Portrait Class
Shutterbugs Camera Club
Formal Portraiture and DIY Options
Diana Fields and Mary Robinson
11/15/2014
Portraiture - Guidelines
1. Eye Direction: Your subject either looks straight into the camera, or their eyes follow the
direction of their nose.
2. Lens Focal Length: Longer is better 70mm-135mm – The further away you get from your
subject, the more compressed the image becomes and this is flattering in portrait
photography. Tends to make people look thinner.
3. Posing: Setting your subject at an angle rather than having them face the camera will
also create a more flattering image as it makes them appear thinner. Full frontal poses
tend to make a person appear heavier. Compositional rules still apply.
4. Avoid bright clothing if possible, you want the person to be the star of the image, not
their clothes.
5. Jaw line: Make sure that your subject brings their head forward slightly, and then tilts
their jaw down and out.
6. Background: Be aware of the background, no walls cutting people in half, no trees
popping out of the tops of their heads. Keep the subject away from the background, the
best portraits show a separation between your subject and the background. Moving
your subject further from the background will increase blur and darken the background.
7. Watch the Nose: When having a person turn their head, the nose goes with it, make
sure the nose does not extend past the cheek.
8. Outdoors: Don’t shoot your subject with the sun shining directly onto the front of their
face, try to use side lighting, it is more flattering to the subject and avoids squinting.
Conventional wisdom says keep the sun behind you, but in these conditions the subject
may have hot/shiny spots and tends to squint. Switch places with the subject.
9. Proper Camera Height: Generally speaking, the camera lens should be at about eye
level for head and shoulders portraits chin level to chest level for ¾ length and chest
level to waist level for full length portraits.
10. Flat Lighting: It is unflattering to the subject and makes for a blah image. Having a
shadow side creates depth and makes your subjects face appear thinner if the shadow
side is closer to the camera. The bigger the light source the softer the light is, softer light
is good!
11. Cropping: Crop between joints not at them.
12. Hair lights: Use sparingly, just enough to define the edges.
13. If it bends, bend it: elbows, knees, etc., creates a more pleasing, relaxed looking image.
14. Group Shots: Do not place one subject directly underneath another.
15. Horizon Line: Outdoor portraits avoid beheading your subject with the horizon line.
16. Focus: Both eyes should be in focus and focus should be fairly sharp back to the ears.
17. Eyes: Some people have one eye larger than the other, place the subject so that the
larger eye is further away from the camera.
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Flash
Normal Sync Flash is a short pulse of light with a nearly instantaneous burst of light. Typically the
duration of the flash is about 1/2000 th of a second. Your shutter speed must be slow enough to
allow for enough light to properly expose your subject. On every camera, there will be a certain
shutter speed at which the first curtain has just barely cleared and the second curtain is just
about to start moving. That specific shutter speed, the fastest shutter speed at which the
entire frame is open, is called the maximum flash sync speed. For instance, Canons use 1/200 th
of a second as their max flash sync speed and Nikons use 1/250 th of a second. Your camera may
have different settings. This is normal flash sync.
High speed Flash sync is released as a pulsing light, rather than short bursts, with durations of up
to 1/4000th of a second. Your flash starts loses efficiency at high speed because the light is
dissipated over a longer period of time. Some cameras have this option, Nikons will do 1/320 th
of a second.
Rear Curtain Sync or Second Curtain Sync– Whereas in normal sync, the curtain just barely clears
the shutter before the second starts to move, with rear curtain sync, the shutter opens and
while it remains open the images sensor collects ambient light and then, as the shutter closes,
the flash fires and illuminates the foreground. Usually used when you are shooting a subject
and would like more ambient light incorporated into the image.
The light from on camera flash/speed-lights mounted on your camera can often be harsh, too
“hot” or too bright. There are a few things we can do, even with the flash still attached to the
camera, which will improve the quality of our light.
Learn how to control the amount of light you want to garner from your speed-light to achieve
your desired effects.
Bounced Flash
Well, assuming you are using a dedicated or automatic flashgun, and without getting TOO
technical, all of the sensors in your camera and flashgun work together. So, your camera will tell
the flashgun how far away your subject is and supply the required amount of light. (For
example, the subject is 3 feet away).
But! If this light is bounced from say, the ceiling, you have just extended the distance from flash
to subject to around 1-3 feet, meaning not enough light will hit the subject and the picture will
be UNDEREXPOSED.
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Fill Flash
Fill in flash can literally save a picture that is in danger of having very hard shadows on the
subjects face, or being overly backlit meaning the face is underexposed.
If you are simply after a basic flashgun for occasional use, a basic model will do. Yongnuo makes
good flashes for under $100. Available at Amazon.
How much flash power do I need? – What camera will you use it with and how far away will
you subjects be? If you are shooting reasonably close sports, you will still need a powerful
flashgun. For big games like football etc, a flashgun will not do. The light will never reach the
players.
Will I need to bounce or swivel the head? – You may not need or use this at first, but as time
progresses you may want to experiment a bit. If you think this is the case, you will save money
in the long run by investing in a decent unit from the start.
Guide Number (flash) Guide numbers proclaim the light output of electronic
flash units. The guide number divided by subject distance represents the theoretical f-stop for
an exposure.
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Light Modifiers:
Reflective Umbrellas:
There are two different types of lighting umbrellas to choose from. Shoot-through umbrellas
are a popular choice, but reflective umbrellas offer certain distinct advantages, especially when
want more control over your light. They're called reflective umbrellas because the interior is
opaque and reflective and the point typically faces away from your subject
When you fire the flash into the umbrella, almost all of the light is reflected directly back at the
subject. Because of the shape of the umbrella, it forms a beam, the concentration of which is
dependent upon the curve of the umbrella itself. A deeper umbrella will produce a tighter,
more focused beam that's very intense at the center and falls off more quickly. A more shallow
umbrella will throw a wider beam of light that has a more feathered appearance at the edges.
The color and finish of the reflective lining can also make a big difference in the look of the
reflected light. A shiny, gold interior, for instance, will produce light that's relatively hard in
appearance and warm in color. A matte, white reflective umbrella, however, will produce a
softer, more neutral light.
While translucent umbrellas like to throw light all over a room, reflective umbrellas are much
better at keeping it focused and contained. So, if you're shooting in a small space or you're
trying to avoid an ugly color cast from surrounding walls, a reflective umbrella is a better
option.
The working distance of an umbrella, much like a soft box, is around twice its diameter and
closer. The depth of the umbrella can significantly affect its placement, however. If you're using
a very deep parabolic umbrella, the beam may be tight enough that you need to back the
reflector up significantly to get sufficient coverage.
Because of the directional nature of the light, placement is extremely important. This is
especially true if you're using a shiny interior because the shadows will be sharp and
pronounced.
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Translucent Umbrellas
These mostly-white umbrellas are often called "shoot-through" umbrellas because they
typically go between the light source and the subject. This is typically one of the first lighting
modifiers an aspiring lighter will work with and there are some good reasons for that.
Rather than reflecting light back at the subject, the shoot-through umbrella acts as a diffuser.
The translucent white material scatters the light rather than focusing it, which typically results
in a much softer light that provides softer shadows.
Because of their scattering nature, shoot-through umbrellas tend to send light all over a room.
So, if you're not careful (or if it's your intention), you may also get light bouncing off of the
floor, the ceiling, and the walls back onto your subject. In fact, if you want even lighting across a
small room, one carefully placed translucent umbrella may be able to provide it
Essentially, a shoot-through umbrella's main job is to increase the size of the light source as it
relates to the subject, which makes it a softer and more flattering light.
Because of their ability to throw light in many directions, the shoot-through umbrella is one of
the most forgiving lighting modifiers, which is something that makes it appealing to beginners
or shooters that need to work in a hurry. The light does, however, maintain some distinct
directionality, so you can't just throw it anywhere and expect it to look perfect.
Because of their shape and their translucence, you can sometimes get a "hot spot" near where
the center of the umbrella is pointed. You don't want that to land directly on your subject's
forehead or it may cause an unpleasantly bright highlight.
The closer you get the umbrella, the softer your light will be. The same can be said for getting a
larger umbrella. It's worth noting, however, that if you're using small flashes, you may need to
use more than one to fill a larger umbrella.
The larger-sized models are also more likely to throw light about the room, so don't be
surprised if your shadows are even more filled in than you expected.
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Soft Boxes
You can get a nearly unlimited selection of sizes, shapes, materials, and diffusion options to
match just about any lighting need you may have. A softbox is a box that fits over a flash head
or tungsten lamp made of black sides, with white, gold or silver interior and a translucent front
where light passes through. A softbox is most popular for it's soft, even light. Softboxes are
used heavily in portrait photography and many other types of commercial photography.
Softboxes come in various sizes for different lighting circumstances. The larger the light source
is relative to the subject, the softer the light will be. In addition, the closer a softbox is to the
subject, the softer the light will be. For this reason, small softboxes are typically used for small
object photography or for dramatic lighting of larger objects. Larger softboxes are most often
used for people photography.
Soft boxes serve to make your light source both bigger and more diffuse than it would be
without a modifier. You're essentially taking the the small bulb of your flash and growing it to
the size and shape of the front of the soft box.
Some soft boxes, have a closed back into which the light fires, reflecting light forward and
adding another level of softening. Other boxes have an opening at the back through which the
flash fires forward, letting the front panel and inner baffles handle all of the diffusion. The
former offers more even light across the front of the box, but requires more flash power, while
the latter needs less oomph, but can sometimes suffer hot spots in the light pattern.
The light that comes from a softbox is directional and diffused making it a light that is easy to
control. The Softbox eliminates hot spots and evenly distributes the light as well. Accessory
grids can be attached to the front of the softbox to keep light from spilling onto unwanted
areas of the scene.
Soft boxes are, by nature, directional, but they follow the universal rule in that bigger boxes
throw softer light than smaller ones under the same conditions.
The working distance of a soft box starts at roughly two-times the diagonal measure of its front
panel, In real life, however, you'll likely often find yourself moving it in closer than that. Any
further, however, and you start to lose some of the softening effect.
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One thing some users neglect is the fact that changing the positioning of the front panel can
actually affect the light you get out of a soft box. The deeper the front panel is set into the box,
the more directional the light becomes. So, if the front diffuser attaches with Velcro, moving it
further back into the box will actually make your light more concentrated, giving you deeper,
sharper shadows.
If you want more diffuse light out of your soft box, many give you the option of adding another
diffuser inside called a baffle. This will also, however, cause you to lose more light from your
flash and require more power.
A small soft box will offer an improvement over a bare flash in almost every case, but many
people choose to go a bit bigger, opting for a 2' x 3' or 3' x 4'. There's also a very popular 50" x
50" square. Why is bigger more popular? Because it mimics that coveted window light we
photographers love so much.
Beauty Dishes
Metal Dish, kind of looks like a big salad bowl, used a lot in fashion photography where makeup
plays a key part in the portrait equation. Need to use it close to your subject.
Ring Light
You can find these as stand-alone units (popular with macro photographers) or as an adapter
for a small speed light. Ring lights give macro photographers even illumination on tiny subjects.
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You can use a ring light as a secondary light or rim light coming from behind the subject. It is
important to get close enough to be noticeable. If you use this light too far from the subject it
can give you the same harsh look as you get with your pop-up flash.
Rim Lighting
Rim light is the creation of a thin line of light to outline the shape of the subject.
You will usually need to point a light source at an angle that strikes the subject from behind and
to one side. When the light source is narrow, or otherwise modified or positioned so that a
large amount of it does not also reach the lens directly from the source, you’re in good shape.
85 mm lens,
1.5 meters = approx 5 ft 1.2 meters = approx 4 ft
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Snoot
A snoot is very much like a spotlight and can mimic the beam of the flashlight.
Wherever you point your snoot is where the light will go. You need to be sure that whatever is
on the other ends needs to be lit up. It can be used as your key light and typically makes the
face very bright while dropping off quickly. If used correctly you can achieve a very dramatic
look in your portraiture. It can also be used as a detail light which can draw the viewer to some
point in the image.
Grids
A grid looks like a honeycombed disk, varying in size and length. It usually attaches directly to
the front of the light. You can stack grids to magnify the effect of the beam.
Grids are used like snoots, to narrow the focus of the beam of light emitted by your light
source.
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Gels
Gels are used to change the color of your light, you can tweak the color of your light, balance
out the scene and prevent mixed light disasters.
Reflectors
The difference between a photographer and a snap-shooter is determined by the ability to
consistency achieve the desired outcome through the use of tools, techniques, and artistic
vision. Quite often, available light is not sufficient to fill your subject’s shadow areas, or the
light may be too intense for your desired outcome.
The best way to compensate for light deficiencies is to add reflectors to your set.
Tips for Using a Reflector:
Use the reflector to bounce ambient light toward your subject. DO NOT use it to reflect
direct sunlight.
You can use a reflector from a lower angle, but avoid this if it’s creating an unflattering
under lighting pattern.
Reflectors generally come in white, silver, and gold colors. Try to match your reflector
color to the scene. For example, a gold reflector might be perfect for a beach or “golden
hour” shot. A good alternative to those shiny reflectors is a white reflector or any white
panel. You might have to bring it in very close to the subject’s face and angle it for a
pleasing fill.
Reflectors can be used any number of ways, and what’s good about them, as opposed
to augmenting the ambient light with flash, is that you can see the effect of using them
in real time. This will allow you to adjust their position and angle until you see what you
like, and then snap the photo. You can even use them to block/flag light, create shade,
or as scrims (using white translucent panels) to tame down direct sunlight.
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One light setup with reflector.
One Light
Setup
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DIY Options White Poster Board, Aluminum Foil covered Poster Board (Reflector), White
tablecloth background.
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Two Light Setup
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Two Light Setup
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Diffuser/Lite Panel
Key Light – Beauty Dish
Camera
Three Light Setup
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The Six Portrait Lighting Patterns
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Short Lighting: good for most subjects
Broad Lighting: when you want to make a narrow face look fuller
Rembrandt Lighting: very classic, dramatic
Split Lighting: one half of the face is in light, the other in shadow
Butterfly Lighting: glamorous, old Hollywood, forgiving lighting
Loop Lighting: creating a small shadow of the subjects noses on their cheeks
There are plenty of other lighting styles which build upon these basic portrait lighting patterns,
but everything starts with the main light as described in the sections that follow. Remember
that it is shadow that defines form in a photograph.
1) Short Lighting
Short lighting is often used as a corrective technique to help make rounder faces look a little
thinner. In this portrait lighting pattern the main light illuminates the subject on the shorter
side of the face, where the distance seems shorter from nose to ear (or nose to the edge of the
cheek), from the camera’s perspective. Another way to think about this is that when the subject
has her head turned to one side, you are lighting the side of the face that is farthest from the
camera.
2) Broad Lighting
Here the main light illuminates the subject on the broadest area of the face, from the camera’s
perspective. When the subject has her head turned to one side, you are lighting the side of the
face that is closest to the camera. This portrait lighting pattern simply places visual emphasis on
the area of the face turned toward the camera–the area more in-line with the camera axis.
3) Rembrandt Lighting
This portrait lighting pattern, named after the Old Master painter, has a very classical look. The
main light is positioned high and to one side of the subject creating a shadow from the nose
that meets with the shadow from the side of the face opposite the light. The generally
recognized definition of Rembrandt lighting, where photography is concerned, prescribes the
use of the main light on one side of the subject’s face in just the right position as to create a
triangle, or diamond shape, of light on the shadow side just underneath the eye, to extend
down toward the mouth.
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4) Split Lighting
Here, the main light is positioned to illuminate one side of the head while casting a full shadow
on the other side (think of the center of the nose as marking the border). Split lighting visually
divides your subject into light and dark areas of the image. If your subject is facing the camera
directly when split lighting is employed, their face is likely to have a distinct shadow cutting
vertically right down the center. The effect is rather dramatic and a low-key but high-contrast
image is the typical result. Of course, you can change the ratio of the “split” by altering the
position of the light or camera. Contrast can be adjusted, too, but as you increase the fill
lighting, or widen your tonal range between light and shadow, you’ll lessen the effect of the
split.
5) Butterfly Lighting
Butterfly lighting also known as Hollywood, Glamour, or Paramount lighting is identified by the
butterfly shaped shadow that appears directly beneath the subject’s nose. It’s reminiscent of
Old Hollywood glamour photos and can be very dramatic. The main light is placed in front of,
and somewhat above, the subject in order to create this look.
Keep in mind that each of these portrait lighting patterns is often combined with fill lighting or
other lights to create many different looks. Try experimenting starting with the basic 45/45
lighting position and move the light and/or your subject in order to reproduce the portrait
lighting patterns described above. Don’t forget that a lighting setup shouldn’t dictate your
posing; it’s just a good place to start.
6) Loop Lighting
In loop lighting, we want a slightly downward angled shadow (not too much) so we raise the light
slightly above eye level, about 30-45 degrees from the camera. We want the end of the nose to cast a
rounded–looped–shadow down from the nose to around the corner of the mouth or even a bit shorter.
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Butterfly Lighting Setup
Key Light. For this lighting setup, the key light is placed high and directly in front of the subject’s
face, parallel to the vertical line of the subject’s nose (see diagram above). Since the light must
be high and close to the subject to produce the desired butterfly shadow, it should not be used
on women with deep eye sockets, or no light will illuminate the eyes.
Fill Light. The fill light is placed at the subject’s head height directly under the key light. Since
both the key and fill lights are on the same side of the camera, a reflector must be used
opposite these lights and in close to the subject to fill in the deep shadows on the neck and
shaded cheek.
Hair Light. The hair light, which is always used opposite the key light, should light the hair only
and not skim onto the face of the subject.
Background Light. The background light, used low and behind the subject, should form a
semicircle of illumination on the seamless background (if using one) so that the tone of the
background grows gradually darker the farther out from the subject you look.
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Rembrandt Lighting Setup
Key Light. The key light is moved lower and farther to the side than in loop and Paramount
lighting. In fact, the key light almost comes from the subject’s side, depending on how far his
head is turned from the camera.
Fill and Hair Lights. The fill light is used in the same manner as it is for loop lighting. The hair
light, however, is often used a little closer to the subject for more brilliant highlights in the hair.
Background and Kicker Lights. The background light is in the standard position described
above. With Rembrandt lighting, however, kickers are often used to delineate the sides of the
face (particularly the shadow side) and to add brilliant highlights to the face and shoulders.
When setting such lights, be careful not to allow them to shine directly into the camera lens.
The best way to check this is to place your hand between the subject and the camera on the
axis of the kicker. If your hand casts a shadow when it is placed in front of the lens, then the
kicker is shining directly into the lens and should be adjusted.
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Split Lighting Setup
Key Light. In split lighting, the key light is moved farther to the side of the subject and lower
than in other setups. In some cases, the key light is actually slightly behind the subject,
depending on how far the subject is turned from the camera.
Other Lights. The fill light, hair light, and background light are used normally for split lighting.
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Rim Lighting Setup
Key Light. In rim lighting, the key light is placed behind the subject so that it illuminates the
profile of the subject and leaves a polished highlight along the edge of the face. The key light
will also highlight the hair and neck of the subject. Care should be taken so that the accent of
the light is centered on the face and not so much on the hair or neck.
Fill Light. The fill light is moved to the same side of the camera as the key light and a reflector is
used to fill in the shadows (see the rim-lighting diagram above).
Hair and Background Lights. An optional hair light can be used on the opposite side of the key
light for better tonal separation of the subject’s hair from the background. The background light
is used normally.
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Loop Lighting Setup
In this diagram the black backdrop represents the bank of trees behind them. The sun is coming
over the trees but they are completely in the shade. A white reflector is used at camera left to
bounce light back into the subjects’ faces. The reflector may or may not be in the sun but you
can still pick up light even if it’s not. Just play with the angles, by changing the placement of the
reflector you can change the lighting pattern. For Loop lighting it will need to be somewhere
around 30-45 degrees from the camera. It also needs to be slightly above their eye level so the
shadow or loop of their nose angles down towards the corner of the mouth. One mistake often
made with reflectors is to place them down low and angle it up. That lights up the bottom of
your subject’s nose and does not create a flattering pattern .
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Common Portrait Lighting Mistakes
1. Under Lighting
Under Lighting, or strong lighting from below the center point of the face, can be very
unflattering. In fact, this type of lighting is often used in horror films to create long shadows
upward across the face, at an unnatural angle. It’s a great way to convey tension and/or create
a menacing look, but not something you’d want to do for most types of portraiture.
With traditional portraiture lighting, the main light is positioned above the center point of the
subject’s head. The 45/45 position is a good example of this because it models the face in a
way most of us are accustomed to. We’re hard-wired to recognize and appreciate faces the
way we see them illuminated by the sun (and other overhead lighting).
Since most portraiture lighting is setup for subjects who are sitting or standing, you’ll need to
adjust your light as the orientation of your subject’s head changes. For example, if your subject
is in a reclining or horizontal position, make sure that your main light isn’t coming in from an
angle that illuminates from below the face.
2. Subject Disappearing Into The Background
If you’re a fan of one-light portraiture, you might be guilty of this one. You’ve created an
otherwise great-looking portrait featuring a nice representation of at least most of your
subject’s face, but it’s hard to distinguish much of his hair and form from the background as
they both disappear into the shadows.
Yes, this look might make for a dramatic portrait; a visual metaphor for “disappearing into the
shadows.” But more often than not, it just makes for an incomplete likeness. This isn’t to say
you shouldn’t use dramatic shadows at all, but it can be a good idea to separate the figure from
ground; define the subject’s form and give the viewer a sense of subject-to-background
separation.
Accomplish this by changing the values of the tones between subject and background. You can
either add some light to the background, a little fill on the shadow side of the subject, or
highlight the edge of the shadow side of the subject with rim or hair light.
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3. Using Too Much Fill Light
Flash is a powerful lighting tool for daylight portraits and other times fill lighting is needed. It
can help fill in the shadows so the lighting on the subject is more balanced with the ambient
light. But it can be easy to use too much flash in this situation, creating portraits that look
unnatural or that make it too obvious that flash was used.
This is a lighting issue common with beginners, especially where close distances and on-camera
(or pop-up) flash is being used. Indoors, or outdoors at night, on-camera flash is typically your
main light, but if it’s too strong, you can end up with a seemingly “washed-out” subject against
a black hole of a background, or at the very least, a shot that looks unnatural.
The fix for this is to somehow even out the ratio between the ambient light and the flash
striking the subject. This can be accomplished any number of ways, including adding more
ambient light to the background, redirecting your on-camera flash to the side or back behind
you so the light spreads more evenly throughout the room, and/or increasing the duration of
your exposure (using a slower shutter speed) so that the ambient light has more time to record.
Outdoors, on-camera flash is often used as fill lighting to add some illumination to your subject
when the ambient light present in the foreground isn’t powerful enough to compete with the
light in the background. Again, too much flash will overpower rather than balance the lighting.
Depending on your camera and flash features, the fix for this might be to simply dial down the
flash output with an adjustment to your flash exposure compensation setting. Of course, you’d
dial the flash output upward if you’re not getting enough of a fill light. You might use this in
conjunction with an adjustment to increase/decrease the ambient light by using your camera
controls or general exposure compensation.
4. Making Your Subject Squint
Continuing with poor lighting in daylight situations, one thing beginners often overlook is the
effect of bright light on their subject’s eyes and expression. When shooting outside, or with
bright continuous lighting, the lighting and your camera settings might be in sync for good
exposures, but if your subject is squinting, it’s probably not going to result in a great portrait.
Adjust or modify continuous lights so they’re not unnecessarily bright when shooting indoors.
Outdoors, find a location that allows your subject to look away from bright direct or ambient
light. If nothing else, have her put on a pair of sunglasses to disguise the squinting.
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5. Direct (In-Your-Face) On-Camera Flash
Using unmodified, direct on-camera flash is itself often considered a portrait lighting mistake.
Sure, straight-ahead, in-your-face flash can give your shot a look of immediacy or spontaneity,
and is a good device for achieving the always popular amateur aesthetic. But, it’s that harsh,
unflattering snapshot look you’re probably trying to avoid with your images. If you’re using a
type of camera that doesn’t protect your subjects from red-eye, direct on-camera flash gets
even worse.
Avoid direct frontal flash by simply turning your external flash head and aiming it a nearby wall,
or backward up toward the ceiling and wall behind you. This will spread the light of your flash
more evenly around the room, creating a nice soft, more natural lighting. If your flash doesn’t
have a swivel/tilt feature, and only points forward, use a flash sync cord or bracket that allows
you to use the flash away from the hot shoe. If this doesn’t give you enough room for what we
normally think of when we talk about off-camera flash, you’ll at least be able to turn the flash
toward the wall/ceiling to get the desired effect.
6. Back Lighting Causing Subject Underexposure
Strong back lighting and automatic camera settings often result in an underexposed (dark)
subject against a normally (and sometimes overexposed) background. This can happen when
your subject is in the shade or facing away from a strong light source, like the sun, when having
their photo taken. The light from the background is simply overpowering any ambient light on
the subject. If you’re not attempting some type of artistic silhouette, this look is rather
undesirable.
There are two remedies for this: You can pop in some fill light as mentioned earlier, or you can
increase your exposure to make sure the subject is properly exposed (easy to do if you’ve shot
your image in Raw), and not worry about the background exposure, which will likely be
overexposed, or entirely blown-out to white.
7. Lighting a Face From Extreme Angles
Just as under lighting can create horrific shadows moving upward across the face, lighting the
face from any extreme angle can cause troublesome shadows. But the shadows are only a
problem if they indicate unwanted detail, like bumps and wrinkles on skin that should
otherwise look smooth.
So, if you’re shooting a glamorous or beauty headshot, you’ll probably want to steer clear of
heavy side lighting and opt for a more frontal and diffused approach; big light that fills-in the
shadows created by all those little imperfections normally found on a face. A clam shell
approach or a big softbox with a complimentary fill light on the opposite side will do the trick.
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But if you want to really bring out the “character” and details of, say, a distinguished senior
citizen, or someone who’s face really tells the story of living a hard life, or something to that
extent, strong side lighting is a good choice.
8. Absent Catchlights
Catchlights are those little sparkles in the eyes; those little dots created by the sun, or a strong
flash or reflection. Without catchlights, the eyes can look dull and lifeless. Even with good
lighting to work with, sometimes a slight tilt of the head or some obstruction prevents the light
from reflecting catchlights toward the camera. However, if you make sure to get those
catchlights in a subject’s eyes (especially slightly to the left or right of the 12 o’clock position),
your portrait will be more engaging. If there are multiple sources of light in a scene, sometimes
more than one catchlight will show up in each eye, and that’s fine.
One good way to ensure catchlights show up in your photos, is to look for them when posing
your subject. That’s easy enough to do when working with ambient light. In those situations, if
you aren’t getting the catchlights you’re happy with, an old trick is to use an external flash with
a small or built-in bounce card extended a couple of inches over the flash head, with the flash
pointed at between 45-90 degrees up.
With studio or location portrait lighting, simply having your main light setup in the traditional
position of at, or near, the 45/45 position, will usually do the trick. Adjust the position of the
main light as needed to get the catchlight result you want.
9. Hair Light Too Strong
Hair light is typically bright enough to be considered a “hot” or overexposed area in a portrait.
But the hair light, and often the associated shoulder highlighting, occupy small and important
parts of an image to indicate form and background/environment separation, so that’s okay, up
to a point. This type of light helps to add dimension, visually popping the subject out from the
scene.
Although hair lighting is typically a little hot/bright, you can go too far with it if you’re not
careful. And what works on a brunette might not work as well on someone with light blond
hair. My advice is to take a few test shots and see what works best for a given subject. If
you’re shooting several headshot subjects in succession, and it isn’t possible to take test shots
for each, just use two standardized settings, one for darker hair, one for lighter hair. You can
determine these settings in advance, or on-the-spot with your first subject from each color
group.
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10. Light Too Small (Or No Modifier)
What makes light soft and diffuse across the subject’s face and form? It’s the size of the light.
More specifically, it’s the size of the light relative to the subject. If you point a regular,
unmodified flash directly at your subject from a few feet away, you’ll likely end up with the look
of harsh lighting; heavy contrast.
For any light, including on-camera flash, fix this by effectively making the light source several
times larger. On-camera flash portraits can be greatly improved by using a large bounce card or
mini-softbox. Personally, I prefer using a nearby wall or wall/ceiling combination as a reflector
when using on-camera flash; the reflector becomes the light source, and it’s a very large one!
Size of Light Source
With off-camera lighting, you can use softboxes, shoot-through umbrella modifiers, and
multiple lights to create larger light. Just remember, the more light you have bouncing around
the room, and/or striking the subject from different angles, the smoother the transitions from
light to shadow on your subject. That means less contrast and the appearance of softer light.
11. Color Casts and Mixed Lighting
Lights from different sources (e.g. household lamps, fluorescent lights, mercury vapor lamps,
natural light, flash) may produce color casts in your images if your camera’s white balance (WB)
setting isn’t properly adjusted. For example, using a WB setting of “Tungsten” when shooting
outdoors in daylight will result in a strong blue color cast. Because your subjects probably
won’t appreciate an unnatural green, blue, or orange tint to their skin, being aware of color
casts and learning how to compensate for them is a good idea.
Fixing a general color cast on any photo is easy enough. If you have a Raw file, simply adjust
the WB setting in your Raw converter (e.g., Bridge, Lightroom) after the fact. You can
sometimes adequately correct a color cast in a JPEG with some simple color adjustments in
your image editor.
An example of mixed lighting is when you’re shooting indoors where tungsten (warmer light) is
predominant in a room or background area, but you’re using flash (cooler light) on your
subject. In this scenario, if your WB is set for “Flash” your subject will record normally, but the
background might show up more orange than you’d expect. Conversely, if you set your WB to
“Tungsten,” the ambient light/background, that is unaffected by the flash, will record closer to
white (less orange), but your subject, illuminated by the flash will have a significant blue cast.
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12. Bad Reflector Technique
Reflectors are a handy tool for portrait lighting, but they are often misused. Poor angle choices,
using the wrong reflector color for the situation, and too much light on the subject can all
create undesired results.
Posing Guide Links:
Women
Sample Poses for Photographing Women: Part 1
Sample Poses for Photographing Women: Part 2
Men – Sample Poses
Children– Sample Poses
Couples– Sample Poses
Groups of People– Sample Poses
Weddings– Sample Poses
B & H Photo
Posing Everyone Video
Flash Videos
Getting the Most of Canon Speedlites
One Speedlight, Multiple Looks
Speedlites: The Power and Possibilities
Controlling the Light: Beginners Guide to Off-Camera Lighting and Control
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Glossary
Ambient Light-The natural, available light in a scene. Also known as existing light.
Automatic Power Zoom-The zoom head is automatically adjusted according to the focal length
of the lens in use.
Backlighting-The light coming from behind the subject.
Bounce Lighting -Using the bounce feature on a Speedlight, light is bounced off a reflector,
ceiling or wall to soften or diffuse the light’s intensity.
Catchlight- A reflection of the actual light source in the eye. It shows up as a little white spot.
Feathering Pan or tilting the light so that its dim edge is used to light the subject.
Flash Output Level Compensation-Flash compensation used to increase or decrease the output
power of a Speedlight unit.
Fill-flash-A technique to brighten dark shadow areas, often used when the subject is located in
the dark shadow.
Fill Light-A light that supplements the key light without changing its character, used to lighten
or open shadows within a scene.
Front Lighting -Light coming from the direction of the camera toward the subject.
FP Auto High-Speed Sync -Auto high-speed flash synchronization enables compatible cameras
and Speedlights to sync at the camera’s highest possible shutter speed. This technique
minimizes depth of field and freezes high-speed subjects.
Flash Synchronization -A means by which a Speedlight is fired at precisely the moment when
the camera’s shutter is at its peak opening. Also referred to as flash sync.
Front Curtain Sync-Also referred to as Normal sync, the flash fires immediately after the front
curtain opens completely.
Fv flash value Lock-Locks in the appropriate flash exposure for the main subject, which remains
locked whether the aperture, composition or lens zoom position is changed.
Guide Number (flash)-Guide numbers declare the light output of electronic flash units. The
guide number divided by subject distance represents the theoretical f-stop for an exposure.
i-TTL/e-TTL Metering-Through-The-Lens (TTL) flash metering using monitor pre-flashes for
unprecedented levels of precision and performance.
Key Light-Also called “main” light is the principal source of light on a subject or a scene.
Rear Curtain Sync-The flash fires just before the rear (second) curtain starts
to close for special effects photography where the blur appears behind the subject
Repeating flash-The Speedlight delivers a stroboscopic effect, firing the flash continuously at
selected rates.
Side Lighting-Light shining on the subject from the side relative to the camera, often casting
long shadows.
Slow Sync flash-The flash is controlled at a slower shutter speed to obtain the correct exposure
for both the main subject and the background in low light situations or at night
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