Film Noir look in photos with LED lights

Wednesday 30 September 2026, 20:20 by Elja Trum | 128 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Film noir remains a great style to experiment with. Hard light, deep shadows, black and white, and of course those classic lines from blinds across your model. With a few simple ingredients, you can quickly create the feel of an old crime film, even in a small home studio.

In a new video, photographer Gavin Hoey shows how he builds a Film Noir setup step by step. This time, he uses continuous LED lighting instead of flash.

The main advantage is that you can immediately see where the light and shadows fall. That is especially important with Film Noir, because the shadows are at least as important to the final result as the light itself.

Playing with hard light and shadows

For the typical Film Noir look, Gavin uses a set of blinds that he shines hard light through. First he tries a standard reflector, then a snoot and finally a reflector with a grid. This lets him focus the light enough without it immediately becoming a small spotlight.

Gavin then adds a transparent acrylic sheet to the setup. It serves as a window behind the blinds. The sheet itself is almost invisible, but it does create reflections. By placing a black background behind the 'window', those reflections become much more visible. A great addition!

More Film Noir

Gavin Hoey previously showed how he approaches Film Noir photography in the studio. It is well worth watching that video too if you want to get started with this style.

We have also covered this photographic style on Photofacts before. In the article 5 tips for Film Noir photography, you will find a few more practical ways to create that dark, mysterious look in your own photos.

Gavin's video clearly shows that you do not need a complete film set for this. With a few lamps, a set of blinds and some simple materials, you can build a convincing Film Noir setup at home.

Share: WhatsApp Facebook

About the author

Elja Trum is the founder of Photofacts and online photography course website Photofacts Academy. He has been writing about photography since 2006. Elja is also the author of (Dutch) books on composition, black-and-white photography, flash photography and portrait photography.

5 Tips for Film Noir Photography
by Elja Trum
Black-and-white photography tip: Create a film noir story
by Elja Trum
5 Tips for Variety in the (Home) Studio
by Elja Trum
Film Noir Photography in the Studio with Gavin Hoey
by Elja Trum
Flash photography tip: Create your own home studio
by Elja Trum
Switching to the Mac Studio or not? Part 2
by Nando Harmsen

Show every article in Portrait photography

home

0 comments

There are no comments on this article yet.
Be the first to share what you think!

Have your say

Become a better photographer every week

A practical photography tip in your inbox every week.
39,103 photography enthusiasts already receive the tips! More about the weekly mail. Or keep up to date via Facebook. Sign-up secured with Google reCaptcha.

Elja Trum

Photofacts; everything to do with photography!

Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about Photofacts

Photofacts is made possible in part by