It’s not often that a lantern is the first option that comes to mind when most shooters go to set up a lighting pattern, but even as an often overlooked modifier, it holds some versatile unique qualities.
Often used more for cinema, a lantern-style modifier — like this Glow 31″ Quick Ball Lantern Softbox () — throws light everywhere, but it does so evenly, allowing it to mimic light sources you may find in environments such as overhead lights in a room, but with control to break down specular highlights and give you the output from a studio strobe.
This aspect allows for the control of a studio light, but also creates the style of an environmental source for a natural looking light on location, say shooting a diner scene or a table setting. As a 360-degree light source, the lantern forces you to think about lighting patterns that may not be directional (such as a soft box, which only sends light in one direction), but rather thinking of a light filling an area. You can either let that light die off from your subjects, or you can control how you bounce the residual light back in to refine your shadow patterns.
With the ability to bounce, the lantern can act as a much larger light source when proper fill techniques are applied. Since this modifier produces a large spill, it can be centrally located and you can easily shoot around it. As long as your subjects are all equal distance from the light, the exposure should stay the same, and you can get multiple subjects through one session.
Lanterns are a great tool but they may not be for every style or situation. I found this one to be a lot of fun at this price point since it allows shooters who are unfamiliar with the modifier to give it a shot without looking to other, more pricey, alternatives. Plus, with the added deflector plate (which not all lanterns have), the user can focus the spread of light inside the lantern to either limit or expand the spread of light inside, and further emitting it from different amounts of the diffusor.
In this sense it almost has the same control of the length of rod choice used with a shoot-through umbrella. About the only thing this particular lantern is missing is the ability for an add-on detachable skirt to block the light from one side or the other should you need to. Other than that, it’s a great addition to a studio kit, at an easy cost to experiment your lighting style.
Check out the Glow lantern in action in the video below:
