Portrait Lighting - Photo Camp Houston

January 24, 2009

Portrait Lighting FundamentalsJeremey Barrett @jeremey [email protected]

The Right Light

✤ The look you want - what are your goals?

✤ Soft?✤ Harsh?✤ Contrasty?✤ Ethereal?✤ Generally portrait lighting is

trying to be soft✤ ...but not always

Qualities of Light

✤ Soft✤ Hard✤ Directional✤ Diffuse✤ Contrasty✤ Flat✤ Natural

Light Sources

✤ Size: bigger = softer✤ Distance: closer = softer✤ Distance: closer = brighter✤ Harder light = more contrast✤ Coverage✤ Angle✤ Spill

The Big Source In The Sky

✤ Small or large?✤ Hard or soft?✤ Time of day✤ Color✤ Diffusing✤ Shadow

Key Technique:Separation

✤ Separate, separate, separate✤ Subject should not blend into

the background✤ Light the background, not

uniformly✤ Gradients are your friends✤ Light the background first!✤ Depth of field✤ Rim lighting

Reverse Engineer

✤ Where is the light coming from?

✤ How hard or soft are the transitions from light to shadow?

✤ How many light sources are there?

Controlling Light

✤ Aperture controls how much of your strobe’s light “gets in”

✤ Shutter speed controls how much of the ambient light “gets in”

✤ Inverse square blah-blah-blah✤ Distance is a powerful tool!✤ Examples: what color is the

background material?