Selecting the right flash lighting kit for your photography doesn’t have to be complicated. The range of lighting options from Godox covers everything you need for high-quality lighting results in a home or professional studio. What we love most about Godox products is that they cover the whole spectrum of flash lighting for beginners through to professional photographers. If you’re working in a studio environment or shooting portraits, products or weddings, Godox has made the selection process child’s play. We have a comprehensive range of Godox studio strobe lighting kits to suit every genre and skill level. Let’s examine some of our favourites and why they may be right for you. 
What Will You Be Shooting?
We have a range of Godox lighting kits that feature one, two, or three powerful Godox strobes. A simple way to match the number of strobes you need is based on your experience level and what you are shooting. A single light kit such as the Godox AD600Pro Professional Portable Single Studio Flash Lighting Kit is a powerful lighting combo for portrait photography, as you can add drama and shadow with this single light setup. The kit includes a light stand, Godox trigger and softbox, making it ideal for a small studio space, and it is also portable for photographers on the go. We recommend opting for the 2x Godox AD600Pro Witstro Studio Flash Strobe Light & Stand Kit With XPro Trigger for a more even lighting setup. With two lights, you have optimal control over ambient and directional lighting.
The final kit we recommend is well suited to professional photographers looking to capitalise on a multi-strobe setup offering total control of exposure, ambience and dynamic lighting. The three-light Godox 3x AD600B Witstro TTL 2.4GHz Studio Flash Strobe Light & Stand Kit With X2 Trigger allows for the placement of multiple lights around a subject for masterful lighting outcomes. The disadvantage of having so many lights is that it takes trial and error to master multi-light triggering and exposures. Plus, you’ll need a decent size studio for this large kit, so it is not for the faint of heart. Using three lights is ideal, as it helps you achieve balanced lighting from every angle.
Are You a Beginner or Pro?
A key element to any photography setup is determining the best lighting kit for your studio. Beginners, enthusiasts and professional photographers have the same basic needs; they must have reliable lighting to get the perfect shot. A great starting point is the Godox studio flash lighting kit which includes everything you need for professional photos. The kit consists of strobes, softboxes, triggers and stands.
Beginners undertaking product, portrait or food photography will likely work from a home studio. The Godox ‘Home Studio’ Starter 600W Studio Lighting Kit is an excellent setup for photographers just starting. It’s a hugely popular kit as it has a pair of Godox MS300 300W Studio Flash Strobe Heads with Bowens mount for 600W of total power. The Godox Home Studio Kit also includes a couple of Large 60cm x 90cm Rectangle Softboxes with Grid Light Modifiers designed to diffuse and direct the lighting. The kit comes with a Godox X2T TTL HSS Wireless Camera Flash Trigger that provides remote control of your strobe system via the camera. It also includes Heavy Duty 260cm light stands for safe and accurate placement of your lighting.
The Godox Mid-Level 800W Studio Flash Lighting Kit - 2x DP400III 400W is ideal for enthusiasts looking to achieve high-quality photos for fashion and lifestyle photography. The stars of the Godox Mid-Level Kit are the Godox DP-400III 400W Studio Flash Strobe Heads. These lights are powerful enough to control light and exposure in a mid-size studio environment. They also offer faster recycle times than the ‘starter’ lighting kit, so they are great for more fast-paced shooting. The kit also features the Godox X2T TTL HSS Wireless Camera Flash Trigger, a couple of 260cm Heavy Duty Light Stands, and two Large 95cm Godox Collapsible Softboxes with Grids to modify light.
Finally, let’s look at the best professional strobe light kit ideal for fashion and large professional photography setups. The Godox Professional 800W (2x QT400IIM) Studio Flash Lighting Kit takes studio-quality lighting seriously thanks to the powerful Godox QT400IIM 400W HSS Flash Strobe Light Heads. With a 5600K colour rendition and insanely fast High-Speed Sync speeds as short as 1/8000 sec, you’ll never miss a shot. The Godox Professional Kit includes the pro-grade Godox XPro TTL 2.4G TCM HSS Transmitter Camera Flash Trigger, a pair of Large 120cm Godox Collapsible Softboxes and a couple of 260cm Heavy Duty Light Stands.
Do You Need it To Be Portable?
One of the common misconceptions is that professional and high-quality lighting kits are only to be used in a studio setting. The reality is that Godox also develops a range of impressive strobe lighting kits that are highly portable. If your photography assignments are likely to take you to locations other than your studio, it’s worth considering the flexibility of a portable lighting kit. Another benefit of portable kits is that they feature collapsible elements that are easy to transport and store. If, like me, you need to pack up your home studio to make way for dinner time, it’s a no-brainer to have portable lighting options and studio equipment that can be easily stored.
Thankfully, there is a wide range of portable lighting kits with varying power outputs to suit your work style. The Godox AD200 Pro Kits are a great starting point for wedding and real estate photographers looking for powerful yet portable strobes. We currently offer three versions of the kit, with the Godox Witstro AD200Pro 200W Cordless Portable Outdoor TTL Flash Strobe being the star. It supports all leading camera brands with wireless syncing via the built-in 2.4GHz X wireless TTL system with a 100m range. The three kits include the Godox Witstro AD200Pro 200W Cordless Portable Outdoor TTL Flash Strobe With BD-07 Barndoor Honeycomb Set, Godox 2x AD200Pro Witstro 200W Cordless Portable TTL Flash Strobes & Stand Kit With XPro Trigger, and the Godox AD200Pro 200W Flash Pro Round Head Extension Kit With Stand.
If you’re looking for a portable strobe lighting kit with a bit more punch and power, the Godox AD400Pro Witstro Portable Strobe Kit is an excellent all-in-one solution. You can achieve much with a single strobe, especially when shooting portraits indoors or out. The AD400Pro Kit features the highly popular Godox AD400Pro that pairs seamlessly with all camera brands thanks to the included XPro TTL Wireless Flash Trigger. The kit also consists of a heavy-duty light stand, Godox 85cm AD-S85S Deep Parabolic Softbox, and a range of reflectors and diffusers.
The final Godox portable strobe light kit we recommend is the Godox 2x AD600Pro Professional 1200W Portable Studio Flash Lighting Kit. Turn night into day thanks to the pair of Godox AD600Pro strobe lights, each delivering a mighty 600W of power output with fast sync rates. The Godox AD600Pro Kit includes a Godox XPro TTL 2.4G TCM HSS Transmitter Camera Flash Trigger, a pair of heavy-duty light stands, and two Godox Large Collapsible Octagon Softboxes with Grid Light Modifier (Bowens). This kit is perfect for those looking for a powerful light that can work in bright sunlight. It’s excellent for outdoor location shoots but also adaptable for indoor studio environments. 
Wireless Control or Not?
If you use an analog film camera or a very old digital camera, you require cables connecting the strobe to the camera to synchronise the shutter with the flash. Modern cameras use radio or optical triggers to fire the flash. The most popular method with a new camera is a radio transmitter which eradicates inconvenient cables. A radio transmitter fits a camera’s hot shoe, sending a signal to a receiver attached to the studio lights. Optical triggering is when a light-sensitive sensor within a remote flash is activated after noticing a blast of light from another flash unit. As soon as one flash is fired, any other flash in the vicinity will also fire. Radio transmission provides a more reliable connection than optical triggering because optical receivers can become blocked by obstacles. Optical triggering works best when they are in direct line of sight from each other.
With Battery or Without?
Taking lighting equipment on location gives you more flexibility. For example, you can accept jobs such as photographing people in their work environment or using gentle softbox modifiers at weddings instead of harsh on-camera flashes. But in some situations, you may not want electrical cords across the floor. Corded lights can become a tripping hazard, and your lights will be damaged if someone pulls them to the floor while stumbling over cables. Lights powered by battery packs keep your shooting area tidy and safe. And when you have to shoot in locations where a power source is unavailable, battery-powered strobes are your only option. However, there is a longer recycle time between shots from battery-powered strobes, so be aware of this if you prefer to shoot fast and loose.
Manual or TTL?
Some strobes only have manual settings, whereas others have the option of TTL (Through The Lens) metering. Each one has advantages and disadvantages. A manual strobe is best when the flash and subject remain in the same position, and you are not changing the camera settings. However, it takes longer to set up, and you must take new meter readings every time you move the lights. Its main advantage is that it gives consistent exposure in all shots. TTL works by firing a quick burst of light to measure the intensity of light required. Because it does this before each shot, it can tell if the subject has moved closer or further from the light, and the light is adjusted accordingly. It’s a fast setup, and you don’t have to recalculate your settings when you move the lights around. This is useful during event photography, where the distance between yourself and new subjects constantly changes. TTL metering is good but not consistently accurate; dark/light backgrounds and clothing can fool it. A TTL flash can be used in manual mode, so you have the option of both forms of illumination, but it costs more than a manual strobe. If you want to use HSS (High-Speed Sync), then you need TTL.
HSS Capable or Not?
HHS is High-Speed Sync, which allows you to use a strobe flash at faster shutter speeds than the camera’s usual sync speed. You can use HSS to add creativity to your flash shots by freezing fast action. When using a standard flash higher than the average shutter speed, the shutter curtain closes and covers some of the sensor before the flash fires, resulting in dark areas across the image. If the flash is synchronised to a high shutter speed, many bursts of light are forced onto the scene across the exposure time, and this brings an even distribution of light to form a well-exposed image. And when you want to use a wide aperture to create a shallow depth of field, you often need to balance this with a fast shutter speed to reduce the volume of light reaching the sensor, making HSS essential in that situation, too.
Many of the strobe lighting kits mentioned in this article feature High-Speed Sync speeds of up to 1/8000 sec. So if you're photographing fast-paced action in a studio or working in a bright outdoor setting, the strobe light will match your camera’s shutter speed. On-camera speedlights can’t reach this kind of speed, nor do they have the fast recycle time of a powerful strobe. The recycle time is the time it takes for a speedlight, flash or strobe to build enough energy for a full-powered burst of light.
If you’re shooting fast action such as sports, fitness, dance or anything on the move, you’ll do well with a Godox Pro Kit such as the Godox 2x QT400IIM (800W) HSS Flash Strobe Lighting Kit. That’s where high-powered Godox strobe lights make all the difference. Not only do they feature fast sync speeds, but they feature incredibly fast recycle times. Each Godox QT400II M HSS Flash Strobe boasts a 0.05 - 0.9s speedy recycling time with a 1/316 - 1/28984s ultra-short flash duration and over ten continuous flashes per second.
How Much Power Do You Need?
One of the most significant challenges photographers face is knowing how much light output they need. All strobe lights have a power rating, usually in watts, and to make things even easier, the team at Godox have used the wattage in the model number for each strobe. Beyond that, it’s tricky to know what power you need for each type of shoot. Sometimes, a shoot demands a subtle application of introduced lighting, perhaps to complement the existing ambient or natural light falling through a window. Other times, you need a punchy light to work in harsh or dynamic lighting conditions. Fortunately, most strobes allow you to adjust the power output, so if you get a higher wattage light, you can always dial it back to suit your needs.
If you’re shooting indoor portraits or products, you don’t always need the brightest light in your kit. You can achieve stunning and moody portraits with a single low-power strobe that adds just the right amount of light to define the bone structure and add depth and contrast. A great 200W low-power option for this type of shoot is the AD200Pro, or for a little more punch, the AD300Pro 300W. The flip side is shooting portraits outdoors in super-harsh light. In these situations, you often need a more powerful lighting combination to ‘beat the sun’ and provide directional light on a subject, even when shooting directly into sunlight. The Godox 2x AD600Pro Professional 1200W Portable Flash Lighting Kit allows you to combine the pair of strobes for 1200W of power while employing 1/8000s high-speed sync for ultimate exposure compensation. 
Consistency of Power & Colour
When purchasing a new strobe, check reviews for consistency in power output and colour rendition. While on the same settings, each strobe must produce the same intensity, or your exposures will vary. And regardless of whether you increase or decrease the flash’s power level, it’s essential that the colours stay true. Unless your flash’s power and colour are reliable, you will spend too much time editing the images to match each other. Godox is a dependable brand that offers consistent images every time!
Warranty
Each of our Godox strobes has a generous local warranty giving you peace of mind if anything goes wrong. Being based in Australia means our products are also protected by Australian consumer protection legislation, incorporating statutory warranties that offer consumer protection beyond the standard warranty. Australian Consumer Laws are amongst the toughest in the world. If you purchase a flash from an overseas distributor and there is a fault with the unit, you will have to pay an expensive shipping fee to send the product back to where it came from. It will take much longer to replace or repair, and long-distance disputes are difficult to resolve!
Budget
Are you a camera enthusiast or a professional photographer? As an enthusiast, you may want to consider which features are necessary and which ones you will only use occasionally, if at all. Extra features mean extra expense, so choose according to your budget. Professional photographers require flexibility, so a top-of-the-range flash has proven reliability and features that can be used in multiple applications. Of course, you still have to consider your budget, but remember that high-end flashes are an investment that will eventually save you time, effort, and money.
Final Thoughts
When we started as professional photographers working in a home studio, we had to learn the hard way to find the lights needed to get the results we wanted. From that experience, our best advice is to start small and build your kit as your experience, skillset, and needs increase. We began with on-camera flash units and then moved up to wireless flash triggers, strobes and light modification kits. Regardless of where you are on your photography journey, the range of Godox lighting available is worth investing in. They do what you need them to do without compromise. The result is a more polished and refined set of images that will please you and your audience. 
