Understanding Basic Lighting to Enhance Portrait Photography By Bill Cotter At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Making a 2 dimensional picture represent a 3 dimensional scene is done mostly using lighting effects. By using shadows and highlights a photographer is able to give a picture the proper depth. Studios are able to control the lighting to stage the picture to look it’s best. Wether you are a studio or out of studio photographer you can still benefit from the lighting techniques and tips below.

Fill Flash or Light

A fill flash will help eliminate lines in the face and will brighten the eyes. The fill flash should almost always be filtered through a diffuser or shot from a reflector such as an umbrella.

Key Light

A key light should be a higher intensity light and should be mounted similar to the fill light with an umbrella or through a diffuser. The key light is usually slightly to the side of the subject that you want the focus to be.

Hair Light

This is important to give detail to the subjects head but the light does not to be as high scale as your key lights and fill lights. The hair light shouldn’t be diffused and it is a good idea to have it be a directed light so it will only shine on the subjects hair.

Kickers

Kickers are side lights that are optional. They will highlight the body of the subject or the sides of the face to emphasize depth. Often times the lights will be placed slightly to the side and behind the subject to produce a light that glances the skin.

Using Lighting To Slim The Subject

Most side lighting effects will slim the face and will emphasize more of the definition of your subject. Lighting that is straight on will cause the subject to look bigger than they are and should only be used if you are going for that effect. The only other time the pictures are taken straight on to subjects if it is a model who is working darker makeup to emphasize the contours of the cheek bones and side of the face. In most cases this will need to be done using shadows through lighting.

Understanding the Basic Positioning of Lighting

What is appealing to the eye is usually evident in nature. Natures source for light is the sun and so consider that when taking pictures. A lighting source should never be placed below a subject because the sun never lights from beneath. Some lighting effects actually raise lights above the subject to give a more natural look. Also diffused light comes through clouds and through windows. Use these light sources to your advantage as they can be your source instead of a an actual light for your key light. Look for natural reflections off of structures or shaded light from trees. Nature can be your studio and sometimes is your best studio. The shift in photography is towards more natural looking photographs. Make sure and understand the principles of photography and lighting and then let you creativity and insight do the rest.

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