Shadows give your portraits a sense of depth and shape. Here’s how to achieve the ‘Rembrandt’ lighting pattern, and turn a grey background to almost black. This portrait is all about controlling the tones across an image to create just the right mix of interest and sophistication. Here’s how you can do it. I’ve positioned a large, hexagonal softbox to Mark’s right. It’s just far enough forward that a patch of light has formed a triangle on his left cheek, …
Sometimes a gentle, subtle portrait is the best representation of your subject. Here I used feathered, low key lighting and a narrow tonal range to capture a studio portrait of a young woman, Julia, wearing a hat. Low key lighting refers to the predominance of dark tones and shadow areas in an image. This lighting style can be more atmospheric and give a greater sense of depth and shape than high key lighting; a good shoot/portfolio will include a mix …
The pros and cons of working with a beauty dish, and how to use subtractors to reduce the amount of light bounced around in a white-walled studio. The hardest part of capturing this portrait was stopping Meg from laughing as we took it. Meg is our studio assistant (and all-round superstar), and is normally on the other side of the camera. This shot came about because Meg asked me to capture matching shots of Meg and her mum lit in …
Often, the simplest things are the best. Here’s how you can replicate my go-to studio set-up to get flattering lighting and shaping shadow in your portraits. One light, one reflector and a low camera angle: this is my go-to studio set-up. Here’s why I love it and how you can replicate it for your portraiture. I’ve got my main light source – a big soft box – to the left (as we’re looking at it) of Symone. I’ve asked her …
Sometimes you’re aiming for a specific look, but your subject arrives wearing something that doesn’t align with your vision. Here, I had been planning an image with dark tones, but my model was wearing white. I’m a fan of portraits with a narrow tonal range, as they look more subtle and sophisticated (to my eye, anyway). They also enable me to bring the viewer’s attention to the face more easily, as I light faces to be the brightest part of …
The cover of Mastering Portrait Photography features a portrait of young Ben (who is now a professional rower!). Here’s the story behind our most famous image. You don’t compliment a writer on their keyboard, but so many times good photographers are told ‘you must have a good camera’. Well this was taken on a 6MP Nikon D100, yet it made the cover of our international reference guide, Mastering Portrait Photography. Here’s the story behind the image. Ben was just six …
I was planning a high key shot of Lily in her stunning red dress, but opted for a more painterly, low key set-up instead. Find out why it’s easier to work with one light than multiple ones, and peek behind-the-scenes of this set-up. Here is the lighting used for the image in this video. JOIN NOW to view this and hundreds of articles, videos, critiques and discussions dedicated to the art, passion and business of portrait photography! JOIN NOW! LOGIN …
I do love a black and white portrait, so after shooting to emphasise Lily’s stunning red dress, I started to plan some black and whites next. First off is a low key couple’s portrait where the focus (and the lighting) is shining on Lily as she reaches up for a kiss from her partner, Sam. JOIN NOW to view this and hundreds of articles, videos, critiques and discussions dedicated to the art, passion and business of portrait photography! JOIN NOW! …
No studio? No problem. It’s cheaper than ever to get flash guns that you can use on- or off-camera. In fact, some enterprising brands are now offering complete sets of flash guns with transmitters and receivers for under £200. With a little bit of thought and one or two light modifiers (including a simple white-painted wall), you can recreate studio-style portraits in any location. In this video, my friend, neighbour and very patient portrait sitter Bob steps into the studio. …
Natural light is variable and impossible to control, whereas artificial light provides a consistent and adjustable light source. You don’t have to wait for the right time of day, or for the weather to clear, if you have studio flash or flash guns. Learning to use studio lighting is also great training for on location shooting – visualise where you would place the lights in a studio and find ways to replicate that with whatever light you have available to …