Lighting Photography Portrait

In lighting photography portraits basics, it helps to know the function of all the various lights involved. They are considered as basics because they WORK and every photographer should thoroughly understand them... The main light's function in lighting photography portraits is to provide the overall lighting. This is the one that you will typically read and use for your exposure settings. To be a main source, it doesn't have to actually be a studio strobe. It could be ambient light, your on camera flash, or even a reflector bouncing illumination into the face. To make your subject appear 3D 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 main light, the shadow area could be very dark and intense. Generally, this is not ideal. We will want to lighten the shadow so that details of the face can be seen. Enter the fill light. Again, this can be an additional studio light, ambient light, on camera flash or even a reflector bouncing light from the main light into the shadow areas. The intensity of the fill light - relative to the main light - is what will determine the depth and intensity of the shadows. A standard rule of thumb is to have the fill light be about half the intensity of the main. The third light is the background or separation light. It too can be any light source. This light is used to separate the subject from the background. It can be turned away from the subject and directly onto the background, or turned towards the subject creating what's called a rim light or placed higher than the subject to become a hair light. This is the standard three light set up used as a lighting photography portrait basic in most studios around the world.
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