedom, you have to understand it. But that doesn’t mean it has to be complicated.”

For newer photographers, Lighting for Everyone gives an approachable entry level. For veterans, it’s a breath of recent air, a reminder that easier could be higher. Several early testers even reported {that a} single method (the “wrap-around light setup”) alone justified the worth of the course.

A Class Built for Photographers, Not Just Gear Lovers

Unlike most tutorials, this course isn’t simply concerning the instruments, it’s concerning the selections. Felix speaks in human phrases, typically referencing emotions, intention, and shopper expertise alongside publicity and falloff. It’s clear he’s not simply educating method. He’s sharing the best way to see.

And in a world the place photographers are more and more requested to shoot sooner, extra intuitively, and in unpredictable environments, that shift in mindset is all the pieces.

Final Take

Lighting for Everyone is greater than a lighting class. It’s a confidence builder. Whether you shoot weddings, portraits, editorial or headshots, it is a masterclass in seeing mild in another way, taught by somebody who will get what it’s prefer to be within the trenches.

As Felix says, “You don’t need to wait until you have the perfect space or gear. You just need to understand what the light is doing and how to shape it.”

Explore Roberto’s work at FelixKunze.com and @felixkunze