Module 7

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Studio Lighting
 Subtopic 1

Studio Lighting
Studio Lighting
Studio Lighting
Working in a studio is typically
less spontaneous than working
in natural light. You have to set
up the lights, and probably work
with equipment, space, and
other constraints. As a result,
studio photography is usually
best suited working with fairly
static subjects, such as portraits
and still lifes, than for candid
shooting.
Studio Lighting
Nevertheless, working in a studio offers great
advantage.
It allows total control over the lighting, so
lighting can be set up as you wish. It also
eliminates concerns about bad weather or other
conditions that could prevent from working
outside.
Studio Lighting
Good studio pictures generally require specialized
equipment and strong understanding of how to
use it.

There are two types of lights used in studios:

• continuous light
• strobes
Two types of Studio lights
Continuous lights

Continuous lights stays on until they are

switched off, much like ordinary household light
bulbs.
Two types of Studio lights
Studio Strobes

Studio strobe are widely used in studios and on

location, and are a good alternative to continuous
lights. They provide light in a quick burst – at any
fractions of a second. Strobes provide much
brighter light than in-camera
Two types of Studio lights
Studio Strobes

A studio strobe is a dedicated flash unit, powered

either by a separate battery pack, power pack, or
an internal battery. It is linked to the camera by a
cable or by wireless remote, so that it will fire
when you press the camera’s shutter button.
Accessories
Accessories:
Miscellaneous lighting equipment

Barn door
Adjustable flaps, hinged to
the sides of a lighting unit
and used to block light
from reaching certain
subject.
Accessories:
Miscellaneous lighting equipment

Flash meter
Handheld light meter usually
used with studio strobes, but
useful with portable flash as
well. Flash meters are
designed to measure the
short burst of light emitted by
a flash.
Accessories:
Miscellaneous lighting equipment

Light head
Component of a studio
flash, incorporating the
flash tube, modeling light,
and possibly a cooling
fan.
Accessories:
Miscellaneous lighting equipment

Light stand
Three-legged folding
metal structure designed
to support light heads. A
light stand looks much
like a tripod, but with
shorter legs and a much
longer center post.
Accessories:
Miscellaneous lighting equipment

Reflector
Panel used to bounce light –
whether natural, continuous
lights, or flash. Can be either
a commercial reflector made
of white or reflective cloth or
simply a large piece of white
cardboard.
Accessories:
Miscellaneous lighting equipment

Seamless
Wide roll of matte surface
paper that comes in
different colors and
patterns. Seamless
unrolls to provide a
backdrop for
photographing in a
studio.
Accessories:
Miscellaneous lighting equipment

Soft box
Boxlike enclosure for
studio lighting with opaque
side panels and a
translucent front panel.
Designed to produce
even, soft lighting.
Accessories:
Miscellaneous lighting equipment

Umbrella
Folding reflector or
diffuser that looks and
open like a conventional
umbrella. It’s usually
cheaper than a softbox
and sometimes packaged
with lighting kits.
Studio Lighting
Accessories:
Miscellaneous lighting equipment

Wireless Remote
A cordless flash trigger
that can be used instead
of a sync cord to fire
studio strobe when you
press the wireless button.
Functions of Light
Basic Lighting Set Up
The position of the lights in relation to the subject is a critical
factor in the photographs, regardless of whether you are using
a portable camera flash or a powerful studio strobe– or even
working with natural light.

In fact, a good rule to keep in mind is that artificial light should

almost always closely simulate natural light. It shouldn’t look
phony.
Functions of Light
Main Light
The main light in digital photography lighting really
just refers to the main light source.

This means that the main light source is going to be

the primary place that light comes from to illuminate
the subject of your photograph.
Functions of Light
Main Light

When we are talking about lighting for digital

photography this will also mean that these can
be specific types of artificial lights that you may
be pulling out of a light kit and professional
photography studio lighting equipment.
Functions of Light
Main Light
Functions of Light
Main Light
Functions of Light
Fill Light
Functions of Light
Fill Light
Functions of Light
Back Light
Functions of Light
Functions of Light

Main Light
 Functions of Light

Main Light
Studio Photography
Key Light
The key light, also called the key or the main light,
is the dominant light source, providing the primary
illumination in a lighting set up. The key can be
positioned anywhere and, as long as it’s brighter
than any other light source in the picture, it will be
dominant in establishing the lighting effect.
Studio Photography
Key Light
A reflection, or bounced light, can be a useful main light.
In this situation you are going to be using a reflective surface, which
can range from a full service mirror to a simple white card, to reflect
light onto the subject from a different light source that is producing
the light.
If you are using diffusion on the main light source then this
essentially means that you are creating an intermediary between the
light source and the subject.
Light Functions
The sources of light in photography may
carry out the following functions:
• Drawing Light
• Fill Light
• Modelling Light
• Contrary Light
• Background Light
• Light Accent
Light Functions
Drawing Light
• The source of drawing light ought to be the only one. In theory
it is the main light in the composition.
• It is a directed light which reveals the object’s form and details.
• It’s necessary to use the lamps of different capacity or to place
them at different distance from the object.
• The source of light is usually placed not closer than 1.5-2
meters from the object, but not too far from it also.
• The function of drawing light may be performed by sunlight
which passes through a door or a window.
• The drawing light creates shady outline.
Light Functions
Modeling Light

• is used as additional fill in light.

• It illuminates shadows in defined areas.
• Modeling light can be created by small
sources of soft light.
• It allows getting patches of light and
reflexes on the details of object.
Light Functions
Contrary Light
• The source of light is placed behind the object.
• It is used to create light outline.
• If you want to make the bar of light outline
wider put the source of light closer to the
object and vice versa to make it narrower
place the source of light more distant.
Light Functions
Background Light
• Soft and dispersed light is the best for it, but directed light
may be used too.
• Background light marks out the object, creates the
difference of lighting between the object and the
background.
• To get an ideal white background make the light directed
to the background stronger than to the object.
• To emphasize the object on a bright background the
object needs to be elucidated better than the background.
Light Functions
Light Accent

A narrow directed beam of soft or even

hard light is directed to the part of
object which needs to be accentuated.
 Subtopic 2

Studio Lighting:
Multiple Light Setup
Studio Lighting: Multiple
light Setup
Rembrandt Portrait Lighting
Rembrandt lighting is a name given to the lighting
effect that the old master used to use for the lighting
effects in many of his paintings.

It’s basically short lighting where the shadow from the

nose connects with the shadow on the side of the face,
thus creating a triangle of light on the short side of the
face. If the nose shadow does not connect with the
cheek shadow, it’s not considered to be Rembrandt
lighting, just short lighting.
Rembrandt Portrait Lighting
Broad Portrait Lighting
Broad portrait lighting is when the main light is illuminating
the broad side of the face and the shadow from the nose is
being cast onto the short side of the face.

In other words, broad lighting is when the more exposed

side of the face is facing toward the main light.

Another way of thinking of this is to say that the nose is NOT

facing toward the same side of the camera that this light is
coming from.
Broad Portrait Lighting
Short Portrait Lighting
Short lighting is just the opposite.
Short portrait lighting is when the main light is
coming from the short side of the subject and the
broad side of the face is more in shadow.
In other words… If the subject’s nose is facing left
and the light is coming from that same side.

* Notice how the patch of light is on the "large side of the face.
Short Portrait Lighting
Split Portrait Lighting
In Broad, Short and Rembrandt lighting, there will be a
patch of light cast onto the shadow side of the face.

If the main light is placed so far off to the side of the

subject that the patch disappears and only half the face is
lit, then it is considered to be “Split” portrait lighting.

With split lighting, it rally doesn’t matter to which side of

the camera the nose is pointing or if the lit or shadow side
of the face is facing toward the camera. Either of these
situations would be considered split portrait lighting.
Split Portrait Lighting
Butterfly Portrait Lighting
Butterfly lighting is named that because of
the shape of the shadow created directly
beneath the nose.
When the nose is pointing in the direction of
the light, wherever it may be, and the light is
high enough to cast a downward shadow,
you end up with butterfly portrait lighting.
Butterfly Portrait Lighting
Basic Posing Tips
Portrait Cropping
Basic Posing Tips
By Ben Lucas
Not everyone works with models. A lot of photographers
have the job of shooting with everyday people and we
need to make them look like models. So how do you do
that when the subjects have no experience posing or
controlling their face for the camera? Here tips to make
your portrait subjects feel like models.
http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/7-posing-
techniques-for-non-models--photo-15608
Basic Posing Tips
1. Pose the Hair
We don't generally think of hair as a part of
the body we can control, but you really can!
If you are shooting a subject with long hair,
then bad hair is going to be the first thing
anyone notices about your photo. There
are no rules as to what looks "best" across
the board. Everyone will look different with
their hair a different way.
Basic Posing Tips

Hair all behind the shoulders.

Hair all in front of the shoulders
Hair all on one side.
Hair all on the other side.
Hair up.
Basic Posing Tips
2. Pull the Chin (or Ears) Forward
When someone stands in their normal relaxed stand,
or even stands up straight to have nice posture, there
is a little bit of flab right underneath their chin. No
matter how skinny they are, you will see this.
If you tell people to bring their chin forward, which
sounds like the sensible thing to do, they will point
their chin at you, which brings their face up and ends
with you shooting up their nostrils. (Not attractive.)
Instead, tell your model to bring their ears forward.
Basic Posing Tips

This
demonstrates the
before and after
of telling them to
bring their ears
forward.
Basic Posing Tips
Same before and after
from the side.
Sometimes I call this
"turtling," because they
feel like a turtle coming
out of their shell. It is a
bit uncomfortable or
unnatural, but the
results are always
worth it.
Basic Posing Tips

Same technique
from a male
subject. He was
very fit and
athletic, but our
natural stance is
not very
photogenic.
Studio Lighting
Basic Posing Tips
3. Lift the Arm
When people stand naturally, another thing
they do is stand with their arms flat at their
sides. This causes several problems. First, it
makes them look awkward and
uncomfortable in the photo. Secondly, their
arm presses against their torso. This
squishes the arm out and makes it look
larger than it actually is.
Basic Posing Tips
Basic Posing Tips
Leave Visual Space by the Waist
Everyone loves looking thin. One of the things you
can do to trim down your subject is by giving them
their "natural" waist, without any additives. What I
mean by that is visually isolating the skinny part of
the torso so they look as thin as they are. I had my
model put her hands on her hips. The first photo
shows no further posing. The arm in the back has no
space between it and the torso, so it visually extends
her mid-section. By having her pull the arm a little
forward, you can see the space, so the waist doesn't
have anything adding visual bulk.
Basic Posing Tips
Basic Posing Tips
T urn the Shoulders
This is a very simple tip, but important. If your subject
stares at the camera head-on, they look bigger. This can
be good when shooting a football player or CEO of a big
company, but it is bad when shooting beauty or portraits.
By having your subject turn, they are showing a slimmer
profile of themselves to the camera, and look slimmer.
Basic Posing Tips
Basic Posing Tips
Don't Show the Whites of the Eyes
When you want a far off, dreamy look and
choose to have your subject look off camera,
do not tell them to "look over there." Give
them an object behind you to focus on so you
can control their eyeline.
Basic Posing Tips
Basic Posing Tips
Don't Let the Nose Break the Face

This one is a bit more complex, but still important.

When you don't want your subject facing forward, you
have them turn to the side. Assuming you don't want a
full profile where you only see one side of the face, they
will be at a quarter turn with both eyes in frame. If you
draw an imaginary line down the side of their face, this
line is the line that cannot be crossed by their nose.
Basic Posing Tips
Basic Posing Tips
Here's a checklist you can follow for your next shoot.
• Hair is behind one shoulder, in front of the other
• Chin is forward to create a strong jawline
• Arm is lifted from the torso
• Waist doesn't have any visual extenders
• Shoulders are turned
• Iris is seen over the whites
• Nose doesn't break the line of the face