How to focus the light when taking photos

The use of light in portrait photography, or how to illuminate it, is not only a basic skill, but also an important part of reflecting the level of the photographer. Compared with arranging the character's posture, arranging props and selecting the background, the use of light plays a decisive role in the final image of portrait photography. Because photography is essentially drawing with light. Therefore, when photographers get together, in addition to talking about money and cameras, the conversation is often about things like which lamps to use and how to use the light.

When it comes to lighting in a photography studio, four major categories will naturally be mentioned: 1. The main light, which is the first choice light that determines the lighting pattern of the subject, while other lights can only play a role. to a supporting role. The main light used in modern studios is usually emitted by a soft light box. The reason why a soft light box is used is because the light it emits is relatively uniform and easy to control. The so-called soft light box actually puts one or several light bulbs into a box, and illuminates the subject through a soft box cover (usually made of plastic or textile) that can scatter the light. Larger, the more bulbs, the stronger the power and the wider the lighting range. For ordinary photo studios, a soft light box with a diameter of about one square meter is sufficient. The distance and angle of illumination can be adjusted as needed, and the exposure is determined based on the main light.

2. Fill light, also called auxiliary light. As the name suggests, its role is to supplement the lighting of the shadows and make the shadows lighter. In fact, the fill light can be the same soft light box as the main light, and the light ratio between it and the main light can be adjusted through the lighting distance or output power. If the exposure of the fill light is 3 stops less than the main light, the light ratio is 1:3, which means that the result will be darker shadows. If the intensity of the fill light is close to the main light, say half a stop, then the shadows will become very light. For simplicity, the fill light source can be fixed on the ceiling or wall, and the depth of the shadow can be controlled by adjusting the output power. As for how to achieve the best light ratio between the fill light and the main light, you can only rely on repeated experiments.

3. Background light. In most cases, the subject is at a certain distance from the background. Since the illumination of the light source obviously weakens as the distance increases, and the background is further away from the light source than the subject, the brightness of the background is much darker than that of the subject. If the exposure is based on the lighting conditions of the subject, the background will appear darker, resulting in the subject appearing to blend into the dark background. If the photographer doesn't mind this background effect, of course there is no need for background light. But if you want to distinguish the subject from the background, it is necessary to illuminate the background separately, so there is the so-called background light. However, the use of background light must take into account the background color, distance, lighting angle, etc. If it is not done well, it will be self-defeating. Therefore, the background light needs to be adjusted repeatedly to use it just right. In order to evenly illuminate a seamless background, it is sometimes necessary to use two lights.

4. The hair is shiny. Due to the development of portrait photography technology, the so-called hair light has gradually evolved from an unnatural beam of concentrated light projected on the head to one or more broader and softer lights, which not only prevents the hair from becoming a pitch-black mess , and can also outline the outline of the subject, so it is also called "separated light". This method of lighting is now quite common, with small soft light boxes or strip lights used for this purpose. This kind of hair lighting can also be implemented by reflecting a beam of light through the ceiling, but attention should be paid to controlling the lighting range. If it shines on the nose, it will not look good.

The above four types of lighting are the basic methods of lighting for portrait photography. These four methods can be applied flexibly according to needs. You can use four or two or three types at the same time, or you can use only the main light plus Reflective panels. As for using natural light for portrait photography in the studio or outdoors, the light sources used are natural light on site and reflectors. Of course, a combination of natural light and lights can also be used.

At this point, perhaps all lighting methods have been involved, and these methods can be said to be sufficient. This is the normal practice of photographers. However, for portrait photography, the portraits taken by the existing lighting methods sometimes still make people feel that there is something missing. In short, in a word: not exciting enough. So, what are the clever ways to solve this delicate problem? There is still a way, and that is to use another kind of light - accent light.

The function of accent light is to add a bit of brightness and momentum to the portrait, highlight the subject's form and enhance the three-dimensional effect, or draw people's attention to the part illuminated by the accent light. In a photography studio, this kind of light is usually a small range of unscattered, strong light that is very punchy. It can be seen that it does not cost much to set up this kind of light. It can even use a mirror to reflect other light sources, such as a portable flash, into the picture, which can play an emphasis role. If a flash is used as the light source, it can be placed on a stand and the flash can be synchronized with other lighting through a servo switch, that is, a photoelectric starter. The main reason for using mirrors is to control the lighting range of the accent light. In order to obtain the best effect, the accent light is usually emitted from the side and rear of the subject, and sometimes it enters the lens, which actually destroys the image effect. Therefore, in order to ensure that the lens is not affected by glare, a black cardboard light shield should be placed between the accent light and the lens.

The intensity of accent light generally does not have very strict regulations, because different photographers pursue different effects, but you may wish to use a brightness that is one aperture higher than the main light as the starting point for test shooting. However, even if the accent light is the same intensity as the key light, it will produce a rather dramatic effect because its light quality is stronger and the angle of the illumination causes the light to bounce back towards the lens. By the way, if a flash is used as an accent light source, all other light sources present should be turned off when measuring the intensity of the accent light.

Using accent lights can enhance the drama and three-dimensional effect of a portrait without being cumbersome or expensive. With a little practice you can master this technique, and the results will take you to the next level of portraiture.