Pixiq

A classical portrait lighting arrangement uses three or four different light sources: the main light, the fill light (or a fill reflector), a hair light, and a background light. Before we continue, a few caveats are in order. Sometimes, if you are after a more dramatic effect, you might decide against using a fill light or fill reflector at all. Also, there are muslin and canvas portrait backgrounds available (such as those from Adorama’s Belle Drape Line or Denny Manufacturing’s Old Masters line) that have a lighter area painted onto the center of them, and by using one of these you might be able to eliminate using a real background light altogether. In fact, the two samples I’m using in this section use only three lights each. On one, I eliminated the background light because I used a painted muslin that had a light spot painted on it; in the other, I didn’t use a fill light because I wanted inky black shadows to make the portrait more dramatic. In any event, the specific type of lighting equipment used is not as important as how the lights all work together. Each light has a specific job to do, and the way each light is set up is usually fairly consistent from shoot to shoot.

The Main Light

As the name implies, this is the primary light source illuminating the subject. Usually it is a broad source, set at a 45°–60° angle from the lens axis that lights the short side of the subject’s face, thus creating a triangular highlight on the broad side of the subject’s face.

The Fill Light

This light lessens the shadows caused by the main light, and its intensity in relation to the main light determines how deep or open the shadow side of the face appears. The fill can be a second light source (usually another broad source), or a reflector of some sort, but these are usually positioned differently from each other because of how they work. If the fill light is another light source of equal power, it is should always be farther away from the subject than the main light and usually positioned close to the lens axis, but on the opposite side of the lens axis from the main light. It is always farther from the subject than the main light so that its effect is reduced. Both its distance and position are chosen so that the fill light doesn’t create a distracting second set of shadows on the subject’s face. If a reflector is used for the fill, and it is placed an equal or greater distance from the subject than the main light, then it is always less powerful than the main light. A reflector is usually positioned opposite the main light, as opposed to closer to the lens axis, because that position allows it to more efficiently catch and reflect the main light’s beam back toward the subject.

The Hair Light

The hair light has two assignments: It illuminates the subject’s hair, making it sparkle, and it separates the subject from the background. It is usually fitted with a light modifier that limits the width of its beam so as not to create lens flare. A hair light is usually mounted on a boom arm so it can be centered over and behind the subject’s head, or it can be placed behind the background, peaking over so its support stand is hidden. It is usually 1/2 to 1-1/2 stops more powerful than the main light depending upon the subject’s hair color.

The Background Light

As the name implies, this light illuminates the background but, unlike the other three light sources, it has the least consistency in how it is used. It can be placed high and to the side of the background with a light modifier narrowing its beam so that it slices across the background. It can be fitted with a light modifier to narrow its beam and be placed low and centered or off to a side to illuminate the lower half of the background. It can even be a broad source depending upon the background’s size, or it may even be two or more lights combining broad and hard sources to illuminate the background and spotlight details within it. Background lights are usually 1/2 to 1-1/2 stops less powerful than the main light, depending upon the background’s color and how you want it to appear.

Note how often “usually” is used in the descriptions of the four light sources. While I can guarantee that using the suggestions cited will almost always produce a stopper portrait, there are literally millions of other ways to create beautiful portraits—but you should at least understand and try these suggestions. Also note that “always” is rarely mentioned above. These absolutes are etched in stone because they refer to the definitions of what the lights do. If you are working with two lights of equal power, and move the fill light in closer than the main light so that it becomes more powerful, it is no longer the fill light because it has, by definition, become the main light. If you were to do this, then the main light automatically becomes the fill light. The point here is that by mentally assigning each light a title, and understanding the definition of that title, it is easier to understand how to position them.  

The techniques described here don’t always have to be followed to the letter. Photography is a creative pursuit, and bending and breaking the rules is one of the best ways to get exciting new photographs. But you’ve got to start here, building your simple house, before you can tear it down and start over on your masterpiece. Also, there will be days when you’ll find yourself shooting a portrait while you are juiced up on a cold medication and you’re blurry eyed from a 102° fever. When one of these days happens (and if you become a pro, it will happen), you can wrap yourself in the warm blanket of basic technique and experience and still get the assignment done.