2. Interview Lighting
• in course of developing skills of lighting; lesson most important.
• concepts covered will reappear in many other lighting setups
• more you understand them, both individually and in the way they work
together to create an effective image, the easier it will be for you to adapt
them as needed in a variety of situations; will help create your own
distinctive lighting style.
• can turn on each light in the setup individually to see its effect; can view
entire setup to see placement & choice of fixtures too
• 4 lights: Key, Fill, Hair, & Edge, form the basics of a well lit portrait
3. Simple Light Setups
• one light will do the work of both Key
and Fill
• second small light from behind to add a
little shine to the hair adds a finishing
touch
• in example: 500-watt Omni-light
w/nylon umbrella worked well for the
single Key / Fill light & 125-watt L-light Single light (Omni-light 500 W) w/umbrella,
providing shine on hair & shoulders
positioned to function as Key light, w/enough
• *don't forget to make necessary
changes in height of your stand & softness to act as Fill light too; single light
exposure change to camera as adjusting result
position of lights
• Perhaps situation calls for more or less
powerful bulb or a different fixture; get
feel of working w/small hard source
(can really see where shadows are)
• then add umbrella & see by increasing
relative size of the light source you
increase its softness
4. Background Light:
•lighting background of a set; a whole or
specific areas.
•lighting objects in background that are
significant to image
•contributes to creating separation between
subject & background
•often function of light is fulfilled by more
than one fixture at a time & possible to use
multiple background lights
5. Background Light Options
Setup with Slash Accent Omni-light 500W focusable Setup with Color background Omni-light 500W focusable
• slash Accent
• 'treat’ background using slash of light made by • color Background
putting two barndoors close together on hard
light source • popular technique in news/magazine format; TV
• the image to the left shows a slash created by • provides contrast of color & feel between
a focusable Omni-light. Focusing the light to environment & subject
flood will give a larger and more consistent
output level to the slash. • added red gel to Omni-light; focused wide
• mix slash w/general background fill (less enough to cover background area of shot
prominent) or use slash accent in darker
background to increase its effect; coloring • use barn doors on fixture to trim any spill that
slash w/gel is common approach may fall on subject
6. Background Light Options Background Light Techniques
Setup with Highlight AccentL-light with 100W lamp Setup with cookaloris pattern Pro-light, 250W
Highlight Accent How you deal with backgrounds depends on whether it is part of the story or
A more practical approach to adding visual just a neutral setting for your subject. Either way you may notice the
interest to the background would be to add a background level is usually down, or less bright than the subject. However it is
not unusual to highlight something in the background for interest. A plant or
highlight to an object in the setting. dim lamp is a common set dressing.
For the setup used in the Viewer above, we created a mottled shadow pattern
In this shot, we used a tiny L-light with 100 on the background by shining a hard light through a cookaloris (a random
Watt lamp directed to place a small pool of pattern cut into wood, foamcore, or black foil). It was lit by a 250W focusable
light on the flowers and the picture frame. The Pro-light, a hard source. If you look at the Setup shot in the Viewer, you will
see the cookaloris, tho' the Pro is hidden from view by the Rifa Key light.
hard light character of the lamp created a
sharp shadow.
By the time you've put up your Key, Fill, Hair and Edge lights you might have
light bouncing off the walls and ceiling lighting up the background too much.
You can try turning off any room lights, or by adding distance between the
The result looks like it have could come from subject and the background. In combination with these is the ability to control
track lighting or a recessed ceiling light, adding the lights you've placed in the setting.
to the natural feel of the effect.
Setup with cookaloris patternPro-light, 250W
Since large broad sources tend to spill on the background consider using an
Egg Crate on any softlights you use. Other lights should all have barndoors to
direct light only where it's wanted. You can finesse more by specifically
flagging spilled light from where you don't want it.
10. KEY LIGHT
Key Light defined: The primary or dominant source
of light in a shot. It often suggests an out of frame
source. Choice of fixture (hard or soft) and its
position will help set the mood of the shot.
11. Soft Key Light
In the setup shown in the
viewer, the Key light is a
very soft Rifa-lite 88 fitted
with a 1000-watt bulb and
a soft Egg Crate to control
its spill.
Look at the cheek closest
to the camera. Notice the
effect; the shadow line Full lighting with Soft
running down the cheek. KeyRifa 88, 1000W
Begin to notice how often Soft lightRifa with
you see this in movies, Fabric Egg Crate
television, and
photographs. It's
everywhere isn't it? Simple Light Setups
12. Hard Key Light
This is an example of a hard Key light, instead of soft. We are
using a 250-watt Pro-light. Notice the difference? The transition
between the light and dark areas is more dramatic. If you move
the key light until you see a light triangular patch under the
near eye, you've achieved what is referred to as Rembrandt
lighting.
Rembrandt actually experimented with having the main light
coming from many directions but this is the look that stuck to
his name. You may notice that both soft and hard key lights are
approaching the face from the far side of the face, from the
camera. What is referred to as the short side.
While it doesn't always have to be so, it is very common and a
safe place to start. It might be so popular because it has a
slimming effect on the
Full lighting with hard Key
Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of a Lady with an
Ostrich-Feather Fan, c. 1658/1660
Pro-light, 250W Focusing Hard light
13. Key Light Techniques
When you practice placing the Key light on your subject, keep an eye on
the shadow it creates from the nose.
The nose shadow is easier to see if you use a hard light but blends more
attractively when you a larger soft source. As a start, find the angle and
height for your Key light that places that shadow along the crease between
the nose and the corner of the mouth.
Now try placing your light so the nose shadow is nearly gone. This will
happen when your light is anywhere from directly in front of the subject,
assuming they are facing slightly away from the lens, to directly over the
camera. You will start to lose the shadow line on the cheek as you come
around but the effect may be what you want.
Bringing the Key light 'face-on' is effective for lightening the shadows from
wrinkles. Used with makeup it is even more effective. While this position
tends to allow light to spill onto the background it is usually more Bad nose shadow
important to have the subject look good. If possible you could move the
subject and lights further away from the back wall to allow the spill to fall
off. This position is very flat light so you need to balance the needs of filling
Reduced nose shadow
wrinkles or a slimming effect.
Hatchet lighting
Another look is what is sometimes called Hatchet lighting. Here the shadow
line runs right down the center of the face. It can be a dramatic effect
when paired with little or no fill lighting or some edge lights. You may also
have to adjust the height of the key light to better fill deep set eyes. A
larger softer light will be able to do this without causing the nose shadow
to become distracting.
14.
15. Fill Light
Fill light defined: Fill is used to lighten shadows and
control contrast ratios (the ratio of amount of Key
to Fill light). Combined with the Key light, Fill light
helps define the mood by lighting the shaded areas
in a range of intensities. It can vary from none, to a
level equaling the Key light.
16. Fill Light Techniques
More commonly, you may begin to consider light placement
positions near the camera to hide the shadows behind the subject
or more off to the opposite side from the Key light.
When the Fill is directly over the camera it adds to the Key light's
exposure so consider adjusting for it. The near-the-camera
position can be considered when you want to both fill shadows
and still maintain a little modeling on the subject. You will most
often need a less intense light for the Fill side.
As with the Key light you could adjust the distance to lessen the
intensity as well as by adding scrims or neutral density gels to the
light. While it could be most any kind of light, a Fill light is usually a
soft source so using an umbrella or a softbox is common.
Images A & B to the right show differing levels of Fill light. Notice
how image A looks more fully lit, while still maintaining the Key as
the dominant light source, and the reduced Fill in image B
increases its dramatic effect.
A) Lower ratio of Key to Fill lightB) Higher ratio of Key to Fill lightC)
Double Nose Shadow
Probably the only wrong way to do Fill is if it adds another set of
visible shadows; visible to the camera that is (you only need to
worry about what's in your frame).
Image C shows a closer view with a double nose shadow. This is
caused by having a Fill light that is almost as strong as the Key,
placed in a position so that the shadow the nose throws on the A) Lower ratio of Key to Fill light
opposite side of the face, visible to the camera. Always look
closely at your shot to see if your lights are creating unintended
consequences.
B) B) Higher ratio of Key to Fill light
C) C) Double Nose Shadow
17. Fill Light
Fill light aloneRifa 44, 250W Soft light
After setting the Key light, you may find that the darker side of
the face is too dark for your tastes. There are several methods
for adding Fill light to reduce the shadows.
In the setup shown in the viewer at the beginning of this
lesson, we have chosen a Rifa-lite 44 soft light, with a 250-watt
bulb, with a soft Egg Crate to control the spill.
This doesn't just apply to lighting faces. Anytime you are
treating the side left shaded by the Key light you are working
on the Fill.
The amount of Fill that is added depends on your taste (or the
preference of the person who hired you). Keep in mind the
'look' you are attempting; especially if you are shooting
something that is dramatic.
Fill light alone
Generally you can most easily alter the mood of a shot by
raising and lowering the intensity of the Fill. In fact on some Rifa 44, 250W Soft
soap operas the main difference in lighting between a daytime
interior scene and a night setting is they drop the Fill almost all
together and light the background a darker than normal.
light
18. Reflected Fill Light
Another method of providing Fill is by bouncing the
Key light off of a reflector. A specular reflector (the
shiny hard side) will kick back nearly as much light
as the Key light shining on it, in the same degree of
hardness that strikes it.
In the example shown, the soft Key light is being
reflected. A stippled reflector surface will soften the
reflected light more and give less chance of
secondary shadows.
Using a matte white card will provide a very soft
reflected fill at close range. You may have natural
fill already happening from light colored walls
reflecting back to the subject. Indeed you might
even plan such a situation.
Note: In highly reflective rooms, if your lighting is
too flat, you might consider a technique called
negative fill. This is often done by hanging a dark Specular Reflector bouncing Soft
cloth or piece of black foamcore on the fill side to
prevent stray light from providing too much fill. Key light to create Fill
Experiment with different amounts of fill and see if
you can manipulate the effect to change the feel of Closeup detail
the lighting.
19.
20. Hair Light
Hair light defined: A light from
behind the subject, often
weaker than the Key or Fill,
aimed at the head & shoulders.
It may also called a backlight. It
creates a sense of separation
between subject and
background, and adds highlights
& shine to hair, and is often
widened to include a subject's
shoulders. Working with Hair
light gets trickier with receding
hairlines, and may be done
without in that situation.
21. Hair Light Techniques
Along with the amount of Fill light you use, you can continue to add finesse to the
lighting to reveal the subjects form by using light from angles beyond what you use
for the Fill. Both Hair lights and Edge lights fall into this category.
Traditionally Hair lights are placed directly opposite the camera. It creates highlights
and gives a nice shine to the hair. Small hard lights will make small hard lines and
edges, which are appropriate if you are implying the motivation for the light is a
hard source. Larger sources provide an even, gentle wash.
In the nineteen seventies the extreme backlight was the rage. Find a glamour photo
from the era and it will likely have a strong back light blasting directly at the back of
the head causing the lion's mane hair style in fashion at the time to glow. If this is
what you're after, just try to keep the light far enough back so it doesn't start your
subject's hair on fire.
If you are dealing with thinning hair or bald heads, you probably already have
enough separation from the background; either because of the contrast or color
differences, and only want to play with adding a subtle edge to the side of the head
and neck. You may just need an edge on the shoulders of a dark garment that is
blending into the background. See the Edge Light description below for more
information. For shiny heads you could have separate lights for each shoulder or
Hair light alone
put up a traditional hair light and block, or flag, the part of the light falling on the
head. Rifa 44, 250W Soft
Hair light aloneRifa 44, 250W Soft light light
Since all backlights are aimed in the direction of the camera be careful to keep any
light from shining into the front of the lens, causing lens flare. Wave your hand in
front of the light and see if a shadow falls on the camera.
With the advent of modern cameras there is less need for the really heavy use of
hair light unless it is to appear as motivated or logical in the scene. Watch for
programs done in film or HD and notice how natural these highlights are compared
to older video programming.
22.
23. Edge Light
Edge light defined: A light from behind the subject,
often weaker than the Key or Fill, is placed to
create an edge of definition between subject and
background. Similar in practice to Hair light, it is
also a form of backlight normally used to define
one dark object from another, for example a dark
jacket from a similarly dark background.
24. Edge Light Techniques
Edge lights create subtle defining 'edges', and line-
like highlights, which can be added to your setup to
delineate the edge of your subject. You may hear
them referred to as kickers, liners or edge lights.
If your subject's dark hair or jacket seems to blend
into a similarly dark background you can add an
'edge' to visibly separate, or cut them away, from
the background. You provide a clue to the viewer
where the subject leaves off and the background
begins. If you have decided to use little or no fill an
edge of some sort can enhance the dramatic effect.
To experiment with these effects start with small
fixtures and keep an eye on the shadow from the
subjects ear. It is popular to have a light edge along
the jaw line. Try hard sources at different distances
and angles. Try using a small light with an umbrella
or with a diffusion gel.
Edge lights are also aimed in the direction of the
camera, so be careful to keep any light from shining Edge light alone
into the front of the lens, causing lens flare. Wave
your hand in front of the light and see if a shadow
L-light, 100W
falls on the camera.
25. Works Cited
http://www.lowel.com/edu/foundations_of_lighting.html
http://www.lowel.com/edu/
