Front side lamp for portrait photography

Lead: Forelight, the most commonly used light in portrait photography, is the light projected from the oblique side of the camera to the subject at a 45-degree angle. This kind of light is projected on the oblique side of the subject's face, which can clearly reflect the bright side, gray side and dark side of the subject's face, and has a strong three-dimensional effect, so it is rich in color tones and can better show the skin texture of the subject.

First, the front light distribution:

When the front light is distributed, a beam of main light is first distributed from the front of the camera at an angle of about 30 to 60 degrees to illuminate the subject and illuminate the whole person. One side of a person will form a bright face, and the other side will be in the darkness of a small area of light. In order to reduce the contrast between light and dark when shooting portraits, a reflector is usually placed on the dark side to brighten the dark part.

Second, the front lighting effect:

When the position of the main light moves in the range of 30-60 degrees in front of the camera, the light effect of the light projected on the subject's face will also be very different. When taking portrait photos, when the main light moves to 30 degrees in front of the camera, the face of the subject will be illuminated in a large area, but the light will be stereoscopic and clean when it is projected in a small area on the dark side. When the main light moves 60 degrees in front of the camera, the illumination area of the subject's face decreases, the projection of the dark surface increases, and the stereoscopic impression is enhanced. If the angle is not well controlled, the light is easily confused. Therefore, two kinds of light effects are the most commonly used when distributing the front light.

1. Front light ring light effect: When a main light is projected on the subject near the camera in front of the camera, the subject's face is illuminated in a large area, and the ring projection of the nose can be extended to the face properly without being too large, which can be controlled artificially. The position of forehead bone, eyebrow arch, cheekbone, mandible and chin on the face just forms an annular dividing line between light and shade, so the light is very three-dimensional, and because the area of five senses is hit,

2. Triangular light effect of front light: When the main light is projected on the subject at the position far away from the camera in front of the camera, the illumination area of the subject's face decreases and the projection of the dark part increases. At this time, the projection of the nose side extends directly to the face side and is connected with the projection of the cheekbone and mandible. At this time, some lighting areas just form an inverted triangle shape, and the light is very stereoscopic, which conforms to people's visual habits and depicts the skin texture very delicately. Therefore, this kind of light effect has always been adopted by portrait photographers.

Iii. Precautions for front side lights:

When using the front side light, if the subject is a male, use a harder light source to enhance the light ratio and show male masculinity; If it is to express women, soft light should be used to express them, and the light ratio should not be too large to show women's feminine temperament. When taking portraits, each subject's face is different. Always pay attention to the position, angle and intensity of the main light and the distance of the subject, and try to use the light cleanly and stereoscopically.