Light Without Limits: Make Portraits Stand Out with RGB Lighting

At first glance, this style may seem aimed at a fairly narrow audience, but it has enormous potential: regardless of age, gender or body type, it can be used to create striking, mysterious and sensual portrait series of almost anyone. As a photographer, I am constantly exploring new ideas, and this time I feel I have found something that not only reignited my own creativity, but had a surprisingly deep effect on my models as well.

The equipment: portability and versatility

For me, portability is one of the most important considerations. My story started with Lume Cube lights. I first saw them mounted on a drone in New York, but the first time I actually used them back home was during a fitness shoot. They have been constant companions ever since.

Then RGB tools arrived, opening up an entirely new range of possibilities. My first love was the Nanlite PavoTube II 6C: for the effect I want, two of them are ideal. Combine those with the Lume Cube and the image suddenly has that extra bit of spice. And the best part? The whole setup takes up less space than a camera tripod.

Accessories in the setup:

mini ball heads that do not require a conventional tripod — perfect for precise angles,

2 light stands.

The technical secret: how do you do it?

During testing I realised that the lights allow me to mix virtually any colour, and even pastel tones are easy to create simply by adjusting intensity. There is one important technical condition, however: you need a fast lens, and the image should be underexposed.

My own recipe:

Camera body: Olympus E-M1 Mark III — the featherweight champion.

Lenses: M. Zuiko 45mm PRO and 17mm PRO — both f/1.2.

In the real world: a street test and some studio magic

After the studio tests, I wanted to know how a model would react to the setup. I invited one of my experienced subjects for an evening street test around Móricz Zsigmond körtér in Budapest.

The response was immediate. The model, initially sceptical, was genuinely amazed when she saw how the coloured light reflected across the glass façade of the building behind her. From the darkness of the street, we created a distinctive, vibrant visual world.

“It doesn't only please the eye — it affects the soul.”

We continued the session in the studio, where the experience of the lights began to feel almost like light therapy. The model's own description says it best:

“My white lace lingerie was sometimes green, sometimes blue, sometimes red, and at other moments several colours at once. The light moved evenly across my skin... the cool blue, fresh green, cheerful yellow and emotional red all found harmony with the body and almost began to tell a story.”

That feedback made me realise that this is more than a technical accessory. It can become an indispensable creative partner for photographers — one capable of affecting not only the image, but the model's emotional experience as well.

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Art photography — details.

Part of the BANHALMI ecosystem

For the professional context and practical side of portrait photography, visit the BANHALMI professional website. Related art series, books and exhibitions are preserved in the BANHALMI ART archive.