Studio Lighting

Probably not what you want to hear but I think it's a good thing you don't pronounce the shape of your model's nose so much, so having it blend in to the rest of her cheek works IMO.

I can still see a subtle hint of the shape of the shadow so it's not a complete washout if you're referring to the light side of the nose. The shadow side may need some lightening or less contrast. Overall it's a well lit shot, colors good. I don't have anything to offer to make it better, but there will be others more experienced with lighting to offer more helpful suggestions.

It would help to indicate what you're trying to communicate with this shot.

There's some things you can do to avoid the wash out of the nose/check. You can move the light source closer, and the fade will be quicker, that will highlight the nose more. I wouldn't do this though-- it'd high light the nose, not just seperate it from the face.

You could broad light it, instead of short lighting the picture-- but that would change a lot of your set up.

Your light isn't too high, but you are over exposing the skin there. I'd dial it back a stop on that light. I think that will suit you best.

Lastly, and for this one I've not really experimented here as much as I should myself, you can try subtractive lighting. Add a black bounce out of frame to the right so that it's opposite of the side of the nose. This will keep spill light from bouncing back and on the short side of the nose.

I'm self teaching at the moment. It's more about the technical aspects of marketable studio portrait photography for me right now, and not the art side of things. I'm moving very slowly so I am sure and confident that I understand how light affects my subjects. This problem frustrated me because when I tried to correct it, I lost the catch light, and the move effected the background in an undesirable way as well.
I have also received a very helpful message in my inbox from Alan Marcus. There is a light bulb over my head now, and he made things click for me.
Thank you so much for you input I'm so looking forward to setting up again. I'm confident now that I will be able to determine what I need to achieve the results I am after.
I cannot thank you all enough for just being here and having some knowledge. It was very difficult for me to find the help I needed. I'll be sure to come back if I ever have troubles again.

Maybe you could share what Marcus told you so others who come across this thread can benefit and learn from the knowledge.

That's what these forums are about.

O.K. here it is... I hope he doesn't mind

For the most part, photography is a two dimensional media. I know that sometimes we work in 3D but that is an exception. Because we work in 2D we need the shadows cast by the sun or our studio lighting to present an illusion of depth. Additionally controlling the depth of the shadows is critical if we are to do good and repeatable work. This is especially true for pictures of humans (portraiture).



The key resource we have at our disposal is the control of the difference between highlight and shadow. We can do this by carful placement of our lights in the studio. What I am saying is, the key resource you have is control over the lighting ratio you use (portrait lighting setup).



For serious portraiture you will need one light called a main or sometimes called a key. You also need a second light called the fill. The main is usually set high and off to the side to simulate afternoon sun. If only a main lamp is used, it is highly likely that the shadows cast by this main lamp will be too deep. By too deep I mean dark and void of detail. Such an image is too contrasy thus the client is not likely pleased nor judges if you enter a contest.



To mitigate the too dark shadows cast by the main you can employ a white reflector. Likely, the best is foam core insulation sold at home depot or other hardware stores. This works just fine but I think the use of a two light setup is best because you can control the contrast of the lighting with ease.



First, consider: Portraiture is the study of the human head, a round figure spotted with projections and valleys. We light to give an illusion of depth. Additionally most believe we should preserve an illusion that just one light was used (comes from a study of the old master working in oil on canvas), if multiple directional shadows are detected, the picture will look weird. Therefore, we light using a main light fixture set high to simulate midday sun. We position the main in such a way that the shadows that result enhance features. Long nose; light with short nose shadow. Short nose; light with long nose shadow. Oval face; light from the front, to make the face appear more rounded. Fat face; light from the side, keeping the opposing cheek in shadow to give an illusion of a thinner face. Positioning the main is an acquired skill.



Now for contrast control: Both film and digital lack the dynamic range of the human eye/brain. When taking a picture we see detail in the shadows that the camera is unable to record. Thus for fine portraiture, we are forced to diminish shadows, this translates to filling the shadows with light. Otherwise, the shadows record void of detail. You are advised to fill shadows from the cameras prospective. This is accomplished by positioning a fill lamp somewhere along an imaginary line drawn between camera and subject. Its elevation is set to lens height. OK if fill strays off this line as needed to prevent the fill fixture from getting into the way of the camera's view.



We start with a two-lamp set-up



Consider a portrait 2:1 (Flat Lighting):We place the main high and off to the side causing it to shine down on the subject. Let us say the main delivers 1000 units (watts if you like) on the subject. The fill is placed near lens axis and adjusted to deliver light to arrive at the subject plane with equal light energy as the main. Thus the main and the fill each contribute 1000 units of light. Now the frontal part of the face receives light from both. Thus the total on the frontal areas of the face will be 2000 units. Now some areas of the face are in shadow. These are locations where the main could not reach, we are talking about dimples and valleys and nose shadow etc. Consider the circumstances; 2000 units on the frontal areas and 1000 units in shadow areas. Mathematically this can be stated as a ratio. The ration is written as 2000:1000. This is handled like a fraction that can be reduced by dividing both sides by same number; in this case 1000. The reduced ratio is written as
2:1. This 2:1 lighting ratio is flat nearly featureless.



Now consider a portrait set-up 3:1 ratio (bread and butter lighting). This one wins contests and sells best. To achieve we reduce the fill energy at the subject plane to half power as compared to the main. We might do this by setting, a knob on the fill lamp or we can just move the fill fixture further away from the subject.



We can calculate the fill-to-subject distance (assumes both main and fill are identical). We measure main-to-subject distance and multiply this value by 1.4. The answer is a revised fill to subject distance.



This added distance reduces the light energy playing on the subject by 50% (1 f/stop). The 1.4 factor is derived from a law in physics known as the inverse square law. The idea is to cause the main to deliver 1000 units and the fill 500 units. Now consider the frontal area of the face get light from both fixtures. The values are 1000 main + 500 fill. Thus the frontal areas receive 1000 + 500 or 1500 units. Shadows receive only the fills 500. Ratio is 150:50 reduces to 3:1. This is achieved if the fill is subordinate to the main by 1 f/stop. You can also place main and fill using a meter. The trick is again 1 f/stop difference, fill subordinate.



Consider 5:1 somewhat more zippy lighting.



We reduce the fill to 1/4 power by knob on the unit if available or by setting the fill even further back. If the fill is at the 2:1 distance (same distance as main), we multiply by fill-to-subject distance by 2. If the fill is positioned at the 3:1 distance, multiply fill-to-subject distant by 1.4. You are after a two stop difference with the fill subordinate to the main. How is this 5:1? This placement causes the fill to be 2 f/stops subordinate or 25% of the mains energy. Now the frontal area receives 1000 from the main and 250 from the fill for a total of 1250 frontal and 250 in the shadows. The ratio is 1250:250 or 5:1. This is contrasty lighting.





Consider 9:1 somewhat theatrical, very zippy lighting.





If we reduce the fill to 1/8 power by knob or measurement 3 f/stops subordinate to the main. From the 2:1 position the multiplier is 2.8 from the 3:1 position the multiplier 2, from the 5:1 position the multiplier is 1.4. Main continues to delivers 1000 units the fill 125 units. Thus the frontal areas receive 1125 the shadows 125. The ratio is 1125:125 = 9:1 This is a 9:1 exceedingly contrastry lighting considered theatrical. Note 9:1 is the maximum ratio. Any more reduction and the shadows will be void of detail.



To review:

Main at 4 feet fill at 4 feet ratio is 2:1

Main at 4 feet fill at 5.6 feet ratio is 3:1

Main at 4 feet fill at 8 feet ratio is 5:1

Main at 4 feet fill at 11 feet ratio is 9:1



It is no accident that the fill-to-subject distances follows the f/number set which is 1.4  2  2.8  4  5.6  8  11  16  22.

Note each value going right is its neighbor times 1.4.

Each value going left is its neighbor divided by 1.4

I call this kind of math gobbledygook





The third lamp can be used to illuminate the background. It is placed low behind the subject aimed up at the background. Its distance to background determines the apparent density of the background. It can be made to appear white of gray or black. Lamp-to background distance also obeys the 1.4 factor method or knob settings or metering.

Hmmm... the nose problem you posted doesn't seem to be effected by the fill or ratio though. Your lighting ratios tend to go with your mood and energy in the picture. It's good info, but it would have been easier to link you to the Lighting forums archives of moderator posts. They have some great tutorials and examples of all kind of things.

There's a simpler way to do the arithmetic described in Melinda's post. Just take the square root of the larger number used for your lighting ratio. Use this number as a multiplier to find the increase in distance from the main light position to the fill light position. The light you move further away from the model is always the fill light. You can make the task of moving the lights much easier by using ones that have the same output for both your main and fill. This method works for all ratios including fractional ones such as 3.5:1. Even the simplest dollar store calculator has a square root key these days.

Thanks for sharing, Melinda. Let us know if those excellent lighting instructions work by posting the final results that gets you what you want. I'm not quite sure what you're after.

In the mean time I thought you might like to consider what can be done in post if you happen to want to take that route. It took me about 15 minutes noodling around in Adobe Camera Raw on your jpeg to get these results.

I should have told you which lighting ratio I mean. There are two ways of looking at the same lighting setup for a portrait session. One ratio, called the portrait lighting ratio, compares the brightness of the highlight area with the brightness of the shadow on the subject itself, and the other compares the brightness (strength) of the main light with the strength of the fill light. The method I described before applies to the ratio of the lights themselves.

I think an explanation of how to measure these two ratios will help clarify what they are. You can measure both of them with a grey card and a light meter on your set. Direct measurement is the traditional method for determining lighting ratios. Once you have positioned your subject and established the location of your main light you can find the location for your fill light. Pick an arbitrary ASA for your light meter and ignore the shutter speed it tells you because you want to use the meter only to measure how bright your lights are and not to expose any photos. Don't change your meter while you take your measurements. You can have your model hold the card for you or you can simply prop it up in front. Both the main and fill lights should illuminate the card fully and clearly. Hold the meter close enough to the card so that the card is about all it sees being careful not to get in your own shadow.

Now the ratios. A ratio is a comparison of two measurements that expresses the relationship between the two from the point of view of the larger one. 2:1, for example, means that the first thing is twice as much as the second one. The way of looking at the same relationship from the opposite point of view of the smaller one is to write it as a fraction. 1/2, for example, means that the smaller value is half of the larger one. Both expressions mean the same thing.

Turn on the fill light by itself and take a reading from the card to begin figuring out the portrait ratio. This establishes the intensity of the shadow area. Now turn on the main light and take another reading from the card. This is the intensity of the highlight area. Both lights are on and you can see that the fill light contributes to the highlight area. Move or change the fill light and repeat your measurements until you get the ratio you want. The fill light contributes to the highlight area, but the main light does not add anything to its own shadow area.

Measure the intensity of the lights themselves in the same way, but do not turn the main and fill lights on at the same time. Turn them on one at a time instead to measure them separately. You should find that the number for the highlight in a portrait ratio for a subject is always one more than the number for the main light measured directly. That is, you achieve a portrait ratio of 2:1 by setting both the main and fill lights at the same intensity. The direct light ratio for this is 1:1. Likewise a 3:1 portrait ratio has a 2:1 direct light ratio. A 4:1 portrait ratio has a 3:1 direct light ratio, etc. 3:1 ratios are more difficult to understand and set with a light meter* so it may help to have the deeper understanding presented here. Its easier to measure the 2:1 direct light ratio than it is to measure the 3:1 portrait ratio.

We have gotten to the point that we can appreciate the value of a direct calculation instead of a measurement. This is what I have addressed. Begin to establish the portrait ratio you want by reducing the larger part of it by one to get the direct lighting ratio. Now take the square root of the larger part of the direct light ratio to find the adjustment factor to use to establish the location or intensity of the fill light. If you physically move the fill light multiply the distance from the main light to the subject by the factor to find the new distance for the fill light. Using your insight into the ways for expressing a ratio, switch the numbers to turn it into a fraction to set the intensity on a variable light unit that allows you to turn it down to a third or fourth of its power, for example. This type of equipment may eliminate the need for you to calculate anything at all except to convert the portrait ratio to a direct ratio. Set the units the same distance away from the subject with this approach. You can make all of these calculations with an ordinary inexpensive calculator.

Once all this is done and you want to shoot, make sure to reset your light meter to match your camera settings if you continue to use it. (I don't know how many people use hand held meters any more. The type of measurements take here can be difficult to make with only the meter built into a camera. I believe that this helps validate calculation as a way of setting up lighting ratios providing the method is not too difficult to follow.)

* This is because the system built into conventional photography uses the convention that each major measurement either halves or doubles the value of the next adjacent measurement. You can learn to work with thirds and fifths, etc., but you will feel that you are fighting the system to some extent.