Videographer tips - what makes a great lighting kit

Building the Ideal Aputure Lighting Kit: Advice from a professional London videographer

As someone who’s been lighting videography work all over London — from polished studio commercials in Shoreditch, to gritty documentaries in Deptford, late-night music videos in Dalston, and corporate interviews in Mayfair — I’ve learned that your lighting kit makes or breaks your production. If you’ve chosen Aputure, you’ve made a good decision. Their light quality, durability and the controllability are top tier. But even with great fixtures, if you don’t build your kit smartly, you’ll still run into frustrating compromises.

Here’s how I think about building a solid lighting kit if you’re a videographer in London looking to build your own kit both to cover daily work and to future-proof for bigger jobs.

What Makes a Lighting Kit Great

Before diving into which lights, here are the principles I work by:

1. Versatility — Can the light be used as key, fill, back, accent? On location, in studio.

2. Colour accuracy — You want CRI / TLCI etc so skin tones look right, especially in unpredictable light.

3. Output vs portability trade-off — Enough punch to beat ambient/exterior light, but not so bulky you can’t carry it or set up quickly.

4. Modular / scalable — You don’t always need every light on; you should be able to add lights or modifiers as needed.

5. Power & mounting options — Colour temperature control, battery or mains options, reliable stands/clamps, durable stuff.

Key Aputure Lights I Use in My London videographers Kit

Here are some fixtures in my kit (or that I rent regularly), why they’re valuable, and what I’d recommend as part of “core kit” vs “upgrade / specialised” kit.

Everyday Key Light (Studio / Controlled Interiors) Aputure Nova P300c / P600c(soft panels)Beautiful soft light, RGB/tunable colour control, strong output. Great when you need a big, soft source with lots of control. The P600c especially, when daylight or large windows are involved. Lensrentals+2aputure.com+2

Strong Punchy Beam / Point SourceLS 300x / 600d or newer LS / STORM seriesFor overpowering ambient, creating highlights, rim/hair lights, backlight, or shooting outdoors. LS 300x is a workhorse; the bigger LS / STORM series bring serious output. Lensrentals+3aputure.com+3aputure.com+3

Fill / Soft / On-Location / Run & GunMC / Accent B7cVery small, battery powered, fantastic for small fills, ambient adjustments, practical-light replacement. The B7c especially is great for matching existing lamps or colour in a room. Lensrentals

Interviews & Controlled ShootsLS C / LS D variants (fix colour temp or bi-colour)You want less fuss about matching daylight / tungsten, more consistency. Bi-colour versions help with mixed lighting in London interiors. aputure.com+1

Recommended Kit Configurations

Depending on your budget, the size of your shoots, and how often you work in challenging lighting, here are a few kit configurations I’d recommend. These are London-proven combos.

Starter / Freelance Solo (~ small interviews, social content, location work)- 1 × MC or MC Pro
- 1 × Accent B7c
- 1 × LS 300x or smaller point-light
- Basic soft modifier + light stand + spare batteries

Covers most smaller jobs: on-camera lighting, small interviews, social video. Portable, resilient. Doesn’t cover huge daylight windows or needing to outrun strong sun, but you can rent in those cases.

Mid-Tier / Agency / Corporate- 1 × Nova P300c (soft panel) or large soft source
- 1 × LS 600d (point source) for punch
- Set of small units (MCs / B7cs) for fill / accents / practical replacements
- Good modifiers (light banks, softboxes, domes, grids)
- Reliable stands, power solutions (batteries + mains), control via Sidus Link / DMX etc.

This is what I use on regular corporate / promotional shoots in London — strong enough output, flexible, can adjust quickly in a room or outdoors. Covers interviews, promos, product work etc.

Top / Studio & High-end Commercials / Music Videos- Nova P600c or NOVA II 2×1 panel
- STORM / LS 1200 / big point sources for massive output
- A bank of Accent / MC for mood, practicals, hair-light, ambient fills
- Full suite of modifiers: softboxes of various sizes, Bowens mount domes, grids, barn-doors etc.
- Robust power: high-capacity batteries, power-distribution, heavy stands/combo stands, safety gear

For large-scale jobs, needing to beat sunlight, lighting big sets, dance floors, etc. Cost and size go up, but you pay for control, flexibility, reliability.

Modifiers, Accessories & Practical Considerations

The lights are only part of the story. To build something that performs well, these accessories and decisions matter just as much:

• Modifiers: Softboxes, domes, diffusers, grids. For Aputure’s point-lights, using Bowens mount modifiers gives you huge possibilities. Pull-back diffusion or flagging gives much better control in rooms.

• Colour consistency: gels, colour temp control, ensuring you can match to existing ambient light. London interiors can be a mix of tungsten / LED / daylight. Bi-colour lights help; being able to gel or shift helps avoid tedious fixes in post.

• Power & cables: Make sure your kit includes battery options (for when you’re outside or far from power), long robust power cables, safety. Also, plan for heat/fan noise — some of the bigger lights are loud; you want to avoid that creeping into audio.

• Stands, rigging & safety: Big panels + long stands + London wind = shaky setups. Use combo stands, sandbags, tie-downs. All that gear adds weight, so plan transport.

• Control & workflow: Sidus Link app, DMX, wireless control, ability to adjust from ground (especially with big lights up high) matters. Saves time, and in London’s fast-paced shoots, every minute counts.

What I’d Recommend Now If I Were Starting Fresh in London

If I had to buy a kit today, from zero, and wanted it to do 95% of jobs in London (corporate, interviews, small promos, music video accents), here’s what I’d pick:

• Key: Nova P300c (or its newer soft-panel equivalent)

• Punch / Backlight: LS 300x or LS 600d, to deal with daylight & create separation

• Practicals & Ambience / Small Units: MC (2 units) + Accent B7c (maybe 4) for mood, fill, practical lamp replacements etc.

• Modifiers: Light Dome SE, large softbox, grids, a decent Bowens mount reflector set

• Power and carrying gear: V-Mount battery system (or high capacity batteries), stands & combo-stands, flight-case or hard-case for transport

Conclusion

London is a tough lighting environment for any videographer— far from ideal natural light in many buildings, mixed lighting, ever-changing weather, and tight time schedules. A good Aputure-based kit balances output, quality, portability and flexibility. Start with a solid core (good key, decent punch, some small lights) and build up as needed. And always think modifiers & power + safety — because the best light in the world still fails if you can’t mount it properly or it compromises your day.

If you like, I can pull together a checklist / spec sheet (with approximate prices in GBP) so you can map out your own kit in budget stages?