Types of Lighting Used in Photography Studios
- A good portrait is dependent on good lighting.portrait image by Sergey Goruppa from Fotolia.com
Great portraits depend on several things, location or background, posing and grouping of your subjects, and lighting. Lighting is a key element in every photograph because it's what illuminates your subject. Lighting can be used to create a mood, add drama, or it can simply make the subject viewable to the camera lens. A portrait studio typically uses three, sometimes four, different lights to create the desired lighting effects. - The main light is the brightest light in a studio. Used alone it creates bright highlights and dark shadows.portrait image by Magalice from Fotolia.com
The main light is the brightest light in the portrait studio because it is the primary light source used on the subject. Moving the main light around the studio can change how much light is shining on the subject or change the direction the light is hitting the subject, depending on what the photographer wants to achieve. - The fill light fills in the dark shadows created by the main light.portrait image by andreas from Fotolia.com
The fill light is used to fill in the spaces missed by the main light. Without the fill light, the subject is lit, but the areas not illuminated by the main light are shadowed. The fill light helps remove unwanted shadows and keeps the wanted shadows from becoming too dark, balancing the overall effect. - The hair light illuminates the hair, giving definition to the strands.young woman image by Vasiliy Koval from Fotolia.com
The hair light is a light that is often suspended from the ceiling or on a very tall light stand. It looks straight down on the staging area, and is designed to subtly light the subject's hair, creating highlights and shadows among the strands. - The background light can help keep the subject from bleeding into the background.portrait image by Cora Reed from Fotolia.com
The background light is used to illuminate the background and give a sense of lightness behind the subject. A background light can add depth to portrait by keeping the subject from blending into the backdrop.
