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Lighting and Studio Photography: Matthew Chapman

This document provides an overview of lighting and studio photography. It discusses the basics of lighting, including the effects of light source size on hardness of shadows. It also describes different types of lighting such as sunlight, tungsten, fluorescent, and flash lighting. The document outlines direction of light, modifiers to change light properties, exposure considerations for flash, and portrait lighting setups.

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126 views

Lighting and Studio Photography: Matthew Chapman

This document provides an overview of lighting and studio photography. It discusses the basics of lighting, including the effects of light source size on hardness of shadows. It also describes different types of lighting such as sunlight, tungsten, fluorescent, and flash lighting. The document outlines direction of light, modifiers to change light properties, exposure considerations for flash, and portrait lighting setups.

Uploaded by

smartboy smartboy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lighting and

Studio Photography
Version 2.0

Matthew Chapman
UNSW Photography Club
[email protected]

1
L IGHTING BASICS
Small light sources produce hard shadows
Large light sources produce soft shadows
➜ N.B. Distance also affects effective size.

L IGHTING BASICS 2
T YPES OF LIGHTING
Sunlight
➜ Direct sunlight is hard (point source)
➜ Sky light is soft

Tungsten/halogen lighting
➜ Electricity heats up filament which glows white hot
➜ Small hard source, but easy to add modifiers to direct light
➜ High power usage and heat output

Fluorescent lighting
➜ Around 5 times more efficient than tungsten
➜ Complex/unpredictable colour spectrum

T YPES OF LIGHTING 3
T YPES OF LIGHTING
Flash lighting
➜ Very short high-intensity flash of light — much brighter than
practically achievable with continuous lighting
➜ Must be synchronised with camera shutter
➜ hotshoe or X-sync connector
➜ Sometimes combined with a continuous modelling light to allow
the photographer to visualise the lighting

T YPES OF LIGHTING 4
D IRECTION OF LIGHT
From the front:
➜ no shadows, flat

From above:
➜ soft light can be useful for fill, like a cloudy sky
➜ hard light casts harsh shadows downwards

From the side:


➜ emphasises form and texture

From behind (rim lighting):


➜ emphasises the outline of the object
➜ typically use a grid to avoid light hitting the lens directly

D IRECTION OF LIGHT 5
S HADOW CONTRAST
A single light produces very deep shadows in areas where it
does not reach.
Reducing shadow contrast:
➜ Add a reflector to bounce light into the shadows
➜ Move the light further away
➜ Add a less powerful light to fill in the shadows (fill light)

S HADOW CONTRAST 6
L IGHT MODIFIERS
We use light modifiers to:
➜ change the apparent size and shape of a light source
➜ change the colour of a light source
➜ control where light falls

Examples of light modifiers:


➜ umbrella (reflective or shoot-through)
➜ softbox
➜ diffusion screen
➜ snoot
➜ barndoors
➜ flag or gobo
➜ honeycomb grid
➜ colour gels

L IGHT MODIFIERS 7
E XPOSING FOR FLASH
Maximum shutter speed is the X-sync speed
➜ Depends on camera, typically around 1/250s
➜ At faster speeds, the shutter is never fully open, so only part of
the frame would be lit by the flash
➜ Some flash systems have a high-speed sync mode which pulses
the flash

No minimum shutter speed


➜ First-curtain flash: flash fires after shutter opens
➜ Second-curtain flash: flash fires before shutter closes

Shutter speed has no effect on flash exposure


➜ Flash much shorter than exposure time
➜ Instead, aperture controls flash exposure

E XPOSING FOR FLASH 8


F LASH QUICK STAR T GUIDE
➜ Set camera to manual
➜ Set aperture depending on desired depth of field
➜ For flash-only exposure:
➜ Set shutter speed below X-sync speed (say 1/200s)
➜ Set ISO speed as low as possible
➜ Alternatively, when combining flash with available light:
➜ Set shutter speed and ISO speed for desired ambient
exposure
➜ Set flash power to obtain correct exposure (your camera/flash
system might do this automatically, but you may need to adjust
Flash Exposure Compensation)

F LASH QUICK START GUIDE 9


C OLOUR TEMPERATURE CORRECTION
Daylight colour temperature ≈5500K
➜ Somewhat lower (more orange) at sunrise and sunset
➜ Somewhat higher (more blue) in shade

Tungsten colour temperature ≈2700K


➜ Much lower (more orange) than daylight

If using one type of light, set white balance appropriately.


➜ If using film, either use correct film or use a filter.

If mixing different types of light, consider placing colour gel


over one light.
➜ orange gel (CTO): converts from daylight to tungsten
➜ blue gel (CTB): converts from tungsten to daylight

C OLOUR TEMPERATURE CORRECTION 10


P OR TRAIT LIGHTING
Broad lighting
➜ Key light on camera-facing side of face
➜ Tends to widen appearance of face

Short lighting
➜ Key light on side of face turned away
➜ Tends to slenderise face

Butterfly/glamour lighting
➜ Key light on nose axis
➜ Flattest lighting, minimises nose

P ORTRAIT LIGHTING 11

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