studio photography basics
DESCRIPTION
My presentation on"Basic Studio photography" conducted at Studio XPOZ, Bangalore on 24th July 2010.TRANSCRIPT
Topics
• Principles of Artificial Lighting• Basic Studio Lighting• Portrait lighting• Studio lighting and Exposure
Principles of artificial lighting
• Why use artificial light?– Lack of adequate natural light– Take control of the light– Make a photograph; don’t just take it.
• Shooting with artificial light is like:
“Sculpting with LIGHT”
Basic goal of artificial lighting
• Bring out the 3D quality of the subject(s)
By reproducing the highlights and shadows as produced under natural light
By revealing surface textures
Basic Studio Lighting
• Categories of studio light• Basic four light setup• Studio lighting tools
Categories of studio light
• Continuous+ Cheap
+ See what the light is doing - Produces more heat than light - Not balanced to daylight• Flash
+ Balanced to daylight (5500K)+ Saves power
Basic four light setupKey Light(M)The main light source/ brightest light sourceFill light (F)Soften the shadows formed by Key lightBackground light(B1)Lights background and not the subjectAccent lights(H, B2)Adds a rim light to separate subject from background.Also called “kicker light”
Steps in preparing lighting setup
1. Decide on general effect
visualize; determine type/direction/angle of light
2. Add the key light(s)
- create dominant set of highlight & shadows
3. Place the fill lights- Adjust light ratio to obtain desired effect
4. Separate subject from
background - Add background light - Add kicker light (optional) - Subject should not be close to
background (min 5 feet) - Lights should not add to any
secondary highlight or shadows
5. Make final adjustments - take sample shot, analyze and
readjust - look out for unwanted
highlights/shadows, catchlights
Studio equipments
• Light Source – Studio lights– Tripods/Stands– Triggers
• Light Modifiers– Diffusers• Umbrella• Soft Box (normal, strip,
octabox)
– Deflectors• Reflectors• Snoot• Grid• Barn door
– Color gels• Light meter• Accessories– Backdrop– Props
Portrait lighting
• Rembrandt• Loop• Butterfly• Split• Broad • Short
Rembrandt lighting
Source : http://tips.romanzolin.com
Loop lighting
Source : http://tips.romanzolin.com
Butterfly lighting
Source : http://tips.romanzolin.com
Split lighting
Source : http://tips.romanzolin.com
Broad lighting
Source : http://tips.romanzolin.com
Short lighting
Source : http://tips.romanzolin.com
Exposure in studio lighting
• Shutter speed in camera has no control on exposure as your camera cannot shoot faster than your camera SYNC speed, it is 1/200.
• Exposure can be controlled by :1. The power of the light2. Aperture of the lens3. ISO setting
How to control studio light power
• Controls on Light system ( Full, ½, ¼, 1/8 )• Distance of light from subject. – Inverse Square Law applies here ( so if you move your
subject from 3 feet away to 6 feet away, your light power will reduce by 4 times or you will need four times more light)
Aperture and f stops
• For aperture control under studio lights, same principle applies.
Exposure halves by increase in each f-stop f/8, Full power @ ISO 200 will give
same exposure as f/5.6, ½ power @ ISO 200
The full f stops are2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22
References
• www.studiolighting.net• www.strobist.com