Lighting Variations for Glamour and Portrait
October 3rd, 2011 § 4 Comments
Broad Soft Side Lighting
I was recently part of a discussion on Linkedin about lighting in the studio with strobes. One of the participants in the discussion was a student studying commercial photography in an art school. He made the statement that there should never be shadows on a face when doing a portrait. I certainly hope that his instructors are not teaching him that. You need shadows to help shape and contour the persons face. There are times that you can use something like a ring-light where the shadows are very minimal. I’ve included a selection of images that I’ve shot in fairly recent times showing variations on lighting…a ring-light, a broad diffused umbrella placed directly behind me, a very broad large silk diffused light from the side, and a beauty dish with a grid, both diffused and non-diffused. If anyone has any questions, feel free to post them here, or email me. Thanks.
Broad Soft Side light
Large Diffused Umbrella
Large Diffused Umbrella
Beauty Dish with Grid
Beauty Dish with Grid
Beauty Dish with Grid...Diffused
Ring-Light
I hope that student checks this out and sees that shadows on a face are not that bad!
I just love your work; it’s like a breath of fresh air. The lighting is great and focus is second to none.
Beaufort, what a great comment…you made my day!
Nice stuff. I’d prefer in future you show un-retouched images which might be more elucidating for this particular demonstration.
Additionally, I’m a big fan of lighting diagrams which help to understand the lighting instruments positioning.
Sono d’accordo con te sulla necessità dell’ombra per dare forma e profondità ad un ritratto. Io amo Caravaggio che è un grande maestro
sull’uso delle luce e la sua grandezza sta proprio sull’uso sapiente di questi due mezzi. Il tuo lavoro è grande ed io ne sono ammirato. Grazie per ciò che ci hai mostrato.