Hard Light, Soft Light for Photographers
Photographers get told a pretty common message over and over again: using a bigger lens will lead to better photos. It is important to understand that the better equipment that you have doesn’t make you a better photographer and you still need to understand the process behind it and the understanding of how light works so that you can have your photos turn out the way that you want them too and make it look like they were shot with a studio background.
Photographic lighting is something that is really overlooked when it comes to photography, especially with today’s photographers. You need to understand how light works with the human body and how the different lighting aspects and angels can actually change the photo and make it look different. But, lighting can also bring a subject to life and it can make your photography look completed different. Here are some simple natural lighting techniques that will help you when you aren’t using a photography background.
What you will find is that many of the photographers out there end up chopping the images to make up for the lack of light understanding that they have. There are even professional wedding photos that have looked terrible and need some light. You want to make sure that you are providing high end photography and that you know how to do that. Understand size, diffusion, angle, and color.
Hard light is when you are shooting into the sun. This is far different from using a muslin backdrop and it is the best way to shoot for a subject. You will prevent squinting with this and you will really get the light to wrap around. With soft light, you also have little squinting, and a warm look to any skin tone.
The best way to learn how to use light is to get a mannequin or to find a model that doesn’t mind posing. Shoot them with different lights and see what works. Look at angles and make sure that you are getting what you need. All of this can really help you out and will make it so that you get the best lighting in or outside.
Photography Studio Lighting Set Up Tips Part II
Louis Daniel Botha Photography
Rembrandt Lighting
Rembrandt lighting is thought of as a classic form of art. In this type of lighting, the primary light is located up high and to the side of your subject’s face that is furthest from the lens. In general, the subject is put at an angle that is 45 degrees to your camera, instead of looking into the lens head on. Using the Rembrandt technique creates a triangle of light that is located on your subject’s cheek that faces the camera. The triangle casts light right under your subject’s eye and does not fall under their nose. Your subject’s face should look like it’s lit on one side and has a shadow on the other side.
Position a reflector or something with a reflective surface on the side that is opposite your primary light. Your reflector should be at an angle that allows it to bounce the ambient lighting onto the shadow side of your subject. It’s important not to try to get rid of the dark shadows and instead, to bring details into those shadows. Finally, remember that adding small details to a subject makes the final image seem more creative.
Butterfly Lighting
This kind of lighting technique is administered by placing the primary light source right in front of your subject’s face, then changing the height of the light to cause a shadow to develop under the face and just over the nose. This technique is perfect for images of individuals who have oval shaped faces and it is thought of as akin to glamour shot photography which is perfect for female subjects. Butterfly lighting produces dark shadows in your subject’s eye area and under their chin, in proportion to the size of your primary light source and how far it sits from your subject. You should also utilize a reflector that sits under your primary light to add fill light under parts of the face like the nose and chin. Butterfly lighting is also known as over and under lighting technique.
Although the above mentioned lighting set ups can require additional lights, it isn’t always necessary. An artistic, high quality image can be taken with a very expensive or a very inexpensive camera, using just a single source of light. Possessing the right equipment and knowing how to work with it, are not the same thing.
Individuals who first master the fundamentals of black and white photography have a decided advantage over those who began with color photography.
Photography Studio Lighting Set Up Tips Part I
Amy the Picture Lady
Working with studio lighting can be a challenge, especially when you are just starting out. Ambitious photographers can have expensive equipment that is related to the set up of their studio. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get started with studio portraiture. Consider this. Just how many sources of light does Earth have naturally? You’re nearly correct if you said one; the sun. Consider the sky and amazingly, the ground beneath your feet that reflects light back into the darker shadows. The light that is reflected back is also known as fill light. If we didn’t have fill light in our everyday lives, we wouldn’t see any details and what we’d see would be completely black.
It’s amazing just how much you can accomplish with just a single primary light and one or a couple of fill lights. If you’re thinking that three lights doesn’t sound particularly easy, allow me to elaborate. I’m suggesting a single light with a reflective surface or two that would serve to reflect the light or reduce shadows. Using a single light and a single reflector or more can create unique and appealing images.
Short Lighting
A short light is a kind of lighting for the studio in which the side of your subject’s face, the part furthest away from the lens, receives the primary light. Conversely, the part of your subject’s face that is nearer to the camera gets less lighting on it. This lighting set up creates the illusion of a thinner face, making it perfect for photographing subjects who are larger. Short lighting assists you in making your subject look thinner.
Broad Lighting
Broad lighting is the exact opposite of short lighting and requires that the side of your subject that is closest to the camera gets the most light. Broad lighting is less frequently used in portraiture, mainly because it adds weight to your subject. In order to fill in the shadows, you can use reflectors placed at about a 45 degree angle to your subject on each side of your light.
Split Lighting
Split lighting appears to be more complicated than it actually is. It involves placing your primary light source on one ide of the subject at just 90 degrees to your subject. This creates a dramatic shadowing in the center of your subject’s face. If you use a flash for your primary source of light, consider a secondary source for placement.
Setting Up Your Home Lighting Studio For Different Effects Part 3
Effects With Dramatic Lighting
There are several different ways to accomplish dramatic lighting.
1. Classic – This is accomplished by using just your key light. Tear the middle of a small piece of cardboard and attach with this tear to your light stand. Aim the key light through the cut opening onto the subject. This will force a small beam of light onto the subject with a dramatic effect, similar to being inside of a darkened room.
2. Dramatic Lighting – This technique too, uses just a single key light and all other sources of light in the room are turned off. The key light is shone upward from the floor to your subject and can create dramatic shadowing. Add some colored filters for additional effects.
Portrait Lighting
1. Glamour Effect – This technique utilizes a key light, photo background and separation lights. The key light is positioned just to the left of and above your subject. Keep the light fairly close to your subject’s face.
Position the separation light across from the key light, shining it from above and shining down onto your subject’s head, onto the photographic background. Place the background light so it shines immediately behind the subject, enhancing the background. Test a variety of effects by relocating the key light to either side of your subject.
Working With Soft Boxes
A soft box or umbrella is used to diffuse light on an image. This technique can be used to diffuse light from hitting your subject directly, creating more natural looking lighting.
Once you’ve mastered the basic art of lighting dramatically and working on photographic portraits, you can then become more adept at working with a three-point lighting system. This will also emphasize the importance of taking several different images. A good photographic studio typically costs less than a few hundred dollars to set up and the benefits of having your own studio outweigh any cost. If you’ve never worked in your own studio, now is the time to take your craft to a higher level.
Setting Up Your Home Lighting Studio For Different Effects Part 2
Bright White Paper Set-up
Once you have located the best spot in your home for a studio, you can move on and set up your equipment. Don’t worry—you can have a nice studio without spending all your savings! The best set up in a home studio is probably to start with white seamless paper backdrop material. Hang the paper so that it covers the space behind your subject and spills onto the floor. Adding a bright light for overexposure continues the effect.
As your skills improve, you can add a variety of colored backdrops and try out some different textures. You will want to explore options that use different lighting set-ups beyond just one bright light shining directly on your subject. In fact, as your business grows you will find you want to have a variety of sizes and types of lights in your home studio. The more the better. Another tip about the paper, if you would like your model seated during the shot, place a box or stool under the draped paper to keep all distractions out of the final photo.
Basic Light Set-Up
Your first set up should include a minimum 3 lights and a couple of reflective pieces—such as softboxes or umbrellas. Umbrellas come in a wide range of sizes and you can find permanently affixed reflectors or the removable type of reflector. Look for umbrellas with black backing if you want to experiment with different lighting effects. It totally depends on which techniques you want to try to add to your portraits. If money permits, you can get more lights. Another handy accessory to have would be a light stand so you can shoot from different heights. Just keep in mind you need at least 3 lights and 2 items for bounce or reflection.
Practicing Different Effects
Now that you have the basic lighting set-up and your photographic background, the fun can begin. Take time to practice your craft. Take lots of photos from a variety of angles and with different lighting set-ups to get familiar with the process of creating shadows and eliminating them. Next we will talk about some tips to help you produce some fantastic effects in your home studio.
Setting Up Your Home Lighting Studio For Different Effects Part 1
One of the primary goals of most photographers is to have a personal lighting studio however realizing this as a reality can pose a real challenge. There is an unlimited number of ways to set up a lighting studio in your home, so there truly is no right or wrong way. Ultimately, your goal should be to plan a studio that provides you with as many different scenarios and different types of lighting as is possible.
Reasons for considering a studio in your home.
Many advantages exist in having your own home studio and it is especially valuable if you want to increase your creativity. In your own home studio, you control all the lighting effects for any specific image. In a single photography session, as a result, you can produce a wide variety of different images with different effects. This helps you journey through your creativity and discover your own creative style.Having a home based photography studio allows you to explore a variety of photographic styles and helps you improve your creativity.
One Slide Photography
Creating photographic lighting in your home studio.
Initially, you’ll want to determine where you will place your photographic lighting in your studio. Ideally, you’ll have plenty of room to set up a number of lighting scenarios and you won’t have to break down the equipment or have to move it around frequently. The set up for lighting is best used if at least a portion of it is permanently attached to your floor or to the ceiling of your studio.
Use an area in your home that you typically don’t use and has a lot of room. Basements, attics and rooms that aren’t in use in your home are ideal for a home studio. In addition to being perfect as a studio, these rooms can also hold your equipment when you aren’t using it. Be sure whatever room you choose has a source of ventilation, to offset the amount of heat studio lights typically produce.
Setting up a Backdrop for Product Photography
Whether you are displaying product photographs on your website or in a product catalog, you want to make sure your product photographs look professional. Taking the right steps when setting up photographic backdrops will help achieve this. There are four basic components involved; setting the backdrop, positioning the product, arranging the lighting, and setting up any props that you might want included in the final photo.
While backdrops for photography come in all types of colors, it is usually wisest to stick with basic backdrops for product photos. Solid black or sollid white normally make the best choices, with white being most popular as it emphasizes the product. One of the easiest ways to create a seamless backdrop support system is to use a screen covered by a solid color sheet or other fabric.
Next you need to set up the product. This can either be on a tabletop or it can hang over the center of the backdrop. In either case, it’s important that the product is properly centered against the photographic backdrop. If you choose a table, you will need to extend the backdrop to the table with same color sheet in order to keep a clean seamless backdrop feel. For smaller products, you may also want to raise your product on a box to give it further prominence.
Once you have your backdrop and product in the right spot it’s time to set up the lighting. This can be a little tricky, because shadows can easily take over the product if you aren’t careful. While a single shadow works, you’ll want a lighting setup that removes the excess, it normally takes three or four lights to accomplish this. Use the first light to light the area, the second, and sometimes third light help remove the shadow effect, while the last light is pointed directly at the shadow removing the dark spot from your photo.
One more element you may want to add is a prop. Props should be used with care because you want to make sure you are selling the intended product, not the prop. A simple blanket next to a teddy bear might be an example of a prop that might work, however props are normally unnecessary and can get in the way if overdone.
Food Photography Quick Tips
Have you ever seen an ad for a restaurant and thought “Wow, that looks delicious”? Well, there are ways to make the photographs of food look just as delicious in the frame as it does on the plate served at the restaurant. Over the years photographers have developed a way of perfecting product shots, including those of food. Here are a few quick and simple tips to make your food photographs absolutely mouth watering.
Avoid using a flash and if possible, shoot near a window or an area with lots of natural lighting. If this is not possible, try using the camera’s white balance setting to compensate for using a light bulb, which can cast a yellowish tint.
Frank Art Culinary
Use your camera’s macro setting (the flower icon) and zoom in up close on your food subject. Instead of using the macro setting, you can also widen your camera’s aperture to reduce the depth of field, which will keep the foreground looking sharp and the background appear soft.
After placing your food or beverage in its desired dish or glass you may want to take a soft cloth and wipe around the edges to remove fingerprints, smudges and grease.
Have your camera equipment, photo backdrops and lighting set up before bringing out the food and work as quickly as possible. As time passes your food, such as salads can look wilted or can start to melt.
When shooting up close the slightest amount of camera shake can make your subject appear blurry and out of focus. Use a small tripod or keep your hand steady. If desired, use a glass to elevate your camera just enough and keep it steady.
Take a lot of pictures to ensure you have at least one that is perfect. It will also allow you to get rid of those that appear out of focus or the light was just not right.
Take several shots of the food as it is being cooked, set up on the plate and served at the table. You might be amazed at the shots you get while the food is on the stove or being garnished.
You want to make your photograph visually appealing and exciting for the eyes. Avoid shooting food dishes that appear to be all one color or with very little color and shade variations.
Studio Lighting: General Tips
A studio set up, not matter who big or small, is on just about every photographers wish list. Especially those who have developed a taste for indoor photography. Your studio set up can be as simple as a few table lamps and a bed sheet for the background to an elaborate multi-flash systems and muslin backdrops.
Though continuous lights from a table lamp will work when shooting in a studio, you may want to invest is a few studio flashes. The flashes do not have to be expensive, just strong enough to enhance the lighting used during photo shoots. Studio flash heads are ideal for anyone who wants to get serious about shooting in a studio setting, taking portraits or product shots.
Studio flash heads are powerful and can be controlled by using umbrellas and soft boxes, which will diffuse the flash. These will also help soften shadows while still getting a reasonable exposure with a small aperture setting.
When shooting product action shots, such as spilling or splashing water, use a studio flash head to freeze the action. Pair the flash head with a very fast exposure time to make the action look like it has been frozen in time.
Studio flash heads also help make a portrait look sharper when set at similar settings to those used to freeze action. To use set your camera to 1/100 second at f/32 with an ISO setting of 200.
Since studio flash heads recycle faster, they are perfect when you want to take multiple shots back-to-back. A fast recycle time is needed when shooting portraits, because you want to catch every emotion, smile and expression (without blinking) as possible.
Unless you plan on making studio photography your career of choice, you do not need to purchase any of the top range lights. Top gear is designed to be more powerful and more reliable to be used all day, everyday, which is needed for professional studio photographers. Low end lighting is still powerful enough to use with DSLR cameras and still just as reliable for a non-professional’s needs. Many of the low end lights last more than 10 years, while others can last even longer. Even the low end lights have a longer, more reliable lifetime than some portable battery flashguns.
Background Lighting in Digital Photography
Photo by: Amy Lynden
