Studio Lighting

Studio lighting...

Studio lighting is a very important part of taking a the perfect shot because if they lighting is wrong it could change the whole look to the image. For example if you do an amazing makeup beauty shoot but the lighting is dul its going to make your image look dull as well which isn’t very flattering for a beauty shot. Also you need to make sure you the correct lighting for the type of image you are trying to achieve.  For example if your trying to achieve an edgy look with an attitude kind of style to it then using a soft lighting isn’t going to give you this effect.

Different types of lighting..

· Background- Background lighting is when you can light up the background behind your subject, this can create nice shadows.

· Spot light- This light is normally on some sort of stand or tripod and is a very direct light, this can make a very powerful and strong image.

· Soft box- A soft box lighting system is normally square with a translucent fabric over the lamp to provide diffused, soft light over your subject.

· Umbrella-  The umbrella light is to reflect the spot light onto your model, you can also change the colour of these.

· Reflector- You can get different reflectors for example gold, sliver and white. These are to bounce the light in different directions. It is a good tool to use to get rid of unflattering shadows.

Background lighting is good to use to help get rid of any shadows that maybe behind your model or subject. Sometimes these shadows are nice because they give more depth to the image for example in fashion clothes advertising it may look good because of the 3D effect you get from it but in a beauty image where your trying to make the main focus the lips or eyes you don’t want anything else distracting you from the subject. Overhead lighting is a good lighting to use if you’re trying to provide a sense of normal sunlight.  This is created by using a soft box but above the subject. Using spot lighting can also be a good way of getting a really edgy look, it works best on men because it does mean you can see the skins imperfections but with men that works quite well for a edgy look. Using a gold reflector creates a lovely golden glow on the subject really nice for beauty shots.

Catchlight in a models eye is really important because this makes the model look alive and not fake. This is where you can see a section of light in the models eye, which is really important as it adds life to a portrait.

I’m going to test a few of these techniques out when practising in the studio, because I think its important to trial these techniques out before you plan a shoot because then you can judge what the final outcome is going to ne simular too ones you have already practised.