For the photographer to understand how the light works and how to use it to your advantage is a crucial knowledge. Contrary to popular belief, lighting a portrait is not a rocket science and does not require a lot of expensive equipment. All you need is time to understand proper levels of exposure, angles and experiment a bit.
Here are some examples our portrait photography clients use to capture beautiful headshots.
WINDOW LIGHT
Let’s start simple. No strobe lights needed. Throughout a history photography from its very beginning cameramen used natural light because, well, it was all they had. The light that worked best on models was northern light – soft yes great defining light. It is the northern light that the softbox strobe lights later were trying to imitate. So to underestimate what the natural light could do for the portrait is a mistake. In our studios we have a plenty of natural light so let’s experiment. Place the model against the window and see what the best angle is to highlight her/his features. Notice the nice gradient that can be achieved on the photo where it gradually goes from lit to dark.
Photo Credit: @lolagraphy_photo · Location – Stage Art 4 Model – @hunterg32
NATURAL LIGHT + 1 STROBE
A natural light at its best is used at “golden hour” – the time at the sunrise and before the sunset when the light hits your from a very low angle. It is not harsh or over intensified. It has warm and pleasant condition. The only adjustment that can help you enhance the golden hour lighting is adding a strobe light to bring more definition of the model on its other side. Working in pair as a key light and a fill light makes it a classic duo setup.
Decided to work with artificial lighting only? No problem. Let’s start small using only 1 light for now. In many cases you would not need more. The most important aspect of the photography is not the lighting it has but the idea behind the lighting and the mood that the creator wants to achieve. Using one light only gives the photo intimate, dramatic look. The balance between the bright and the dark parts of the photo keep it a balance pleasant to the eye while highlighting the key features of the model. As Albert Einstein once said “genius is simple”, I would advise you avoid going after all available lights you have in the studio and start with just one good strobe.
Photo Credit: @aestheteandderive Model @artgazmz
2 STROBE LIGHTS
Utilizing two studio lights might also be a good idea when you want to add extra features on the photo to create more sophisticated image. There are several scenarios of how one may implement two lights. First scenario is to have one light from the side turned on the model and the second light from the opposite side turned on the backdrop. In this setup both the foreground and the background are emphasized resulting in a particular mood of the photo. The second scenario is to have two lights looking on the model from the front and back. While the front light will accentuate main facial features of the model, the back light will bring up the contour of the silhouette, highlight the hair and shoulders.
Three lights expand the possible amount of setup even more. One of the most classic setups for three lights would be to have two lights positioned from each side of the camera at 45 degree angle facing the model. These two lights can act like a key light and a fill light (different power levels) or two identically lit strobes. Be careful with the later as with two identically powerful strobes there will be no shadows on models features and or any variety of light intensity which usually results in a very dull and shallow photo. So having two lights at different power level usually gives a more interesting result. The third light might be either on a backdrop or hitting the model from the back as it was discussed in the “2 STROBE LIGHTS” scenario.
Besides the natural and strobe lights there are other light shaping tools available to use such as reflectors, V-flats, patterns, etc. In photography as in any other light experiment and the idea are the main driving forces of advancement. So do not limit yourself to just these examples but instead try other variations of the light setup. The more attempts to create something new you will have the less is left to achieve the unique style and distinguish your brand of photography.