Classical Lighting: Portrait Lighting set-ups In portrait photography we can have 1 to unlimited lights to create the image we want. But we will concentrate on the main ( or key ) light and the fill light. The key position determines the style of lighting we want, so we will spend most of the talk on this light. Here is a typical diagram of a 5 light set up. If you want less lights you just strip away the lights in order until you are left with one, the main light: For now, we will concentrate on the Key light, it's position and placement in portrait photography
KEY LIGHT There are basically five commonly accepted portrait lighting patterns in photography. These portrait lighting setup are based on the placement of the main light, relative to the subject and camera. Split Pattern: Split lighting has the key light perpendicular to the subject's face. Simple. On the horizontal axis, just keep the light and the subjects face at right angles. On the vertical axis, the height of the key light is usually kept close to the same level as the subjects head. ( unless you want to light more of the top of the head ) Loop Pattern Named because of the shadow of the nose on the cheek being in the shape of a loop. Easy enough. Lets start with the key light back in 45 degree position On the vertical axis, raise the light source about 2 feet above the models head ( to start ) and angle the light down about 45 degrees. This is only a starting point. This will vary due to many factors, including taste ( i.e. How big a loop you would like ). Different facial shapes may determine where you finally place the light, if you want a catch-light in the models eyes, each model's eyes are different, some protrude more than others, some deep set, so you will have to adjust your light to get the effect you like. Butterfly Pattern: Given the name to the shape of the shadow under the subjects nose. Sometimes called Paramount lighting because of the use by Hollywood photographer George Hurrell. Again. Easy enough, just move your light on axis. Directly in front of your model on the horizontal axis. On the vertical, start with 2 feet above the models head angled down 45 degrees. Again, height or the vertical axis will vary with taste and subjects nose.
So far, very easy and notice that in these first 3, the subject did not move. We move the lights around the subject. The next two setups have the model move in relation to the light SHORT LIGHTING Easy. Set up like loop lighting and then ask your subject to turn their face towards the light. How much they turn is a question of choice, but there are rules in classical posing about how much to turn. By turning the face towards the light, the camera ( still has not moved ) will have the side of the face not fully lit by the key light towards him. This is considered the short side and hence the name. It has an effect of making a face seem slimmer as only a portion of it is fully lit. On the side facing the key light, not all of it is visible now so we only see a portion of this side. Net effect, slimmer face. BROAD LIGHTING Easy. Just the opposite of short lighting. Just have the subject turn their face away from the key light. Now, the full side of the models face is lit AND facing the camera. Hence the name. It has an effect of making a face look larger... should you want that. REMBRANDT PATTERN / LIGHTING The final lighting pattern is Rembrandt, named after the famous Dutch Painter. Now this could have gone to the earlier discussions on lighting patterns as it is very similar to loop lighting, but the main light is a bit higher and further left or right of the face for Rembrandt. The idea is to join the loop created from the nose with the shadow on the shadow side of the face and create a small triangle or diamond shape under the eye on the cheek on the shadow side. This is attained by lighting position and not requiring the model to move, but is often facilitated by having the model turn to short light position. Of all of the lighting patterns, this can be the most difficult to obtain.
One a final note about lighting, catch-lights should be mentioned. We have all seen the portraits or head-shots of people and notice the reflection of the key light in their eyes. When it comes to positioning the lights, the catch-light should be in the upper portion of the eye, the 10 2 position is ideal. Just this feature alone gives life and energy to a portrait. Almost a rule, but again, taste dictates. But if you try to follow this catch-light positioning and also try to keep in mind the lighting patterns explained above, you will see that once you have the lighting set up for your client, it MAY not be exactly the same for the next client... it will probably have to be tweaked for every new person. Facial shape, deep set eyes, broken, bumpy noses, weak chins, etc all play a part in the final lighting for your client. These lighting positions and patterns are designed to introduce depth into your work, to help distinguish your work from a cell phone shot. The use of light and shadow to create depth and mood in your images. Knowing the rules will help you know when to break them and how to apply them. Note as well, that all of these lighting patterns can be achieved with non studio lighting. Window / natural lighting for the main light and a reflector for a fill light and/or separation light. Just remember the principles and learn the best time to use them.
FILL LIGHTS In a two light set up, the second light, 99% of the time, is the fill light. The positioning of the fill light can, at photographers discretion, be anywhere. But for our discussion, we have a rule... on axis with the camera! We are talking classical portraiture. There are exceptions and in ou case, maybe on the Rembrandt lighting you would bring it more around to the shadow side of the face, but for now, lets make it a rule. On camera axis! So, since we have finalized that, we will talk about the ratio and intensity of the fill light. Light Intensity: Lighting power is often a function on taste. For example, if you want to shoot wide open to produce a shallow depth of field ( say use your 50 mm prime at f2.8 aperture ) or your favourite zoom lens with a sweet spot at f/8, you will start by adjusting your key or main light so that the light falling on your meter reads the aperture setting you would like to shoot at. You then adjust your other lights depending on your setup. F/8.0 as a reading is a common value for portraits. Fill Light: The fill light, being used to bring more light into the shadow area of the subject, can be can be any light source. Another strobe, a reflector or nothing, if you like the look with just the main light. The main concept here is how bright should that fill light be. Ratios: To properly measure and understand ratios in respect to portrait photography, you need to understand a few things. 1. Light is measured in photography terms by f-stops. The aperture dial or setting on your camera goes up in 1/3 ( or 1/2 ) of a stop increments. The full stops for aperture are: f1, f1.4, f2, f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22, f32, etc. A simple way to remember all those numbers is just to remember 1 and 1.4, and all of the other pairs are doubled from these (next pair is 2 and 2.8), with a few rounded off. 2. Shutter speeds are also representative of stops, with the full stops being at: 1 sec, ½ sec, ¼, sec, 1/8th, 1/15th, 1/30th, 1/60th, 1/125th, 1/250th, 1/500th, 1/1000th, etc. These are easier to remember as they are generally doubled (with a couple round offs 1/8th to 1/15th).
CONCEPT: Each full stop is double (or ½, depending which direction you go on the scale) the amount of light over the previous one. For example: if you are shooting at f4 and want to shoot at f5.6, you will need to double the amount of light to get one more stop. If you want a 2 stop difference then we re talking about 2 2 or 4 times more light. Likewise 3 stops is 2x2x2, or 8 times more light and so on. Back to our situation. When we refer to lighting ratio on our subject we are talking about the ratio between the highlight side (bright side or lit side ) and the shadow side ( or fill side or dark side ) As an example, if we want a 2:1 lighting ratio ( main light to fill light ), this means that you want the the main light 2X as strong as the fill light. We know that each full stop is a doubling ( or 1/2 of light ) entering the camera sensor, so that is a 1 stop difference. If our key light is f/8, then one stop less is f/5.6. Common Lighting Ratios Ratio 1:1 2:1 3:1 4:1 8:1 Stops Difference No Difference 1 Stop 1 1/2 Stops 2 Stops 3 Stops Description Flat lighting General colour photography General black & white photography Dramatic lighting, low key Very dramatic, low key With the use of a light meter, you set up your main light to read f/8, then measure your fill light to read f 5.6 and you have a 2:1 ratio, perfect for general photography ( by the charge above )
HAIR / SEPARATION LIGHTS In general, these lights are 1 to 3 stops different than the key light. I say different because it is entirely possible you want a brighter background than the subject, although traditional portrait photography, the light is less. The ratio is not as critical as the fill light, but there are a few things to look for. 1. If going brighter, you want to make sure that the background is not blown out or over exposed to the point the background bleeds around the edges of your model. This can reduce the effect of the separation from the background, cause lens flare and desaturated your image 2. If the light is too bright or at the wrong angle, it will spill around the side of the face on the subject causing hot spots on your subject. Men or people with short hair are prone to this while longer hair tends to block and diffuse the separation light and give the intended effect 3. While the hair light is subject to taste, a good starting point is 5 feet from the model on or just off axis 5 feet above the model on the vertical axis. BACKGROUND / SEPARATION LIGHTS Again, the idea behind these lights is to give some separation from your subject and the background. To create depth and 3D dimensionality to your image.. It functions the same way as the Hair ( or rim ) lights above, but instead of shining the light on your subject from behind, you shine it on the background. When you use this versus the rim light is up to you. Maybe you can not get the rim light to stop causing hot spots on the models cheek, so lighting the background might be better. Or maybe you have a texture in the background you would like brought out in the photograph. All good reasons. How you light it and with what is again a matter of choice and preference. Create a spot by using a snoot or a grid or flood it with a strobe with maybe a red gel on it to change up the colours. The main principle to consider about background is that the light shining on the background does not bounce back onto the model to strong to cause washing out of the models edges and cause potential desaturation / lens flare in your equipment. Any other lights that you use during a portrait shoot are unnecessary unless you are trying to highlight a specific part of the face or clothing. For example, you may want an accessory, such as a purse to be brought to attention, so you could have a small spotlight ( a snooted strobe, i.e. ) just to highlight the one item. Photoshop can rescue many pictures, but getting it correct in the camera will reduce the amount of pot photo session work and give you more shooting time and enjoyment. RP
Split Broad Lighting Loop Short Lighting Butterfly Rembrandt Lighting