The most basic lighting knowledge in portrait photography

I can always hear the saying that photography is the art of running out of light.

Although a good photographic work is not only the transformation of light and shadow, it also fully shows the important position of light in photography. Today, I want to start with the most basic types of light.

The light that directly strikes the surface of an object from the front is called Guang Shun. If this light hits the face directly, there will be no shadow on the face, so the whole look will be very flat. I remember there was such a lamp in the photo.

The light that shines on the subject's face at a certain angle is called front light, which is also the most common light distribution method in portrait photography. It's just that there will be shadows on people's faces, and the whole will have a three-dimensional effect. In general, if conditions permit, the Rembrandt lighting method in the picture will be used.

The light forms a 90-degree angle with the face of the subject, which is easy to produce the so-called yin-yang face. If you want to shape some tough guys, you can try using.

The light shines behind the subject, which is usually used as profile light in the studio to separate people from the background. However, in natural light, when the camera faces strong light, it is prone to exposure errors. Generally, it is necessary to adjust the spot metering to aim at the face. If you use it well, you can have a good feeling.

In daily situations, we can also reach out a hand directly and look at the shadow on our arm to judge what kind of light position we are in. Because it rained when I came back from work, I couldn't take some photos of the shadow under my arm. I'll use the pictures in the book for the time being.

Today, I will share with you four basic lighting positions: forward lighting, front lighting, side lighting and reverse lighting, which can basically be applied to most portrait positions. Tomorrow, let's continue to share Rembrandt's lighting methods along this topic.