Master Lighting Guide

you master lighting guide for portrait photographers and enhanced audio book with photographs by Christopher gray narrated by Dan Leonard what is a portrait the simple answer is that a portrait is a likeness of a person that features the face if you've seen any early photographic portraiture you know that these photos rarely present it much more faces were recorded emotion and nuance were not as imaging technology improved portraits began to reveal the subtleties of character and expression that made each subject unique more than a mere record of a face these images make a statement about who that person was on the day he or she sat before you now photographic technology has taken its next evolutionary step into the digital realm but no matter how our KAG or contemporary the process you use to create a portrait there are a number of factors that will determine your ultimate success knowledge of composition technical expertise familiarity with your equipment and a high degree of competence and confidence are all tools that contribute to your creativity the greatest tool of all however is light as a professional photographer I can create a more impressive portrait in any situation where I can control the light and make no mistake control is the operative word sometimes inventive and always flattering light that is controlled correctly can help your subject make that very important statement to use light effectively you have to understand its characteristics my mantra is aside from the laws of physics there are no rules to good photography to my mind this is an absolute understanding light is the creative equivalent of a get-out-of-jail-free card light energy travels in waves and it's the difference between these wavelengths that our cameras and our eyes perceive as color the electromagnetic spectrum is the term for the full range of these waves from the shortest ultraviolet waves to the longest infrared waves spectrum of visible light the waves that fall in between these two extremes contain the wavelengths of light that are most important to photographers within the spectrum are all the colors of visible light red orange yellow green blue indigo and violet the differences between web lengths is also the reason that objects have color an apple is red for example because it absorbs the blue and green light from visible light and reflects back to your eyes primarily the red wavelengths similarly an object we perceive as light in tone looks that way because it reflects light efficiently much of the light that hits it bounces back into our eyes or cameras an object we perceive as dark absorbs more light than it reflects when the wavelengths for each color are all present in equal quantities in the light emanating from a source whether that's the Sun or light bulb we perceive the light as white when there are an equal amounts of the different wavelengths present the light may be warmer more yellow or red or cooler more blue this means that depending on the light there may be more or less of one color of light available to be reflected by subjects light bounces off objects in a way that is predictable the rule is that the angle of incidence the angle at which the light strikes a surface is always equal to the angle of reflection the angle at which the same light will be reflected off of the surface imagine you set up a light at 45 degrees to the left of a narrow mirror the angle of incidence is 45 degrees in order to be struck by the bounced light from the mirror you would have to stand at an equal 45 degrees to the right of the mirror with a mirror and other shiny surfaces like people's eyes the surfaces are very uniform and the light is reflected from them without much distortion on less reflective surfaces the light beams still follow the rules of physics however each minut area of the surface is at a different angle to the light so you won't see a perfect reflection but a more diffused effect that reveals the color and texture of the surface knowledge of this is important in portraiture as you must be aware of where highlights and shadows will fall from the lights you place each light you use in a lighting scenario has an angle of incidence and corresponding angle of reflection because we live on earth and have only one son we're comfortable with one source of light as the basis of how we see it's only reasonable that the most effective portraiture is that which represents one primary source or direction of light this doesn't mean you can't have lights that originate from multiple directions it only means that the most pleasing images tend to be made when the main light source appears to come from a single direction the quality of light is determined by its source in simple terms a small light source will throw a concentrated beam that will produce deep sharp shadows on the subject a larger source will throw a wider beam of light with shadows that are more open or less dark because more light spills into them since it determines the character of the shadows the quality of the light is a determining factor in the appearance of the subjects form as the light hits the subject it creates three basic form revealing zones a specular highlight is created when the light from the source is reflected directly into the lens these highlights are commonly seen as catch lights in the eyes although you may also find them on foreheads cheeks Chin's and the tips of noses as light spreads out toward the shadows it reveals color and form we call this area the diffused high light the light in this area does not reflect directly into the camera so the effect of the light is more diffused finally the light begins to fall off into shadow when the transition to shadow is abrupt the lighting is usually called hard when the transition is more gradual the lighting is usually called soft this is controlled by the size of the light source most portraits are created with a mix of lights and modifiers the most important one is called the main light this is the light that creates the shadow pattern on the subjects face all other lights will be placed and powered against the main lights metered value any lighter reflector used to open up or lighten shadowed areas in the image is called a fill source a fill source doesn't cast a visible shadow of its own since it produces less light than the main light lights that outline the subject against the background are generally called kickers depending on where they're aimed these lights may also be called hair lights or side lights lights that are aimed at the background and do not fall on the subject are called background lights studio strobes are the most versatile longest-lived and of course the most expensive of all the options you may explore but they're also the most consistent delivering constant power and color sometimes you can get by with an on-camera flash mounted to a light stand however the lack of modeling lights on these flash units makes it hard to judge the effects of your light placement additionally their output power is limited whatever your choice you should thoroughly research what is currently available then buy the best equipment of that type that you can afford good equipment pays for itself in a long trouble-free life with minimal downtime so it's worth every penny any attachment or device that can be placed on or around a strobe head falls into the general category of modifier necessary to buy every modifier out there although some will be absolutely essential to your style basic reflectors for professional strobes called dishes or sometimes bowls our usually six to eight inches in diameter some have smooth or pebbled inside surfaces while others are faceted in my experience faceted reflectors are more efficient there are a number of modifiers designed to fit on to the strobes basic dish the most well-known are barn doors which allow you to control where the light Falls as it leaves the source an interesting attachment called a snoot fits on to the dish to create a narrower beam some photographers use snoots as hair lights or to throw a circle of light on the background grid spots also known as honeycombs fit inside the basic dish and forced the light to travel in a straight line these units are rated in degrees usually from 10 degrees to 40 degrees smaller values create tighter circles of light higher values produce broader circles the beauty dish about 18 inches in diameter as a central reflector that bounces light back into the white dish then out toward the subject this indirect light is broader than light from a basic reflector but it still has a great deal of snap when using a bounced umbrella the strobe head is pointed away from the subject the flash fires into the umbrella hits the reflective interior and bounces back onto the subject this results in broad but contrast delight the umbrella on the left is approximately sixty inches in diameter while the other is about thirty six inches shoot-through umbrellas on the other hand are either white plastic or nylon and the light from the strobe shines through the white material this arrangement creates an effect that is reasonably soft for the ultimate in soft light soft boxes are the way to go these units completely surround the strobe when it fires light bounces around inside the box then streams out through one or more white diffusers on the front at about four by eight feet this large softbox can be unwieldy in a small space although it's worth putting up with the trouble the light produced by a box this size is incomparable another softbox I use frequently is called a strip light because it's long and narrow although I rarely use it as a main light it's valuable as a side light hair light or when placed on the floor as a background light at the other end of the softbox spectrum a mini box is also a useful tool this source is very broad when placed close to the subject but still small enough that it doesn't influence everything around it an extremely valuable accessory is called a bookend it's nothing more than two pieces of foam core taped together along one edge making it freestanding when opened the most versatile bookends are made with two four by eight foot sheets like bookends Oh pig panels are helpful for bouncing light onto your subjects some reflector systems consist of collapsible frames that can be fitted with a variety of reflective or diffusing materials all lighting scenarios are based on one source called the main light it's against this lights meter reading that you'll set other lights for highlights or fill light these relationships between the main lights and any other light are described using ratios like one two three or one two four let's assume your light meter reads f11 for the main light this f-stop number will be assigned a fixed value of 1 if you wanted to add fill light at one stop less than the main lights level you would set that light to read f/8 the ratio between these two units would then be expressed as 1 to 2 if you wanted a to stop difference between the lights the fill light would be set to read f 5.6 and the ratio would be expressed as 1/2 for a three stop difference would have you set the fill light to f4 and the ratio would be expressed as one to eight note that the shadow value in the ratio is always represented to the right of the one which represents the main light value let's look at some photographic examples this young woman was lit by a 36 inch softbox a bookend filled card was brought in until the meter read have to stop lower than the main light a 1 to 1.5 ratio in this image the shadows are one stop darker than the main light a 1 to 2 ratio here the shadows were deep into one-and-a-half stops yielding a 1 to 3 ratio with the shadows deepened to two stops the ratio is one to four here the shadows were deepened to two-and-a-half stops producing a 1 to 6 ratio deepening the shadows to three stops produced a 1 to 8 ratio many lighting scenarios benefit greatly from brighter lights falling on the subject to add visual depth when describing a lighting setup using ratios the highlight values are always expressed to the left of the one that represents the main light at one-to-one the exposure metered at the top of the head is equal to that of the main light with the hair light set a stop writer than the main light the ratio is one point five to one set one stop writer the hair light to main light ratio is two to one the hair light was set one-and-a-half stops higher than the main light for a three to one ratio with the hair light two stops higher than the main light the ratio is four to one an additional half stop increase in the hair light made the ratio six to one at 8 to 1 the hair light is three stops brighter than the main light one of the most basic styles broad lighting is defined by light the falls across the side of the face closest to the camera when the subjects face is at an angle this will be the side of the face that is most visible the broad side of the face broad light can originate from either camera left or camera right and as seen in these photos it can be created with any kind of light modifier you choose to use on the main light care should be taken when lighting across the hair toward the nose shadows will be thrown by the subjects hair if it doesn't lay flat against the head let's look at some examples of broad light portraits created in the studio here I used to shoot through umbrella as the main light to camera left I placed a 4x8 foot foam core bookend for Phil the light meter read f11 on my subject and I moved the book end until the bounced light read f8 a 1 to 2 ratio to light the background I placed a strip light on the floor about 18 inches from the seamless paper I also angled it about 20 degrees to the left so that the light would spill up on evenly after a few exposures I switched to a larger main light umbrella placed about a foot closer to the camera this threw more light on the background and opened up the shadows on the model to put an accent on the subjects Shadowside I also moved the background light a few feet to camera left and changed the angle to aim back to the right finally I removed the bookend fill card because the larger umbrella created more open shadows on its own because the shadow side was now darker a little bounce from the background light just kissed the subjects cheek and chin another easy get evocative approach to lighting short light places the main light on the portion of the subjects face that is turned away from the camera short light is characterized by a nose shadow that falls toward the camera if one uses a narrow main light source the effect can be a bit mysterious since it hides a portion of the subject that we might wish to see more clearly short light users should take care to not place the main light too low if the underside of the eyebrow is lit it can look like a bone protrusion if light spills across the top of the nose to light the underside of the eyebrow on the broad side of the face it'll look even worse let's look at an example of building a short light portrait I set my main light a 60-inch umbrella to camera right the hair light an 18 inch reflector with a 40 degree grid spot was aimed low more at the shoulder than head a white bookend was placed a camera left to reflect the main light and open the shadows to light the background I placed a 6-inch dish about 18 inches from the paper skimming it from camera left to right this first test indicated that the light was too strong behind his camera right shoulder and it started from too high an angle to add strength to the short side another 6-inch dish this time with a 20 degree grid was aimed at the edge of his face the light meter said it was only a half stop brighter than the main light but it looks brighter because the angle of incidence reflected it perfectly into the lens after raising the rim light about six inches I end it more at his back than his face however notice the not quite perfect highlight along his nose you should always monitor these highlights during the shoot for the final series of exposures the model turned his head more toward the main light this narrowed the width of the nose highlight and added some light to his upper lip and chin this gave the image a more cohesive look after tilting the camera slightly and cropping the images strong and friendly there are countless ways you can position the main light but there are a few basic patterns that are considered classics these are loop lighting closed-loop lighting Rembrandt lighting side lighting and butterfly lighting the nose shadow is what distinguishes loop lighting from other lighting styles to create a loop light pattern the main light is set to throw a nose shadow that follows the lower curve of the cheek opposite the light to create loop lighting the main light must be placed high enough to get the proper curve under the cheekbone when the main light is in the correct position shadow will cover the unlit side of the nose but not extend appreciably on to the cheek be aware that as your subject turns her head the relative position of the shadow to the light will change also you must take care that the underside of the eyebrows and tops of both eyelids are nicely lit let's look at an example of loop lighting here the main light was a medium softbox to camera right this defines the face while wrapping light around it a strip light on a boom was used for the hair light it was powered at one-to-one with the main light to underscore the versatility of this lighting I added only a book and fill card to camera left before asking my subject to turn in toward the main light the only difference between loop and closed-loop lighting is that closed loop allows the nose shadow to follow the underside of the cheek until it joins the transition area shadow on the non lit side of the face thereby closing the loop a closed-loop scenario is not for every subject if your subject has very high cheekbones creating the closed loop pattern may require placing the main light too far above the eyes conversely closing the loop on subjects with flatter cheekbones may make the nose appear too wide Rembrandt's lighting is named after the Dutch artist who legend has it worked in a small space in which the only natural light came from a small skylight this window through deep long shadows under the subjects eyes nose and chin the characteristics that now define the style bearing his name this style originated with painting but it's easily adapted to photography although it is more often used on men than women the length and depth of the shadows along with the direction of the light promotes a certain moodiness in the image men are more apt to appreciate images in which they appear dark or brooding let's look at a one light Rembrandt build for this one light portrait I placed the model just far enough from the background that the main light shoot through umbrella would spill on to it this defined his form and gave the shadows weight without allowing the dark tones to merge together lowering the camera about six inches created an aloof attitude in this portrait because the client seems to be looking down at the viewer I raised the camera again and set up a reflector three feet from my subject to open up the shadows at this distance the ratio was one to four by moving the reflector closer to my subject I gained half a stop of light making the ratio one two three I also moved the camera up so my point of view was on an even level with his face which made him appear friendlier next Rembrandt scenario the main light was an 18-inch dish with a 40 degree grid spot aimed at my subject from high on camera left for deep shadows I placed a bookend with a black side on camera right to soak up any bounce a 6-inch dish with a 20 degree grid spot aimed at the floor skimmed across the background I pulled the background light up and away from the wall to light over the top of his head it's nice but I felt it was too bright and actually started to overpower the main light I moved the background light back in and added a small reflector card to catch just a little of the narrow beam lighting his face setting the angle of reflectance to match the angle of incidence I also bounced just a little kicker off to the side of his face for the final image I raised the background light to about seven feet high spreading the light behind both shoulders to cut the light on his arms and direct the emphasis to his face I slipped a flag under the main light at a diagonal throwing more of a shadow over his camera left arm than the other side lighting is dramatic and defining unfilled the face shadows deeply and contours are almost three-dimensional I've always felt that the most effective side lighting needed a different modifier on each light so that even in a head-on pose there would be some visual asymmetry you may not agree for each example shown here the two lights were equally powered at a one-to-one ratio but a different ratio could also be effective for this side light portrait I placed a shoot through umbrella at camera right slightly in front of the subject the fill light at camera left was a medium softbox placed slightly behind the subject a strip light was overhead and just behind the subject a white bookend was then brought in to open the shadows on the face to light the background a strip light was placed on the floor very close to the paper and angled up which accounts for the texture in the paper a scenario like this is a favorite of magazine portraitists I began by lighting both sides of my model evenly using different modifiers at camera left a large softbox through very diffused light a camera right a strip light produced brighter more contrast alight the initial setup was fine for a profile shot as I moved the client around to a half profile position though I felt the light was muddy in the shadows I added a bookend to camera left for Phil this called attention to the overlapping nose shadows which caused an even deeper shadow the solution was to move the strip light a bit further around to his back which evened out the tones by eliminating one shadow now as he moved his face full to the camera the light was uneven enough to make the picture interesting to deepen the shadows and accent the two side lights I moved in a subtractive black bookend on camera left soaking up some of the spill from the large softbox of all the lighting styles butterfly lighting is the only one that's not based on either broad or short lighting patterns to create this pattern the main light is placed directly above the camera lens and falls straight on to the face this technique gets its name from the shadow under the nose which resembles a butterfly in flight legend has it that movie star Marlena Dietrich insisted she be lit this way in all her movies and this gave the scenario one of its alternate names Dietrich lighting if you use the light on men which can be done to great success you might wish to call it by its other name Paramount's lighting after the Hollywood studio that used it widely in their productions and portraits of silver screen celebrities to produce this butterfly like portrait I placed an 18-inch dish with a forty degree grid spot on a boom arm about two feet above the camera the hair lights were six inch dishes also with 40 degree grids these were powered to have a stop over the main light thinking that my clients face would be better framed with brighter light and wanting to show the curl of her hair even deeper into the shadows I increased the two hair lights to one stop over the main light for Phil I added a medium soft box below the camera and aimed it at her chin i retouched away the extra catch light this caused to the lower half of the eye the two side lights were also powered up an additional half stop for a final ratio of three to one this lighting setup a staple of many studios uses the three basic lights main light hair and background in a versatile manner it can be used for almost all portrait requests family business graduation or whatever but because it's so generic there's a danger that it can look too normal it's the photographer's job to put life in the light the main light used in this case was a small umbrella play stood camera right to produce a loop light scenario the light was adjusted to F 11.5 and all other lights were set accordingly yielding a final ratio of one to one to one for the hair light I placed an 18-inch dish with a 40 degree grid spot at camera left above the client even though the meter reads the same as the main light the highlight on the hair may appear brighter due to the angle of incidence I set a light with a six-inch dish and a thirty degree grid even with the top of her head and aimed it down across the background paper even though this light wasn't especially bright it still added depth between the model and the background to add some zip to the unlit side a large bookend was placed about three feet away from the subject opening the shadows to one to two a one stop difference to light both people evenly a large softbox was set to camera right a bookend was brought in at camera left placed far enough to the side so it wouldn't be seen in the glasses but would fill the shadows where the softbox light didn't reach a strip light was placed on a boom above their heads the third light a 6-inch dish with a 40 degree grid was set high on camera left and more at the area behind the woman than the men because the main light came from his side of the image the dark vignettes were added in Photoshop it's a good idea to know before shooting how the client plans to use the image for example if it's to be used in a high quality color publication or on a website you can light for deeper shadows if the image is to be used for say newspaper reproduction or some other venue where the anticipated image quality is much lower you should fill the shadows more poor reproduction will render darker areas inky without detail should you be told that the use will be general fill the shadows as a matter of course the following examples illustrate both concepts the main light for these images was a 60-inch umbrella I used an 18 inch dish with a 40 degree grid spot for the hair light but since my subject had white hair I aimed it more at his back the background was lit with a strip light placed on the floor near the paper and angled up slightly here I lowered the main light about three inches to light under the clients brow and moved it about four inches closer to the camera to wrap the light around his face little more a photo disc fill panel was set about three feet from him on camera left I also placed a piece of white foam core on top of the posing table that my client was resting on this card was angled up slightly to bounce some light into the underside of his chin this opened up the shadows nicely without eliminating contour this general-purpose business portrait was lit with a large softbox at camera left a white bookend was placed close to the subject on camera right filling the shadows the hair light was a strip light on a boom arm angle to match the clients shoulders my subject was seated about ten feet from the white background paper so that leftover main light weakened by distance rendered it gray another strip light was placed on the floor for a slightly brighter area above his shoulders every light has its own shape in the following examples the subject is lit only by a hair light note the different effects this produces while you may see facial detail in some of these images the main light will overpower it the spill is of no concern unless it hits the bridge of nose an 18-inch dish with a 40 degree grid spot is my favorite hair light it defines the hair nicely but doesn't spill into other areas the six inch reflector also makes a nice hair light although it's a bit stronger the faceted six inch reflector is especially efficient a strip light throws a wide soft beam across both shoulders it's very effective when shooting a number of people because you can hang more than one light side-by-side and give the impression of a single hair light over the group small umbrellas make great hair lights but because you'll be directing a bright surface toward the camera care must be taken to avoid lens flare use a medium softbox for a less contrasty more even light when placing any hair light directly over the subject turn off the main light to make certain you're not spilling light on to the nose since the hair light will be brighter than the main light you could end up with some ugly unwanted highlights headshots are one of the staple offerings of many photographers while one generally can't charge a great deal for them headshot photography can bring in a substantial amount of money if you do a lot of them while headshots must be technically excellent they must not be too creative the spark that drives the image should come from the model presumably that's what will motivate others to hire your subject although styling is certainly allowed potential employers want to see a lot of face so they can determine how that person might work in an advertisement stage play or commercial here the camera was positioned directly in front of a four by six foot softbox with the flash head centered about 18 inches higher than the subjects face this produced almost perfect butterfly lighting but keep in mind that it can look like loop lighting as the model turns his head to soften the shadows further I placed a bookend flat on each side of the model set at angles to funnel the light back to the sides of the face applying fill in this manner lowers both the tonal contrast and the color contrast next I removed the bookends and added a second four by six foot softbox right next to the first one and at the same power setting because the effects of light are cumulative I gained almost a full stop of power this scenario allows great flexibility in movement for a final variation I reduced the output in the camera left strobe by one stop this increased the modeling of the facial contours and changed the scenario from butterfly lighting to broad lighting for maximum effect the model needs to be positioned dead center between the boxes for this headshot I wanted the least possible depth of field I began with a four by six foot softbox at the lowest power output then added a bookend on its side across two sawhorses to bounce light back up and under my model the background was lit from the side with an 18-inch dish aimed down I also placed neutral density filters over the strobe tubes until the effective output was F 2.8 on my client and F 1.4 on the background shooting with a 50 millimeter lens at the largest aperture however the texture of the background was still too well-defined switching to a 24 205 millimeter zoom lens I powered the strobes to meet its maximum aperture F 4.5 I backed up and shot at about 75 millimeters the extra focal length helped throw the background out of focus I also added a small fan for some motion in the hair even further I moved the zoom to the maximum 105 millimeters the resulting image falls out of focus just past her face the background is textured but soft and the hair across her face adds to the innocence of the image for this one light portrait the subject was placed just far enough away from the white seamless paper that his shadow wouldn't reach it but the main light would the main light an 18 inch reflector was positioned just to camera right no additional fill and no reflective light from his Blackshirt meant deep shadows headshot portraits made for publicity are different from other headshots because they're used to create interest in a show or performer consequently a publicity headshot can be more creative in terms of lighting camera angle and pose here a strip light was set vertically to camera left a bookend was placed on either side of the table the client was resting on wrapping the light around her an additional fill card was placed on the table top to bounce light under her chin using a lower camera angle accented the diva status of this professional singer these two images of two radio personalities were shot on a white seamless backgrounds lit by two 36-inch umbrellas at 45-degree angles to the paper each umbrella was metered at half a stop over the main light a large softbox at camera right and on camera left close to the subject filled in the shadows the only difference between the two is that the woman's main light was rotated at an angle to produce a closed loop while the man's was set vertically to get the proper reflection in the sunglasses instead of reflected Phil here I used a second light to fill in the shadows the main light was a 36 inch umbrella as was the fill which was placed lower than the main light the background light was a medium softbox placed behind the man and aimed at camera right to kick the jacket from the shadows a strip light on a boom arm was added for this CD cover a medium-soft box was set to camera left parallel with the clients face a bookend to camera right opened the shadows the background light an 18-inch dish was blocked by a piece of foam core board to create a hot spot behind the subjects camera right side but be blocked from the camera left side consumer magazines are the primary users of editorial portraits but other markets such as trade publications annual reports books and catalogs use them as well and there are many approaches to editorial portraiture as there are uses for the images here the main light was a 36-inch umbrella on a boom arm an 18-inch dish almost centered over his head served as a hair light a fill card kept the shadows from getting too dark the streaks on the background were from grid spotted 6-inch reflectors skimming down the paper in this image four lights combined to give the impression of sunlight through an office window the main light was a medium softbox placed it camera right to create closed-loop light a large softbox at camera left provided the overall soft light that provided Phil a six-inch dish with grid provided the sunlight while a strip light centered over the clients head accented her hair and jacket this very simple location arrangement required only one medium softbox to throw side light across the subject the room was quite small which helped the image by bouncing light to fill the shadow side while keeping the strongest direct light off the foreground a medium-soft box was hung high on a boom to create the characteristic Rembrandt shadows seen on the face of this subject it also acted like a hair light on his camera left side the camera right hair light came from below a strip light aimed down toward the floor lit the background a 60-inch umbrella in the butterfly position was the main light for this shot to get the graduated background strip lights were set at different heights behind and above the subject to wash out the color the camera right light was set four stops over the main the left light was powered two stops over the main spill from the two strip lights added to the contouring of his face light weakens as it travels away from its source according to the inverse-square law if you double the distance between the source and the subject the light reaching the subject will be only a quarter as strong conversely if you have the distance the light will be four times stronger tied directly to the inverse square law is something we call the depth of light in really simple terms this means that the further the source is from the subject the more even the exposure from front to back will be across the subject conversely the closer you move the source to the subject the faster the light will fall off the main light for this one light portrait was a medium softbox I placed it about six feet from him and metered off his camera left cheek letting the shadows come whatever shadow detail exists is a result of light bouncing around the studio no fill cards were used here the main light was moved to about one foot from his cheek notice how the depth of light decreased but the shadows remained about the same this shows how close you can get about four inches away and still keep enough background for a good composition the depth of light is extremely shallow but the highlights are clean and the shadows are deep and full of detail as you can see here I wasn't kidding when I said the light was close to build the next portrait I set my background light first so I could move the subject into position when I saw how the light formed there was nothing more than a 6-inch dish on the strobe and it was placed about six inches from the paper with my model in position I moved in an 18-inch dish and 40 degree grid spot to light his face setting the main light about two feet from him this was actually quite nice but I wanted to boost the contrast even more and play light off the plains of his face the 18-inch dish was changed to a 6-inch dish with barn doors which I closed until they were only about one inch apart the background light was also lowered and angled up to be dominant on the camera left side something interesting happened when I closed the barn doors because the opening was so narrow the barn doors projected their own shape in several places it was unexpected but added something extra you many people think that high key lighting means overexposure but overexposure is an entirely different tool high key light simply means that the majority of tones in the image are brighter than middle gray one secret to high key lighting is that every side visible to the camera is lit here a camera left softbox hid the white background but also grazed the left side of her face a second box threw light from its left side onto her face but I had a strobe head aimed at her camera right shoulder to wrap around a medium sized softbox to camera right through most of its light at the background although I was pleased with the look I was less than happy with the small shadow cast by her hair to fix this I moved the camera right softbox toward the camera to show a graduation of white behind her the furthermost camera left box was rotated to place one corner closer to the paper here my subject stood up against a large softbox a bookend at camera left bounced light along her side a second book ended camera right bounced light into her face the result is a bright background with burned-out highlights were the light wrapped around her the opposite of high key is low key in which the majority of tones are darker than middle gray here I placed a strip light inside the V of a bookend at camera left another bookended camera right bounced light onto the subjects back the other bookends were placed to absorb most of the spill the camera was set between them unlike the other example for lights were used to create this image which derives its Loki look from the clothing in dark background the main light was a strip light set squarely in front of the subject the highlight across his profile came from a six-inch dish with a 10 degree grid spot aimed dead center at the hidden side of his face the hair light was another strip light set at an angle to match the slope of the clients back neck and head to avoid any tonal merger a medium softbox was set at camera left and aimed at the background for a glamorous change of pace source your one light portrait from behind your subject here a strobe with a six inch reflector was placed far enough behind the model to light her hair evenly and cast a shadow completely across the camera bookend flats set in a v-shape between subject and camera were adjusted until the lighting ratio was four to one to increase the contouring remove one of the bookends to produce deep shadows or just back it off to produce less film for this example I moved the camera left reflector until the ratio was 1 to 4 when lens flare is exploited the results can be quite stunning this is an extremely variable effect so I suggest you use these basic ideas and experiment until you find combinations you add your clients like two lights were used to create the flared background look seen here both utilized a small dish and were balanced to the same power output approximately four stops over the main light when a small amount of back light shows to the camera the flare is dramatic and contrasting like most flare situations the subjects position determines the intensity of the effect allowing more direct light to shine on to the camera increases the flare and lowers the overall contrast when the output of the backlight is more closely matched to the output of the main light the flowering light is bright enough to overexpose itself but not too much of the surrounding area using a large softbox instead of a point light source reduces the lens element reflections while providing a softer flare here the strobe head was centered just below the subjects chin and tilted up slightly toward the camera here a strip light with a blue filter was positioned as a hair light behind the subject but set low enough to shine directly into the camera's lens effectively lowering the contrast without showing extra reflections a finely crafted profile photograph is interesting and strong successful profile images separate the subject cleanly from the background and show the complete middle line of the face a small six inch reflector fitted with a 10 degree grid spot was the main light source for this portrait another light with a small umbrella was supported on a boom arm above the model and aimed toward the background at a 45 degree angle here's a classic secret agent shot the main light fitted with a 20 degree grid was placed to create the highlight on his face the kicker falling from behind at a 30 degree grid bookends on each side picked up stray light and opened the shadows a small vertical flag was used to tone down the main light striking the column it's a common misperception that all images must be exposed normally understanding what happens when lots of light reaches the film plane can lead to spectacular imagery creative overexposure is often used in commercial advertising to indicate a light or airy mood in portraiture where the look of the image is as important as the mood overexposure is an unexpected tool that effectively manipulates both factors here a large softbox - camera left produced short lighting a similar box was positioned on her left side at the same angle white bookends were set between the two lights leaving just enough room for the camera another medium softbox was suspended over her head this image was about two stops overexposed selectively overexposure can be beautiful and evocative this short light portrait was lit from the left with stray light from the source bounced into a white book ended camera right a black bookend was placed to shape the background and reverse the light to dark play Bridal portraiture is big business here a shoot through umbrella directly over the camera was placed as you would for butterfly lighting to other umbrellas were set lower to camera left and right so the edges of the umbrellas met the result is glamorous lighting an additional light was feathered onto the background from camera left for this portrait three full power strobes were set about eight feet apart and aimed at the white back wall in the studio the resulting light has great depth there's enough brightness to cover the scene but also just enough fall-off to separate the bride from the background the main light for this profile portrait was a shoot through umbrella at camera left a small umbrella was set at camera right to act as a kicker on her side while a 6-inch dish with a 30 degree grid spot lift the background behind the subject for this high key portrait the main light was a 60-inch umbrella set above the camera in the butterfly position the bride was standing immediately in front of a large softbox a halogen spotlight placed just to the side of camera was aimed at her face to narrow her pupils for a flattering look you see this kind of lighting in fashion ads magazines and commercials dramatic sexy and mysterious with a flat gray background that's evenly lit it's merely a one light scenario that utilizes depth of light to full advantage on a vertical scale instead of a horizontal one here I put a large softbox on a boom arm this was extended all the way to the ceiling and angled down toward the model the higher you can go the more you could take advantage of depth of light some strobes shoot a shorter duration bursts say one for thousandths second verses 1 mm of a second if they're set on a lower power check with your equipments manufacturer the shorter the bursts the more movement you can freeze creatively mismatching the color balance of your lights and recording medium can produce interesting results if you pair a tungsten balanced film or white balance setting with daylight balanced lighting you can expect results like these if you pair a daylight balanced film or white balance setting with tungsten lighting you can expect something like this filters on the lights or camera can selectively bring part of the image back to normal using tungsten balanced film this shot was lit overall by a large softbox resulting in the blue cast the main light was fitted with a half tungsten filter to bring the color balance closer to normal on her face daylight balanced film or white balance settings will record red and orange tones when exposed under tungsten balanced light but placing the appropriate filter on the main light will bring that portion of the image back to a normal color balance framing a subject so tightly that the face takes up at least half of the frame forces the viewers eye to explore the image because the subjects so dominates the space the viewer feels an immediate connection here a strobe with a six inch reflector and five degree grid spot was placed at camera right close to the side of the subjects face to keep the shadows open I set a bookend reflector near him at camera left also from camera left a medium soft box was feathered across the white seamless for this portrait one large softbox and to bookend reflectors were set in a simple pattern around the subject the softbox was centered behind the camera and raised enough to create a soft downward nose shadow the bookends were set at right angles to the softbox to catch the spill light and fill the few shadows that remained to softboxes worked together in a one-to-one ratio to light this portrait the first a large box was set to camera left parallel to the subjects face and placed to create butterfly light a second large softbox was placed behind her head at approximately 45 degrees and is responsible for the hair highlights a more contrasty look was achieved by changing the main light to an 18-inch dish aimed toward the subject for loop lighting to deal with the shadows a bookend was added at camera left and I placed a white card on the posing table the background light was a medium softbox on a boom arm the Hollywood portrait is a style that reached its zenith in the late 1930s to mid 1940s while it's based on equipment that is now largely obsolete the look can be emulated with a little bit of forethought planning and understanding while waiting for the makeup artist to transform my model into a sultry cinema vamp I roughed my basic lighting scenario on match a lighting assistant I employ for just such occasions the main light was an 18-inch dish set at its lowest power output I then added a hair light on each side I set another strobe with a 6-inch dish on the floor almost directly behind match with a twenty degree grid spot aimed at my reverse cookie originally I had placed the main light just to the right of the camera but I decided to move it over the camera instead this little move let me produce either broad light as seen in the image on the left or butterfly light as in the image on the right when she turned to a profile pose the slight move of the camera left light produced a perfect closed-loop look for this image the main light was a 6-inch dish with barn doors that were closed about two-thirds of the way the two hair lights one on each side were 6-inch dishes with 40 degree grid spots the background was lit by a 6-inch dish with a 30 degree grid spot aimed at the paper from directly behind the model in classic Hollywood style this femme fatale was lit with 118 inch dish in the butterfly position and another six inch dish set below the camera and beamed through a sheet of roscoe diffusion material however I dislike the image because of the double shadows and catch lights after eliminating the fill light the shadows in the image are truer although I'll admit that the cinematic flavor of this photograph is not quite the same as in the previous image for another look the model was moved just a few inches from the wall and the main light was raised this allowed the shadow to fall behind her and for the main light to skimmer eyelids making her expression smoky and dangerous I added a small flag to darken the lower half of the image changing the main light to a 6-inch dish with a thirty degree grid I moved it very close to the wall just feathering it to change the shadow from the other light I raced it until it was aimed more at the top of her head here the main light was very tightly barn-door - almost exclusively light her face since the main light was set high and close the light fell off rapidly one backlight was responsible for the hot spot on her shoulder the second was aimed at her hip i set a small fill car just above the camera to catch some backlight and open the shadows for this portrait the main light was a six-inch dish with a 40 degree grid spot at camera left the hair light was an 18-inch dish a camera right set to spill across his back and the backs of the columns the background light was a 6-inch dish on a boom arm a flag just below the middle of the main light through a shadow across his midsection for the next image I moved the camera right column to avoid the shadow he was throwing on it I also moved the flag in closer to make a sharper shadow then I placed a second vertical flag to act as a cutter on the left side to open the shadows I moved in a bookend on camera right I felt that one more tweak was necessary so I added an additional flag to throw a diagonal shadow above his head across the column ordinarily I don't like it when hair lights are seen on noses but here that little bit of extra light added to the strength of his posture Hollywood portraiture looks fabulous in color to this to light scenario began with a 6-inch dish with a 20 degree grid spot as the main light it was placed to camera left the hair light was a six inch dish fitted with the 10 degree grid to skim light over the top of her head a small reflector was placed just to camera right for Phil to put emphasis on her face a flag was inserted to cut the light on her shoulder for infants and parents the emotional connection is so strong and immediate that your only task is to light them properly here the main light was an 18-inch dish with a 40 degree grid spot on a boom it was placed low enough to accent the child but high enough to spill down on the father a strip light also on a boom was set just behind the main light black illustration board was attached to the side of it to flag the light on the background our next setup uses two soft boxes one large and one medium as a single main light begin by setting a medium softbox slightly behind where your subjects will be then but the larger softbox against it turn on and meter each light separately but power the rear light a half-step brighter than the closer light then take a combined reading this will be your main light setting the smaller softbox will produce a soft highlight along the edge of your subjects for this couple an additional bookend was set to camera right to open the shadows on the faces this series of three images matted and framed together became the couple's favorite images from the shoot at the beginning of this shoot the two soft boxes were placed about two feet apart and metered as described the scenario was set up close to the background to throw enough light on it so a hair light wasn't critical adding a hair light however created a little more visual interest by defining the line of her shoulders without making any changes in the position of the lights it was possible to move the couple toward the lights so they were both evenly lit note that even though she's looking at the camera the lens is focused on him about halfway through the shoot I turned off the hair light the single highlight on camera left and the position of the couple made the soft light even more intimate as it fell off into the shadows four groups be certain the two main lights are set far enough away to ensure sufficient depth of light to be certain that the children in the center would not get too dark I placed an additional large softbox behind and above the camera a 6-inch dish with a 30 degree grid spot was aimed at the background for separation if you want a little more snap than you can get from a softbox try this set your main light on the subject here I used an 18-inch dish with a 40 degree grid at camera right then bring in a medium soft box and set it behind the main light at the same angle notice how the circle of light from the grid frames her face and bodice and skims over the top of her flowers while the softbox nicely fills in everything else the softbox has also added light to the background after looking at tests I felt the only thing missing was a little more openness in the shadows so I moved a bookended to camera left to take care of that oversight what more drama here I began with a 6-inch reflector and 10 degree grid spot moving it until only the face was evenly lit I added a strip light for her hair but screamed both sides with black cloth so it would only shine straight down keeping stray light off the background next a large softbox was set up behind the main light at the same angle notice how soft the shadows have become the softbox was then powered down to create this look the strobe powered down one more stop the shadows are soft but dark while the face shows beautiful color and contrast before electricity Northlight was a perfect and logical solution to an inherent problem the desire for consistent flattering lighting to emulate north light you need both a high white ceiling and white wall behind the camera I used a substantial power for this shot employing three strobes each with a dedicated power pack set to full power as seen in the diagram the trick is the double bounce hitting the wall behind the camera than the ceiling note the interesting and unusual shape of the catch lights in her eyes here I used the same three heads scenario combined with a bear Tube flash head behind the subject a camera left to give the impression of a warm summer morning to give the impression of dimension in the room three bookends were set at varying angles behind her knowing how to simulate sunlight is useful for many kinds of portraiture and the secret is nothing more than a bear flash tube for my equipment I get a cleaner look if I tilt the strobe head so it points up at a diagonal angle to the subject this outdoor photo was shot against a painted backdrop with a bare tube main light to simulate mid afternoon Sun notice how perfect the shadows look because the background was large I put a 60 inch umbrella on a boom to evenly light it for this advertising portrait the main light was a bear to bat camera right it was fitted with a 1/4 tungsten acetate filtered to warm the light slightly I placed an unfiltered strip light over and behind her head to light the background which was chosen for its warm color for the look of late afternoon Sun through a window IJ light with 1/2 tungsten filter then 2 black sided bookends about 2 feet apart were set in front of the main light to absorb some of the spill light for a general feel of a window frame cardboard slats were clamped to a light stand as a simple cookie you can simulate a son through curtains look by hanging curtain material in front of the tube be sure to leave some parts overlapping like a real curtain to diffuse the light a little more I placed the unfiltered Bayer tube in front of a white wall notice the beautiful catch lights in the models eyes over the years I've had the opportunity to make photographs of almost every kind of subject it's been and continues to be an education rich in things visual psychological and technical I've also had the opportunity to teach lecture and to write books about my work that I'm grateful to say have been well received my point is this every time you take a picture you practice you play you learn the higher your aspirations as a photographer the deeper the legacy you'll leave behind measured one memory at a time by images and albums and on living room walls I truly hope you believe as I do in the power you hold in your hand when you pick up a camera and remember my mantra aside from the laws of physics there are no rules to good photography for much more information on all of the techniques presented in this audio photo book look for the book master lighting guide for portrait photographers by Christopher gray this book is also available at WWF Hearst Mediacom and wherever photography books are sold as an avowed generalist Christopher gray derives continual pleasure from discovering new tricks and techniques that he can apply to his own work as an advertising fine art portrait and stock photographer you

Channel: AmherstMedia.com

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Keywords: amherst media, christopher grey, master lighting guide, professional photography, lighting, portrait

Id: K1GHuruKrOA

Length: 82min 14sec (4934 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 03 2014