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Light in Photography -   LIGHTING -

Portrait Lighting exercise

 

A

In situation A, the light is positioned some distance above the head and in front of the mannequin. This is the type of lighting that might occur from a high and bright mid day sun. Note the shadow underneath the chin falls some distance down the neck. There is also a significant shadow under the eyes, and a softer shadow under the check bones.

Compare other portrait lighting situations

 

There are standard lighting techniques recommended for portraits and while some photographers follow these to the letter ( I worked for a photographer who had not changed his lighting set up for 20 years) it is more useful to understand how to read light and shadows on the subject and apply this to each subject.

In the next sequence we will have a look at some lighting options with one single desk lamp.

Find a manikin or a doll and try and set the lighting as well as you can to match that in each of the images below. Shot it with a digital camera.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

 

 

 

Once you have shot the images, upload them onto your computer and leave it a week. Then using your images as a guide, try o copy the light in each one as precisely as you can.

 

 

Want to learn more? - do a workshop or one on one with Lloyd Godman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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