Portrait Blog

Fill light- A second light source can be referred to as “fill light.” This reduces the depth of shadows and makes facial features look softer.

Main light- This is brightest light on a subject or scene. This can be either the sun or a studio light.

Hair light- This is the light used to illuminate the subjects hair.

Background light- The light that is placed behind the subject of a picture.

Shadowless lighting- Use of a speed light to create a background with no shadows, called “Soft Light.”

Butterfly- A shadow casted under the nose shaped like a butterfly.

Loop- Lighting used to create a soft shadow of the subjects nose on their cheeks.

Split- A single light source is placed 90 degrees offset from the subject and slightly above eye level. It lights one side of the face and leaves the other in shadow.

Rembrandt- Lighting technique achieved using one light and a reflector. Popular in portrait setting because it appears natural and uses minimum equipment.

Grey Card- A middle grey reference, used with a reflective light meter. It is a way to produce consistent image exposure.

Hard light versus soft light- Hard light creates harsh, dark shadows. Soft light creates less crisp shadows and will appear more “clean”.

Strength - shutter speed and aperture's appropriate to portraits- Aperture should be largest available. Shutter speed should be at least 1/125 to freeze any camera shake.

3:1 lighting ratio – The light discrepancy between two light sources is one and a half f-stops.

Inverse square law of light (remember photography)- An object that is twice the distance from a source of light will have a quarter of the illumination.

TIPS:

24.  The worst way to get a “candid” expression from your subject.  Whenever I go on a shoot, I always try and get an assistant that can help pose the subject and make them laugh and play so that I can focus on the photography.  My pet peeve is when the assistant says something like, “You look so stiff!  Loosen up!”  Ugh!  Telling the subject that they don’t look good only makes the situation ten times worse.  Never tell the subject they look stiff or they need to loosen up.  It backfires 100% of the time.

35.  Learn the famous S pose.  Every human being who could ever be considered a portrait photographer must know the s-curve.  It’s essential posing education, and I’m definitely going to be teaching it greater detail in my 30-day portrait photography class.  Basically, the model does this pose by making the (camera right) side of a model make the shape of an S with the shoulders and hip creating the right edges of the S.

59.  Never allow the model to wait on you.  Nothing kills the excitement and energy of a shoot more than making the model wait for 10 minutes for the photographer to work on getting lights set up and camera settings properly prepared.  Get your gear ready before the model ever shows up so you can keep the energy moving.

63.  Get a hair light.  Putting a flash or the sun behind the subject is perfect for making the model pop of the background.  This is especially true when the subject has dark hair and the background is also dark.

73.  Long noses should look straight at the camera.  To minimize the distracting look of a long nose, shoot the model head-on and with the chin slightly up.  This helps to mask the flaw so the viewer can see the person without distraction.

75.  Try not to show the flat portion of the hand.  Hands can look distracting and unnaturally large in a photo of it is turned 90 degrees to the camera.  It’s best to have the hand curved away slightly from the camera.

76.  Choose your poses before the shoot.  Making a shoot list and possibly printing off some examples can help you to keep the energy of a shoot moving.  Like the picture of the model dancing on the left, you’ll never get the great and creative poses that you want until you work for it.  Sit down and spend some time thinking of creative poses, and when you get out to shoot portrait photography, don’t be afraid to try some new things.