Portrait Tip 1 - Lighting

Become a Student of Light

Lighting is probably the single most important technical aspect of portraiture. Personally I would prefer to have my portrait taken by someone with a Box Brownie camera who understood lighting rather than a person with a Hasselblad who knew nothing about lighting. Successful portrait photographers study and use light to enhance their subjects.

Simple lighting techniques are invariably the most successful. One light source (the sun or white wall or a window) with one set of shadows and highlights is nearly always preferable to multiple light sources and shadows.

Study the lighting on people’s faces in the lounge room, cafes and classrooms. When you see lighting that enhances the subject’s features analyse why – the light source, colour, intensity, sharpness or diffuseness, its direction and duration. Then make a note of where you are, the time of year and time of day. This information is valuable in terms of building up a repertoire of shooting locations.

Three rules for portrait lighting:

Keep it simple

Keep it soft

Keep it shadowless

Keeping it simple means using just one light source. Sometimes people get enthused with the idea of studio lighting. Studio lights can and do produce fabulous results.

However, using multiple light sources before you learn to use ONE light correctly could simply be compounding the errors.

Keeping it soft means avoiding using the direct, harsh Australian sunlight. There are, of course, some exceptions. Direct sun and sharp shadows may suit the stockman in the Kimberley or the swimmer at Cottesloe.

However, the challenge becomes even greater for the photographer needs to preserve the feel for the light and at the same time ensure there is precious detail in the shadows. Cloudy, overcast conditions, very early morning or very late afternoon lend themselves to portrait lighting. To soften the harshness of the light a reflector can be used to bounce light back into the shadow area or a diffuser used between the sun and the subject to soften the light source.

Remember Rembrandt! Look at the cheek furthest from the window (shadow side of face). When a soft inverted ‘triangle’ appears under the eye, you should have ideal lighting for your portrait.

A large light-coloured wall is essentially a huge reflector. Use this wall as a light source not as a background. A wall like this used in combination with a window provides wonderful lighting opportunities.

Keeping a portrait shadowless is not always desirable however in general terms shadows should be small, soft and subtle. To achieve this, start with a soft light source, such a hazy sun. Secondly, position the light source or the subject’s face so that the light source is just slightly off the head-nose axis and slightly above eye height. Study the shadow under the nose. There should be a small, almost imperceptible shadow. Avoid crossed or multiple shadows.