UNIT 3: Portrait Lighting

Demystifying Studio Equipment & the Advanced Settings of a Camera

Overview of Studio Lighting

• Introduction to Studio Lighting & Practical Lighting Applications

• Tungsten Lights, Studio Flash and Available Light

• Control of Contrast, Direction and Color Balance

Types of Studio Lighting

• Compared to a normal household lamp, which is only 100 watts, a tungsten studio light is 20,000 watts

• There are four major studio lights:– Flash – AC Discharge– Tungsten-halogen– Photoflood

Types of Studio Lighting

1. The Flash– High intensity & short

duration – Renders correct color to

daylight

2. AC Discharge– High output but less

heat– Light flickers as

opposed to being a continuous light source

– Casts a blue tint

3. Tungsten-Halogen – Most commonly used

artificial light (next to the flash)

– Emit large amounts of heat when operating

– Creates an orange tint

4. Photoflood – Broad soft light

source– Can create an orange

tint as the lamp’s glass fogs with age

White Balance and Lighting• Digital Cameras often read “white” with a cool

or warm temperature: this means that the white will have an orange or blue tint to it, which can be unsightly

• You can correct this one of two ways: 1) in the camera or 2) in Photoshop

• The best way to correct for white balance is to check for a neutral object (or bring a white object with you) and change your settings to match this white object

blue tint

orange tint white balance reference auto white balance vs. custom setting

Parts of the Camera

• DLSRs (and some other digital cameras) can be custom set for Aperture (f/stop) and Shutterspeed which are related by ratios

• Light is manipulated and used by these parts of the camera

Lighting Ratios for Contrast & Tone

• Shutter & Aperture – Aperture is the AMOUNT of

light allowed into the camera by SIZE, measured by f-number or f-stop

– Shutterspeed is the DURATION of light allowed into the camera by SPEED or TIME, measured in fractions of seconds

• Film Speed or ISO number refers to the light quality, an ISO 100 is set for sunny daylight while an ISO 200 is set for indoor or cloudy days

Lighting Ratios• Starting with an ISO 400 and

an f-stop of 5.6 is a good general rule of thumb

• You can use your LIGHT METER to adjust the shutterspeed

• To the right you can see a chart which is a good starting point for f/stop-shutter-ISO ratios

• the LIGHT METER is an instrument for measuring the intensity of light in a certain place or upon a certain object, having an adjustable scale for determining the optimum relations of shutter speeds and stops at each intensity

relationships of f/stops & shutterspeeds

f16 at 1/30 = f/11 at 1/60 =

f/8 at 1/125 = f5.6 at 1/250 =

f/4 at 1/500

Exposures & Contrast

• using a lightmeter and the chart from the last slide can help you avoid over or underexposing your subject

• lights are proportionate to shutter and aperture: more bulbs or lights increase stops and shutterspeed

• the light meter will slide back and forth to indicate proper lighting – a balanced light reading will give a correct exposure

overexposed

correct exposure

underexposed

| | | | | | | | | | |

Sources/Directions of Light• POINT SOURCE: a spotlight is pointed from above to create shadows and

contrast • DIFFUSE SOURCE: a floodlight “fills” the area creating contrast and adding grays • REFLECTION: a reflector is used to soften the light and the contrast

1. spotlight 2. spotlight + floodlight 3. spotlight, floodlight + reflector 1. spotlight only 2. spotlight, floodlight + reflector

1. spotlight 2. spotlight + diffused light * 3. spotlight + diffused light closer a light tent (or light box) with lighting

*from reflector

UNIT 3: Portrait Lighting

Posing Models & CompositionsAnnie Leibovitz and the Professional Portrait

portrait photography: annie leibovitz• B. 1949 - • she began contributing photographs

to Rolling Stone in 1970 • She was made chief photographer of

Rolling Stone three years later• She is known for her images of rock

personalities, notably a 1975 Rolling Stones concert tour series

• She became a principal photographer for Vanity Fair magazine in 1983

• Her arresting, generally posed, and technically accomplished images of the famous and the unknown, in deeply saturated color or modulated black and white, represent a broad survey of American popular culture

portrait photography: annie leibovitz

portrait photography: annie leibovitz

portrait photography: annie leibovitz

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

STEP 1• Light the

Background/Backdrop first

• Aim the light at the backdrop behind the model

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

STEP 2• Overlight the

hair from above and behind the model

• Use a softbox to diffuse some of the light

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

STEP 3• Use a “kicker

light” (also known as the accent light) to highlight the opposite areas highlighted by the main light or key light(s)

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

STEP 4• Use the main light

to add dramatic shadows and highlights to the subject

• Aim this light to flatter the model’s natural beauty

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

STEP 5• Use a fill light

to soften shadows, soften hard edges and control negative space

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

Final Image• Setup all five

lights together so that the model is completely lit

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

Position & Placement • the ¾ turn • 45º angle head-tilt• projecting the chin out toward the

camera • using a slightly higher camera

positionwhat not to do

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

Posing the Head & Shoulders

• avoid “football shoulders” by having the subject turn to a 45 ⁰ angle

• have the subject sit tall – no slouching!

• never tip a man’s head to the high (feminine) shoulder as he will look feminine

• women's heads can be tipped toward either shoulder, but the feminine shoulder is more appealing

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

Posing the Full Body• make the pose look natural• the legs are almost parallel

to the camera plane• the shoulders are nearly

perpendicular to the camera plane and are turned at a 45º angle

• the head (and therefore the face) are at an angle slightly off of the shoulder, pointed to the camera left

what not to do what to do

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

Posing Groups• use figure triangles to

organize groups• use angles and

perspective • use leading lines• use foreground,

midground and background

• vary sizes and use both horizontal and vertical space

• keep images dynamic• create “book-ends”

and symmetry

portrait photography: lighting & the “pose”

Cropping • shooting portraits from a

distance will increase your depth-of-field and blur out the background (also can be achieved in Photoshop)

• when cropping an image, there are several things to keep in mind: a) crop above or below joints to avoid “amputated limbs,” b) leave some background to avoid “claustrophobic pictures” and c) do not crop tops of heads

portrait photography: putting it all together