Photography Lighting Lenses & Gobos

Lighting fixtures and accessories provide limitless opportunities to expand your creative vision in photography, videography, and theatrical design. As you develop your understanding of lighting, you can implement new equipment and tools like lenses, gobos, diffusers, and projection equipment to increase the visual impact of your work.

Shaping Light with Lighting Lenses and Gobos

Lighting lenses and gobos are two of the most useful tools for shaping the look, style, and emotional impact of lighting. Whether you’re working in a single light setup or taking advantage of a larger array of fixtures, you can use these tools to craft more elaborate and nuanced looks.

What is a Gobo?

A gobo is a thin piece of metal or glass featuring a cutout design. By positioning a gobo between the lighting source and the subject or background, you can create a variety of textured lighting looks.

Some gobos have realistic designs meant to mimic the look of mini blinds and window light, or create the textured appearance of dappled light through overhead trees and leaves. Other gobos are more abstract or geometric.

Common Uses for Gobos in Photography

Gobos are helpful in photography because they break up the shape, intensity, and texture of your light source. You can add a gobo to your background light to create depth and intricacy to your scene, or add a gobo to the main or fill light on your model for a more dramatic look. 

What is a Lens for a Lighting Fixture?

A lens is the component of the lighting fixture that focuses the light and determines the beam angle. By swapping out lenses, you can cast a wider beam similar to a flood light, or intensify a light’s effects for functional spotlighting.

You’ll often see lighting fixtures with a degree measurement to reference the overall angle of the beam throw. The smaller the degree number, the narrower the beam.

Common Uses for Lighting Lenses

Lighting lenses offer greater control over your lighting fixtures than add-on accessories like barn doors. When you want lighting that fills your whole studio or if you prefer a more controlled spotlight, lighting lenses make all the difference.

Leading Brands for Lighting Lenses and Gobos

Brands like ARRI, Broncolor, Mole-Richardson, and Rosco are some of the major players in lighting for theater, photography, and film. They’re well-known for creating durable, reliable, and effective equipment.