Stewart CohenDirector/DP/Photographer, Stewart Cohen Pictures · Director/DP/Photographer @ Stewart Cohen Pictures | Film Production

Lighting for Photo vs Video… You’re Doing It Wrong

20 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief exchange, two crew members discuss the practical challenges gaffers face when a production requires both video and still photography lighting. Speaker B explains that video lighting differs from stills lighting, but they can integrate a photographer’s strobe to add photo‑specific flare while keeping the overall illumination suitable for video. By slowing down the strobes and adjusting intensity, they achieve a balanced setup that satisfies both disciplines, improving speed and efficiency on set. The conversation also highlights the mutual learning and collaboration between gaffers and photographers, emphasizing communication and shared problem‑solving to streamline workflow.

Chapters

So the one thing that sometimes gaffers have challenges with, with, say, with us, is the fact that we're always trying to do stills as well.
Yeah, because, you know, I typically light for video, which is a whole different world than lighting for stills. So in this case, you know, I had a lot of conversations with your techs and I said, I'll do the heavy lifting, add your strobe in to get that little bit of photo flare that you need. I've been on jobs where the photographers say, Turn off your lights, dude. I don't want your stuff. I want my lights. But I think for speed as well as efficiency, um, and my lights were bright enough that we were able to just kind of do a nice balance of the both, you know. We just slowed down your strobes so they weren't too overbearing. Yeah. Um, and but also, you know, we kind of like took— we took— we learned from each other a little bit, you know.