portrait lighting 101 - typepad

Denis MorrisGrade 12 PhotographyPortrait Lighting 101

• What Equipment You’ll Need or Want

• Camera Settings

• Connecting the Strobes to Your Camera

• Basic Lighting Setups

• Basic Subject Posing & Viewfinder Composing Techniques

What We’ll Cover Today:

Equipment You’ll Need or Want


Camera:

• DSLR w/ standard accessories ( memory card & battery )

• Lens: Between 70mm and 135mm w/ large max aperture

• Consider: Cable Release / Remote

Tripod:

• Solid tripod w/ pistol grip head is recommended.

• Other ball heads will also work well.



• Photofloods: These lights have a tungsten filament like a household bulb but produce much more light at high a high wattage (500W).


• Photofloods: These lights have a tungsten filament like a household bulb but produce much more light at high a high wattage (500W).

• White bulbs have a colour temperature of 3200 K and blue cast bulbs have a colour temperature of 3400 K (daylight).

• These bulbs have a short life and the light tends to redden as they age.

Lighting:


• Strobes: Up to 4 strobes w/ modeling lights + light stands

Lighting:



• Light Modifiers:*

• umbrellas

• soft boxes

• reflectors

• barn doors

• snoots

Lighting:



• Light Modifiers:*

• umbrellas

• soft boxes

• reflectors

• barn doors

• snoots

Lighting:

* Light Modifiers redirect, shape & soften light from strobes


Light Triggers / Slaves:

• To trigger the lighting, camera must communicate with at least 1 strobe

• Accomplished by sync cord or wireless remote ( preferred )

• Other strobes triggered by “slaves” ( normally built in, but can be added if needed )


Backdrops:

• Recommended: Backdrop Kit w/ 2 stands, crossbar & backdrop material

• Backdrop materials can be canvas, cotton, seamless paper or other material that is large enough to place behind your subject(s)


Flash Meter:

• Hand-held light meter that can measure both ambient light & flash output levels

• Digital readout easy to read & understand


Seating:

• Posing Stool:

Recommended instead of chair because there is no back & is height adjustable

• Posing Stand can also be useful as platform for arms



• Camera Settings





Camera Settings:

Camera Settings:

• Camera must be set to “M” Manual exposure mode because strobe output is not controlled automatically

Camera Settings:


• If using photofloods, every shot must be metered and set accordingly

Camera Settings:



• In studio flash photography, the shutter speed should be set to the camera’s standard flash sync speed ( ex 1/125 sec )

Camera Settings:



• In studio flash photography, the shutter speed should be set to the camera’s standard flash sync speed ( ex 1/125 sec )

( check your camera manual )

Camera Settings for Strobe:

Camera Settings for Strobe:

Exposure Factors: • Aperture• Strobe Output• Strobe-to-Subject Distance

Camera Settings:


• Flash Meter is used to measure the intensity of light falling onto the subject from the strobe.

• A measurement ( f/stop ) is used to set your camera’s aperture value in the manual exposure mode

• Shutter Speed does not affect flash exposure and should remain at your camera’s recommend flash sync speed ( when ambient light is not being considered )

Ignore what your internal light meter says in your camera’s viewfinder. That is simply an ambient light measurement while the strobes are not firing.

Camera Settings:


Camera Settings:

• Strobe light is similar to normal flash.

• Try setting your camera’s WB to the “flash” preset for a correct colour balance

• If using photoflood set camera to incandescent or daylight (blue bulb)

Camera Settings:

White Balance:

• All other settings including auto/manual focus, resolution, tone, saturation etc are all personal preference and be set as desired

Other Camera Settings:


• Camera Settings





Connecting Strobes to Camera


• Strobes need to be triggered by the camera at the moment of exposure.



• Camera & Strobe Synchronization:

• with a sync cord

sync cord



• Camera & Strobe Synchronization:

• with a sync cord

wirelesssync cord

• with wireless remote ( much cleaner and safer )


• Camera Settings





Basic Lighting Setups:

An Ideal Portrait Studio would have plenty of room with reasonable ceiling height and controllable light.

If there are large windows, dark window coverings are a must.


Handheld light Metering Basics:

• Point light meter towards light source when taking measurement

• Measure lights individually for accurate results

• Measure Main/Key light first

• Set Fill/Hair/Background lights in relation to Main/Key light

45° eye level


45° eye level 45° Horizontal & Vertical


45° eye level 45° Horizontal & Vertical 90° Horizontal & Vertical


45° below (scary lighting)


45° below (scary lighting) 45° Above


45° below (scary lighting) 45° Above 135° Horizontal 45° Vertical



1 Strobe with Umbrella


1 Strobe with Umbrella 1 Strobe no diffusion

1 Strobe with Umbrella and reflector


1 Strobe with Umbrella and reflector 1 Strobe with Umbrella


2 Strobes with Umbrellas


2 Strobes with Umbrellas 1 Strobe with Umbrella and reflector


2:1 Lighting Ratio


2:1 Lighting Ratio


3:1 Lighting Ratio

2 Strobes with UmbrellasPlus 1 Strobe for hair light


2 Strobes with UmbrellasPlus 1 Strobe for hair light 2 Strobes with Umbrellas


2 Strobes with Umbrellas Plus 1 Strobefor hair light and a background light


2 Strobes with Umbrellas Plus 1 Strobefor hair light and a background light

2 Strobes with UmbrellasPlus 1 Strobe for hair light



• Camera Settings





Posing Examples:

To remove the reflection move the lights up... or

Posing Examples: Reflections

Posing Examples: Reflections

...Ask your subject to adjust their pose

GetLets

Started!

THE END

portrait lighting 101 - typepad

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