subject: Lighting Photography Portrait - Learning The Basics! [print this page] Lighting Photography Portrait - Learning The Basics!
When lighting photography portrait basics, it is necessary to know the function of all the assorted lights involved. These lighting patterns are thought of as standard patterns because they WORK and every photographer should totally understand them...
The main light's usage in lighting photography portraits is to provide the base lighting. This is the one that you will usually read and use for your exposure settings.
To be a main or key source, it doesn't have to actually be an expensive studio strobe. It could be naturally occuring light, your on camera flash , or even a reflector kicking illumination into the subject .
If you want to make your subject appear three dimensional rather than flat and lifeless , your main light should be off to the side so that shadows- on the opposing side of the face - are created.
Depending on the strength of your key light, the shadow area could be very deep and intense. In the main, this is not ideal. We will want to brighten the shadow so that features of the subject's face are visible .
Enter the second or fill light. As before , this can be an additional studio strobe, ambient light, the camera's flash or even a reflector bouncing light from the key light into the shadow areas.
The intensity of the fill light - relative to the key light - is what will decide the darkness and intensity of the shadows. A general rule of thumb is to have the fill light be about 1/2 the strength of the key light.
The 3rd light source is known as the background light, separation light, or hair light. It too can be any type of illumination . This third light is used to make the subject stand out from the background.
This light can be turned away from the model and directlyonto the background, or aimed toward the subject - creating what's called a rim light. Or it could be placed higher than the subject where it becomes a hair light.
This is the standard three light set up used in lighting photography portrait models in most photo studios around the world.
