The nose shadow is a good "telltale" or barometer of main light
placement. For good 3D modelling you want the nose shadow to fall
down and to the side opposite the light. Starting with the light
about 45 degrees from the camera axis (imaginary line between the
camera lens and the subject it is pointing at) and 12 or more
inches above the subject is a good starting point.
Which side to put the light on? That depends on the pose (angle of
the face as seen from the camera) and the desired lighting effect.
It also depends on the person's features; most people have a "good"
side.
Having the face straight ahead (full face) will produce similar
(but opposite) lighting on the front of the face if you move the
light from one side to the other (from the aforementioned 45 degree
position). What does change is the side of the head which is in
shadow. Thus, if a person has a "good" side (i.e., better than the
other one) you'd want to put the key light on the good side and
hide the "bad" side in the shadows. In general only people with
narrow, very symetrical faces (e.g., models) look best full face.
The second basic pose is the 2/3 view. Here the subject turns
their head sideways to the camera until the profile of the rear eye
socket and cheekbone is visible. In otherwords you don't want to
see much skin (i.e., the side of the face) behind the rear eye.
You don't want to cut the eye in half either. With this pose which
side the light is on makes a BIG difference.
If the subject is looking towards the key light it will fall on the
front of the face and into both eyes, producing catchlight
reflections of the light which give the eyes sparkle. The broad
side of the face turned towards the camera falls into the shadows.
Overall the 2/3 pose, combined with this "Short" lgihting on the
face will make the face look much thinner than full face,
especially for subjects with round face.
If the subject is looking away from the key light the broad side of
the face, and the ear (if visible) but only half of the front of
the face will be illuminated. This "broad" lighting makes the
face look very wide and having half the face in shadow is not my
idea of a good portrait.
Now for the fill. It's not rocket science. Its function is to
lighten the shadows created by the key light to within the range
the camera can record, and what looks natural. By changing the
intensity of the fill relative to the key light (i.e. lighting
ratio) you can alter the mood of the photo from dark and
introspective (e.g., portrait of an old man or firefighter) to
light and fresh (e.g., children or a bride).
The conventional, and some might say logical, place to locate the
fill lght is next to the camera so it will fill all of the shadows
the camera sees. One can also place a fill light on the side
opposite the key light, but this may create secondary shadows or
muddle the modeling of the features created by the key light.
Since you are starting out, I'd suggest keeping it near the camera.
If you are using a reflector for fill, alone or to in addition to a
fill light, it obviously must be positioned somewhere it can catch
and reflect the key light. That means on the side opposite the key
light, or a north-facing window if using daylight. If you start to
get highlights from the fill panel in your shadows it is too close.
As for whether to use white or silver for the key and fill, it
depends on the lighting effect you want. Bouncing into white, or
shooting the flash through it, will produce softer highlights and
shadows than the silver, which is more focused and specular.
The color of the background influences lighting. Its difficult to
create a true high key with only two lights because one of them
needs to be used to illminate the background. Even low key (dark
field) photos benefit from having a separate light dedicated to
controlling the appearance of the backdrop.
A fourth light on a boom over the subject, on the side opposite the
key light is often used in portraits to create a highlight in the
hair on the shadow side and provide enough rim light on the head
and shoulders to separate a dark haired / clothed subject from a
dark low key background.
Chuck Gardner
Hi,
I just got my two AB800 and two umbrellas. I read the posts on this
site
and there are so many opinions as far as the placement of the main
and fill light with the relationship to the subject. I have one
white and one silver umbrellas. Can someone shed a "light" on the
subject.
Thanks,
Steve Provisor
