Taking a quality photo is an art. It is not just point and click. The perfect photo involves good lighting. Lighting has a lot to do not only with adding lights at proper angles but the camera that is used. Depending on the goal of your photo, there are many different types of lighting you can use. The purpose of your photo and your subject will determine the type of lighting you want to use.
What does it mean to know the subject?
Stills can encompass many things or individuals. Shooting a model in high fashion will require different lighting than shooting a book cover. Direct lighting may be necessary for shooting things such as fruit bowls or vehicles.
How can I make lighting more dramatic? Most photographers use things like reflectors that are either silver or white or they will use boards that are black to create shadow effects. The white will absorb shadows while the black will create them. Changing the angles of lighting might also be an option. A term in photography for using regular household bulbs for the lighting rather than the big florescent lamps is known as tungsten light. Most cameras that are on the market to be sold today are made for bright lights.
Positioning my lighting.
There are two types of set-ups that won't require much set-up. Using the first set-up you will only need two lights. One is about six feet away from the object of the photograph and it will be placed at a 45 degree angle. The next light is focused on the background image. In order to make the object of the photo stand out, the background should be white. If the background is not white it will end to looking gray in the photo and become part of the image rather than making it stand out. You can also try using one light pointed at the background and another light shooting through the umbrella. The umbrella is actually a big soft box that creates overhead lighting. You may ask the model to hold a reflector to avoid unwanted shadows.