Usage of studio light

If the subject of the photo is a person, then expressing the person’s facial expression and thereby reflecting a person’s personality characteristics is the fundamental starting point for what we want to express in terms of lighting. In portrait photography, there is nothing more than a frontal view. There are three face directions: face, third (three-quarter) face, and profile face. In this sense, we can talk about the lighting of portrait photography from three aspects:

1: Frontal face lighting

The frontal face is faced by the entire face of the character The shot shows that the parts of the face are symmetrical, but lacks a sense of depth.

According to the three-light lighting arrangement currently used in most photo studios, it is easy to make people appear fat when photographed. Then the most suitable lighting for the frontal face is a central light in a medium position (approximately around 40-45 degrees). The portraits captured by the light in this position have a good three-dimensional effect and can be used for various types of portrait photography. People are interested in The effects of light are also familiar. The character is illuminated by the light from the front and above, the face is evenly illuminated, the face is symmetrical, and there is a harmonious contrast between light and dark. The butterfly light we are familiar with belongs to the light in this position. In actual shooting, as long as the person faces the camera from the front, butterfly light, which was once favored by Hollywood photographers and is still commonly used by fashion photographers, is the best choice. It should be noted that in daily shooting in our studio, due to the particularity of commercial photography, we need fast and convenient lighting, so crocodile light (high and low light) is a very good light based on butterfly light. Studio lighting. It allows the character's face to receive soft and even illumination, and also produces light shadows on both sides of the cheeks to give the character a three-dimensional effect. When shooting with crocodile light, pay attention to two points: first, add reflectors on both sides of the character to reduce the light ratio and make the light transition more natural; second, the character should be located near the vertical intersection of the two light planes.

Another distinctive lighting arrangement for frontal faces is the double edge light located in a horizontal or medium position as the main light. The lighting effect is symmetrical, with a light edge along the entire contour of the head. This kind of lighting is the only lighting method for frontal faces that uses two lights as the main light. Some photographers also call it sandwich light, which means that the two lights on the left and right sandwich the character in the middle to shoot, giving the character a strong three-dimensional effect. When using this kind of lighting in a studio, you must pay attention to the use of front auxiliary light. Generally speaking, high and low lights can be used to illuminate the face directly in front of the character. The intensity of the double edge light is one to two levels higher than the high and low lights. The exposure is based on the front light exposure. The final lighting effect of the character is that the front face is evenly illuminated, and the two sides are strongly illuminated to produce a light and dark contrast effect. The picture is beautiful and translucent. It is not only used in photo studio shooting, but also commonly used in bright-type shooting such as magazine covers.

Two: Lighting for three-thirds of the face

The three-thirds of the face start from just visible one eye to the end of the nose and the outline of the cheek. This position particularly gives people a sense of depth and three-dimensionality. Therefore, when lighting a three-pointed face, the main light should generally be used on the narrow side of the character's face (the side away from the camera), which is basically the center light or cross light position. The three-dimensional effect of the character in this position is very strong. , the picture has a sense of stability. The auxiliary light is used directly in front of the face, that is, in the center, and a reflector is added at the camera position. If the light ratio is properly controlled, at this time, the character's face will gradually transition from the far side to the near side, and the light and dark shades will gradually transition. The light will be even and natural, and the three-dimensional effect will be strong without lacking softness.

In addition, the main light is also often used directly in front of the character's face. The approximate position is in the middle position (about 40-45 degrees). The lighting at this position makes the character's face look three-dimensional. The cheek lines have a strong effect, and the portrait looks very pleasing to the eye. However, since there is a large shadow on one side of the head, we need to place an auxiliary light between the camera and the main light (near side of the face) or at the camera position and control the appropriate light ratio. The transition between shadows must be natural and must not appear. Harsh shadows.

The seven-point face (seven-eighths) is closer to the three-point face. The seven-point face is between the front and the three-point face. The lighting principle is closer to the three-point face. Department, so we won’t go into details.

Three: Lighting the side face:

The side face is easier to understand. In portrait photography, when we want to emphasize contour lines instead of emphasizing the plane effect and perspective effect, You can use the side position.

When using light in the side position, the main light is mostly used in the front position of the character (medium or mid-high center position). In this position, the lighting effect is good, the near side cheek lines are well expressed, and the three-dimensional effect and expressiveness are Both are pretty good and suitable for general portrait photography. The whole picture appears stable. When the main light is in this position, the auxiliary light should be used between the camera and the main light or at the camera position. The auxiliary light must not be placed on the other side of the main light to avoid unnatural tonal transitions on the character's face.

When the main light is used in the far-center position and the far-side cross light position, the three-dimensional effect is good, the style is strong, the near-side facial lines are strong, and the contours are obvious. At this time, the auxiliary light is mostly used directly in front of the character's face or between the camera and the main light. In order to obtain a soft light transition, a reflector can be added to the camera position or the other side of the main light to increase the brightness of the shadows.

At present, the lighting method commonly used in most photo studios is still the lighting method of three lights in front of the character, so in the shooting, whether it is the front face, three faces or side faces, we In fact, you can simply follow this principle: the main light should generally be adjusted accordingly with the change of the character's face shape, and is mostly used on the narrow side of the character's face; the height of the fill light should be slightly lower than the main light, and should be used on the narrow side of the character's face. Side; in most cases, the ground light follows the main light. According to this principle of lighting, we can not only ensure that the characters receive uniform light, but also enhance the three-dimensional sense of the characters.

Of course, there are many lighting methods for portrait photography. Every mature photographer can design reasonable lighting according to his own intentions and specific shooting themes. The lighting for portrait photography is ever-changing. .

Teacher Hu Binqing from Xinjiang Xiuxiu Photography and Makeup Training School