It Started With a Ceiling That Was Too Low
Back in late 2023, I got a call from a producer I’d worked with a few times. They needed someone to QC a lighting setup for a small commercial shoot in Toronto. The location was a newly renovated office space—one of those trendy converted lofts with exposed brick and, unfortunately, a drop ceiling that hung way lower than anyone had accounted for.
The thing I remember most about that day was the question someone asked while we were waiting for talent: “How low should a pendant light hang?” It seemed like a simple question. For a dining room, the standard answer is 30 to 36 inches above the table, but this wasn’t a dining room, and the light wasn’t a pendant—it was a Godox ML100Bi, sitting on a C-stand, flagged on one side.
That moment, standing under a grid of office lights with a bi-color portable LED running at 5600K, was the beginning of a pretty frustrating week.
The Spot That Wasn’t a Spotlight
Our key light was the Godox ML100Bi. It’s a compact, bi-color fixture that you can run on V-mount batteries or AC power. On paper, it was perfect for the job—small enough to fit into tight spaces, variable color temperature, and decent output for its size. But we were trying to create a spotlight wall effect, and that was the first problem.
A spotlight wall needs focus. It needs a fixture with beam-shaping capability—a Fresnel, a projection attachment, or at least a tight reflector. The ML100Bi is a wonderful soft source (for its size), but it’s not a hard, focused fixture. We were trying to make it behave like something it wasn’t.
I remember the DP spending 45 minutes moving the light back and forth, trying to get a defined circle on the wall. No luck. The falloff was too soft. The edge was a gradient, not a line. We ended up gelling a 600D—which I personally think was overkill—just to get the spot effect.
I still kick myself for not saying something sooner. I knew the technical specs. I knew the ML100Bi’s output pattern from the manual. But I didn’t speak up because I assumed the DP knew something I didn’t. He didn’t. He just hadn’t worked with that fixture before.
The V1 Diffuser Problem
Anyway, the spotlight wall was a mess, but we eventually pivoted to a different setup. That’s when the second problem showed up: the Godox V1 diffuser.
The V1 flash is one of Godox’s most popular round-head speedlights. I’ve reviewed hundreds of them over the years (roughly 200+ units annually during Q4 cycles). The round head is a great design—it produces a more natural light pattern than rectangular speedlights. But the diffuser accessories are a different story.
Someone on set had a V1 with a third-party diffuser that was supposed to soften the output for a tight headshot. They attached it, fired a test shot, and the light meter showed a 1.8-stop loss with almost no improvement in softness. We compared it to the Godox-branded diffuser, and the difference was measurable. The genuine diffuser gave a 1.2-stop loss with noticeably better shadow transition.
The most frustrating part of this situation: the third-party diffuser didn’t even fit properly. It wobbled. You’d think a piece of molded plastic that cost $15 would at least stay on the flash head, but no—it popped off twice during the shoot. I spent the rest of the session flagging the V1 raw, which is honestly not ideal for on-camera fill.
The lesson here? If you are buying a Godox V1 diffuser, pay attention to the source. Not all diffusers are created equal, and trying to save $5 on a third-party option can cost you an hour on set.
What I Learned About Toronro Spotlight Demands
The shoot was in Toronro (the city’s East End). And I have to say, Toronro spotlight work is a beast of its own. There’s a specific look that corporate clients here seem to love—clean, contrasty, with defined highlights. It’s not a soft, dreamy look. It demands precision.
For that look, you need the right tools. The Godox ML100Bi is a great fill light or a hair light, but as a primary source for a focused beam? Not its strength. If you’re trying to create a spotlight wall or a hard-edged beam, you’re better off with a focusable fixture like a Fresnel or a source-four-style unit.
I’m not saying the ML100Bi isn’t useful—it’s incredibly useful. I’ve used it for product tabletop shots, for on-location interviews, and even as a rim light in a pinch. It’s just not a spotlight. And knowing what a tool can’t do is just as important as knowing what it can do.
The Question That Stuck with Me: How Low Should a Pendant Light Hang?
That question—how low should a pendant light hang—is what pulled me into this whole car wreck of a shoot. And honestly, it’s the right question to ask, even if the context was wrong.
In residential design, pendant height matters for both visibility and aesthetics. For a standard 8-foot ceiling, a pendant should hang 12 to 20 inches below the ceiling. For a 10-foot ceiling, you can go 18 to 24 inches. The goal is to avoid glare while providing task-appropriate illumination.
But on a film set or a photo studio, the same question takes on a different meaning. The height of your light source affects the angle of incidence, the shadow direction, and the texture of the light. A low-hanging pendant light creates dramatic shadows and a sense of intimacy. A high-mounted one flattens the scene and reduces contrast.
So when someone asks, “How low should a pendant light hang?” the real question is: what story are you trying to tell?
What I Learned from the Toronto Shoot
That shoot taught me three things that I now apply to every project I oversee:
- Know your fixture’s limits. The Godox ML100Bi is not a spotlight. Trying to make it one will waste time and produce mediocre results. Use it where it shines—close-up fill, rim lights, tight spaces.
- Don’t cheap out on diffusers. A V1 diffuser from Godox costs a bit more than a knockoff, but it fits properly and behaves predictably. On a $2,000+ shoot, saving $5 on a diffuser is just bad math.
- Speak up. I knew the ML100Bi wasn’t the right tool for that spotlight wall. I should have said something before the DP spent 45 minutes chasing an impossible result. Experience is wasted if you don’t share it.
I still use Godox gear. I still recommend the ML100Bi for certain applications. I still use the V1 diffuser for on-camera flash work. But I no longer expect a single tool to do everything. And I no longer stay quiet when I see someone trying to make a screwdriver do the work of a hammer.
That’s the real lesson from that week in Toronro: the gear matters, but knowing when to use it—and when to use something else—matters more.