This is portrait photography 101 type stuff here. Nothing too advanced going on, we are working with only three light sources here to get a basic portrait. Think of it as foundation material. You can’t build a beautiful house without knowing how to pour a simple foundation.

We have three lights all pointing at our lovely model. Light #1 is called the “key” or “main” light. It is the main source of light for the subject. It’s main purpose is not only to light the subject but also to provide depth by creating shadows. This is why the position of the key light is off camera left.

Light #2 is called the fill light. I have it slightly off camera right, which is fine, but you really want to keep it as close to the camera’s axis as possible. For a standard portrait, you want to have the fill light at about half power compared to the key light. This is not an absolute (nothing in photography is). If you want the shadows more prominent then use less fill light. The point is that you want the fill light to produce less light than the key light or you will lose the depth in the portrait.

Light #3 is called the hair light in this position. It’s purpose is to separate the subject from the background by lighting the hair. This effect greatly improves upon the three dimensional look a professional quality portrait should produce. Light #3 can be used in a different way to separate the subject from the background as seen below.

In this illustration, the background is lit with the hair light or “back light” when used this way. Either way is fine. There really are two different schools of thought on which configuration is the true standard. I find both can be useful in different situations. For example, you never want to use a hair light on a bald subject. You get a very unflattering reflection!

The thing to remember is to experiment with what you have available to you. Here we have an illustration with only two lights but still achieves the same results as the three light set up.

You’ll notice that light #2 has been replaced by a reflector. The strength of the light being “bounced” off of the reflector onto your subject is varied by moving the reflector closer or further from the subject. This is a very easy and economical way to slowly build up your studio set up. If you have to buy one light at a time you can purchase a handful of used reflectors to help get the most out of your existing set up. Besides, reflectors are a great tool to use in daylight photography.

Remember that all of these lights can be adjusted in many different ways. Height, power, and angle all have an important role in determining the outcome of each session. Practice and experimentation is key to being able to flatter your subject.

Photograph IMG_664 by kobread

Illustrations created at SDG Photo - Lighting Studio

Next week we continue our lessons on Lighting Techniques so be sure to subscribe to our reader so you don’t miss it.

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