Digital Camera World » home studio photography

3 advanced studio lighting techniques every portrait photographer should try

jmeyer — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:47:28 +0000

Want to give your portrait photography a nice blend of subtle and atmospheric effects? These advanced studio lighting techniques using simple two-head lighting set-ups will give you incredible versatility as a portrait photographer.

Use this key to identify the items used in our cheat sheet at the bottom of this page.

If you want to give your portraits more of a professional look or simply expand your repertoire as a portrait photographer, you’ll want to start experimenting with studio lighting techniques.

Chances are you’ve dabbled with flash or tried a simple lighting set-up at home, but if you want to really start taking control of your lighting and drawing out the character of your subject, you’ll want to broaden your horizons a bit.

Below we’ve suggested three straightforward studio lighting techniques using two-head lighting set-ups you can use to fine tune your light.

We’ve also compiled these advanced studio lighting techniques as a photography cheat sheet, which you can either drag and drop to your desktop or click on directly to view in higher resolution.

Advanced Studio Lighting Technique No. 1: Add a hair light to lift your subject

Most studio lighting set-ups only emphsasise one facet of your subject’s face. By adding an additional light to the rear of the set, you can start to create a more three-dimensional effect.

The hair light should be positioned carefully behind your sitter to one side, but not so it shines directly into the lens. Meter this light separately with all others switched off, so that it’s half a stop dimmer than your main light.

Use a snoot to create a small but direct patch of light that picks up the texture of the hair.

Advanced Studio Lighting Technique No. 2: The Tri-flector technique

A real innovation in lighting gadgets is the tri-flector. Three mini reflectors are designed into a single unit, which is placed on a low stand underneath your subject.

Each of the panels can move independently to remove shadows from the right, left and underneath, leaving a stark but glamorous result.

Add a single light slightly above the model’s eye level pointing down and you’ll achieve a flawless result every time. Add a hair light behind to emphasise the shape of your sitter.

Advanced Studio Lighting Technique No. 3: Light the background

Most backgrounds serve a secondary purpose and are rarely included in lighting techniques, yet this set-up can give real depth. Assemble your lighting as above, with a second light behind your model out of shot.

Place this low to the ground and fix a snoot or honeycomb to force the light in one direction.

Point the light at the background with the centre of the light exactly behind the centre of your subject’s face.

Meter independently so it’s one stop over your main light reading.

Download our Advanced Studio Lighting Techniques Cheat Sheet

DIY Photography Hacks: simple studio lights at Ikea prices!

jmeyer — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:02:24 +0000

You don’t need to spend a fortune on studio lights. It’s possible to shoot professional-looking portraits using a common household lamp like the kind you’d buy at Ikea. In this latest DIY Photography Hacks post we’ll show you how a simple, single lamp can create a range of dramatic effects in your portrait photography.

How to use your DIY studio lights

Don’t want to cough up for studio lights for your indoor portraits? You don’t always need expensive studio lighting to shoot professional-looking portraits. In fact, you can take striking shots at home with just a regular household angle-poise lamp.

Place your model in front of a piece of light-absorbing black velvet to create a rich black background. Note that you don’t need a support stand – we suspended ours from a bookcase!

Make sure your subject is sitting comfortably, then place your lamp slightly above and to the right of their head. Other positions can be used to create different lighting effects, but this set-up will give you a flattering, classic result.

Keep your shutter speed relatively fast (we shot at 1/160 sec at f/2.8, ISO500). It’s always best to use a tripod to eliminate camera shake and get the sharpest shots you can.

We used an 80-200mm f/2.8 lens set to 145mm, because this longer focal length created a more flattering portrait.

The halogen bulb can confuse your camera’s auto white balance setting, so switch it to manual to ensure you get a clean skin tone.

Remember not to position your lamp too close to the portrait sitter – it’ll be harsh and directional. This can be a good creative device, but it’s rarely flattering.

Take some test shots and then, when you’re happy with your exposure and general set-up, start shooting. Make sure you build up a rapport with your subject before experimenting with different poses and expressions.

PAGE 1: How to use your DIY studio lights
PAGE 2: Experiment with a single light source the DIY photography way
PAGE 3: Try using a candle

Studio lighting: 4 seriously simple lighting techniques to try at home

jmeyer — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:24:47 +0000

Studio lighting can seem daunting if you’ve never tried it before. However, most portrait photography lighting techniques are not nearly as scary as most people think. By using a simple home photo studio kit with just a couple of flash heads and a few basic accessories, you can get great results in no time at all. In fact, it’s arguably easier to use a studio lighting setup than off-camera flash.

For this studio lighting tutorial we’re using a two-head Elinchrom D-Lite it 2 Studio 2 Go kit, which costs about £500 ($630), but there are plenty of other options to choose from that will suit any budget.

We’ll take you through some of the standard kit you need, and show you four great studio lighting techniques for shooting professional-looking portraits in your home photo studio, with the help of our beautiful model, Jade.

While these classic lighting techniques are a great starting point, it’s best to experiment, so if you’re working in you’re own home photo studio don’t be afraid to tweak these studio lighting setups.

Each technique will take about 30 minutes to set up and shoot.

Now let’s get started and see how it’s done!

PAGE 1: Introduction to studio lighting
PAGE 2: Creating the perfect home photo studio
PAGE 3: Rembrandt studio lighting setup
PAGE 4: Clamshell studio lighting setup
PAGE 5: Backlight studio lighting setup
PAGE 6: Rim light studio lighting setup
PAGE 7: Final tips on studio lighting

How to set up and use a home photo studio

jmeyer — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 02:00:16 +0000

Studio lighting isn’t as scary as it might seem, and setting it up at home will greatly improve your portrait pictures. Trust your manual mode, scatter the light and relax your subject with a little music as well and you’ll be coming up with professional pics every time. Follow the tips below for setting up and using your own home photo studio and soon you’ll find yourself gaining confidence, as well as a broad portfolio of work.

1. Use studio lights

Studio lights aren’t nearly as scary as they might appear. We used a basic Bowens home studio kit (www.bowens.co.uk), which contained two studio flash heads with stands and umbrellas, and cost £450.

We set them up so they cast even light onto the scene by placing each light at a 45 degree angle to the background at a distance of about 6ft.

For more tips on what you’ll need, see our guide Master your home photo studio: setup, settings, accessories explained.

2. Create flattering light

The silver lining of studio umbrellas is highly reflective and will bounce the flash light into your scene. The light is scattered, creating a soft and even effect.

This is great for photographing portraits or family shots because the light will be softer and more flattering on your subjects (download our free family portrait photography cheat sheet).

Some umbrellas are made of a gold-coloured reflective surface and can be used to add warmth to skin tones. Other devices, such as softboxes, can be used to achieve similar results.

3. Ensure the perfect exposure

Setting up studio lights used to involve complicated measurements and calculations, using light meters to establish the best exposure (for more on lighting, check out our free portrait lighting cheat sheet).

However, if you‘re using a DSLR you‘ll be able to easily work out your exposure using the preview screen and histogram (learn how to read a histogram).

As long as your subject stays in the same position the exposure won‘t change. Use a small piece of masking tape on the floor to mark the spot where your subjects should be sitting or standing.

4. Relax your subjects

Create a lively atmosphere with jolly music and you‘ll be amazed at how relaxed everyone becomes.

If you‘re not shooting in your own home, take a portable stereo or iPod with speakers and find out what music will go down well with the family – especially the children - in advance.

5. Switch to Manual

There‘s no need to use the automatic or semi-automatic modes when you‘re working in a controlled environment such as a home studio set-up. The Manual mode has all you need, so set the shutter speed to about 1/160 sec and keep the aperture at about f/8.

The Bowens lights we used had dials to control the intensity of the light, so we moved these until we achieved the correct exposure. Use your camera‘s histogram and preview screen as a guide.

6. Preparation is key

If you‘re working with kids, their attention span will be very short. Try to get all your lights, background, exposure and camera settings set up in advance (for more tips on working with kids, see 13 tips for better pictures of babies, toddlers and teenagers).

Only when you‘re happy that you‘ve got everything set up should you bring the family in. Here, we tried to create a casual and contemporary portrait, so we didn‘t need to fuss about with formal posing.

Simply ask your subjects to sit or stand on a mark you choose, joke around and start shooting like crazy. Don‘t waste time looking at your screen – just keep shooting before the moment passes, so you have lots of shots to choose from.

7. Keep it casual

To keep your portrait looking cool and contemporary, encourage your sitters to wear casual clothes, such as jeans and T-shirts, take off their shoes and bring colourful accessories.

As you‘re photographing against white, avoid white clothing or your subject will blend into the background.

Set up a tabletop studio for less than a fiver

jmeyer — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 11:29:23 +0000

Using window light to take photos at home is perfect when it’s available, but when it’s in short supply you need a more reliable and predictable light source. The ultimate solution is a studio flash set-up, but there’s a simpler and cheaper option: a tabletop studio.

You can set up a tabletop studio for less than a fiver using common household items and a little creativity.

Reading lamps , for instance, are convenient and cheap, but they aren’t designed for photography so the light isn’t always ideal. Point them directly at your subject and you’ll get harsh, patchy, high-contrast light.

The solution is to build yourself a mini tabletop studio so that you can take control.

What you’ll need for your tabletop studio

A cardboard box
Black card or paper
Baking paper or translucent material
White and silver reflectors
Tripod

Start building
Start with a cardboard box big enough to hold your subject. Next, cut out the back of the box, leaving a small lip to ensure that it holds its shape, then cover the inside with black paper to reduce reflections and stop light from bouncing around.

Leave some extra card on the two shorter sides to use as additional shading. Now cover the back of the box with a piece of baking paper or white translucent material.

Here’s step by step how to get professional results from your tabletop studio.

Step 1: Light the background
To mimic the lighting you’d get by placing the subject by a window, we shone a reading lamp onto a wall behind the ‘studio’ to throw a soft, even light onto the paper backdrop.

Step 2: Light the foreground
We positioned a second lamp behind the card on the right-hand side of the box, and then used a silver reflector to bounce the light back onto the subject.

Step 3: Camera settings
To retain the backlit look, we increased exposure compensation by a stop and set an aperture of f/4 to blur the background. We then focused manually on the bottle.

3 must-haves for every home photo studio

jmeyer — Wed, 30 May 2012 10:56:11 +0000

Working in a studio environment for the first time can be a very daunting prospect, even if it’s your home photo studio ( find out how to master your home photo studio) – and even if you’re extremely confident in your photographic abilities.

There are so many questions that need to be answered; lighting gear, camera settings and, more importantly, what kit is essential for the shots that you have in mind.

If you plunged straight into purchasing your equipment and are feeling a bit lost, never fear. Below we’ve suggested 3 ‘must-haves’ for every home photo studio photographer.

You’ll find must-have lighting adjustments, camera settings and finally, must-have accessories that you’ll find essential to getting the pictures you want. We’ll tell you what they are, and then offer some helpful tips to make sure you get the best from your photo equipment.

Must-have lighting adjustment

The key control on a studio flash head is the flash power, which enables you to adjust the strength of the flash when the head is fired.

You can use the power button on the flash to increase or decrease exposure without having to change the aperture setting on the camera (which you might want to leave constant for creative effect). Although a three-head Bowens kit retails around the £1,000 mark, a good beginner’s two-head kit can be picked up for just over £200.

Correct use
Don’t make the easy mistake of just moving the lights further away from the model in order to lower the amount of light that’s hitting them.

Although this will reduce the light, it also creates different effects of how said light falls on the subject (download our free portrait lighting cheat sheet for more guidance). Instead, use the power dial to increase and decrease light levels, giving you total control.

For more on lighting, check out our 3 stupidly simple lighting techniques that will transform your family portraits.

Must-have camera settings

Forget the flash meter and use your camera’s LCD to assess exposures instead. Getting the correct exposure simply means taking the shot, assessing the histogram and then adjusting the aperture or flash power accordingly to compensate.

If highlight clipping occurs, then you’ll need to close the aperture or reduce the flash power. Set the camera to Manual exposure mode and try an initial exposure of 1/100 sec at an aperture of f/8, making adjustments from there.

Maximum quality
Set a low ISO value to keep pixel noise to a minimum and maintain the camera’s optimum resolution. Set the camera’s White Balance to Flash mode and shoot RAW files for optimum quaity from your digital camera. When shooting any portraits, whether you’re in the studio or out in natural light, it’s best to keep camera settings simple and concentrate more on lighting and posing.

Must-have accessories

In order for the flashguns to fire, you need to make a connection from the camera to the lights. Most cameras have a PC cord socket to enable a lead to be connected. A wireless transmitter will enable you to move around the studio without any worries of tripping over the loose wires.

Cables come supplied with lighting kits, but infrared wireless transmitters can be picked up from as little as £50 – although you should expect to pay much more for named brands.

Flash sync
Digital cameras tend to have a flash sync speed of 1/250 sec – for example, a Canon EOS 400D has a top flash sync speed of 1/200 sec. If you use a shutter speed faster than the flash sync speed the image will not be exposed fully. The frame will often appear with a dark band where the shutter curtains have closed before the sensor has had time to successfully receive all the information.

Master your home photo studio: setup, settings, accessories explained

jmeyer — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:34:11 +0000

The thought of constructing a home photo studio setup with lights can seem a scary prospect. But you can relax: the portrait lighting equipment you need has become much cheaper and easier to use – and it won’t take over your home.

The beauty of a home photo studio setup, especially for portraits, is that it gives you the ability to control  your light source – you can decide which studio accessories you use, and where you place them.

And it’s entirely up to you what kit you buy and how much you spend. You can get away with using a large polystyrene board as a reflector, or fork out for an almost life-size softbox. The choice is yours.

Presuming you’re eager to save money, basic  ‘two head’ home photo studio starter kits, such as those made by Interfit, can be picked up for as little as £250 and are perfect for getting started with studio portraits.

These budget kits even come with added goodies like a silver umbrella for bouncing light or softbox for diffusing it – a perfect package for headshots, full-length shots and group portraits.

In this tutorial we’ll show you some of the best camera settings, lighting arrangements and accessories you need to get perfect portraits at home.

Get the right exposure

Newcomers to home photo studio photography often worry about how to get a correct exposure from a flash source. The tried-and-tested method for taking a reading is to use a handheld light meter (find out how to use a hand-held light meter for perfect exposure), but you don’t have to resort to this rather old school solution.

The histogram (learn how to read a histogram) that you can call up on your camera’s LCD screen is ideal for checking and altering your exposure. Just make sure that the tonal distribution is balanced throughout the graph.

In the infographic below we’ve illustrated three different exposures – correct, over- and under-exposure – and reproduced their histograms to give you a better idea of what to look for in your own portrait photography.

Opening or closing the aperture is the best way of solving exposure issues (download our photography cheat sheet on when to use wide or small apertures), or try increasing or decreasing the power output of your flash unit to compensate for under or over-exposure.

Add drama with your lighting

Most entry-level studio kits come with a reflective umbrella. This is a very useful accessory, and you’ll often see two placed either side of the model for a soft, even and flattering coverage of light.

For the shot above, however, we opted for a hard-lit, punchy effect by placing the umbrella high and to the left of the camera.

Facing it down towards the side of our model’s face meant that only one side received direct exposure to the light. We made the other side even darker by placing a black polystyrene board to the model’s right.

In the infographic below – part of our ongoing photography cheat sheet series – we’ve illustrated a few other sample way sto light your home photo studio setup to achieve different moods and effects in your portraits.

PAGE 1: Get the right exposure; Create dramatic lighting effects
PAGE 2: The perfect camera set-up; Using flash sync; Essential accessories

Family Portraits: 10 tips for setting up your home photo studio

jmeyer — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:34:20 +0000

Whether you’re taking portraits of your friends or you’ve been commissioned to photography a family – or whether you’re taking your own family photos – working from your own home photo studio can be exceptionally rewarding.

Below we’ve compiled 10 expert tips on how to set up your home photo studio, with fundamental photo ideas for how to light, pose and set up your camera to shoot family photos.

Tip 1: Family portraits
Shooting any group of people is challenging, but photographing families can test even the most experienced professionals. You need to take control and be authoritative and clear about what you want everyone to do, giving you the best chance of getting everybody looking your way and smiling. Take multiple shots to give you the widest possible choice of images – somebody will always be blinking or half-smiling/ half-grimacing.

To inject some energy and fun into proceedings, encourage your subjects to move around and interact with each other. The flash lights will freeze them in action, so you’ll still get sharp shots. Alternatively, split families up into pairs, to capture more intimate portraits.

Tip 2: Home photo studio lighting kits
ontrary to popular belief, you don’t need to spend thousands of pounds to get a decent studio lighting set-up. Both Elinchrom and do good lighting kits for around £500, while Interfit and Lastolite have studio lighting kits starting at around £220 and £300 respectively. All come with two heads plus softboxes or umbrellas, so you can bounce and soften your light for more flattering and professional- looking portraits. The next step is to invest in backdrops; you’ll need a few rolls of different coloured paper, plus two stands and a roller holder.

Tip 3: Hiring a studio
Booking studio space is a good opportunity to take some great portraits in a controlled environment. But ask about ceiling height, or you may struggle to put light stands up high enough to position softboxes. Can you use the studio’s lights and cables? What backdrops are available? Will somebody be on hand to assist? And if you only need a few hours of studio time, ask if they do a half-day or hourly rate, or share the cost.

Tip 4: Photographing children
kids get bored easily, so turn your photo shoot into playtime – bring along favourite toys for them to hold and play with. This occupies them, keeping them still for a few seconds, plus you’ll get some interesting expressions on the little angels’ faces. it’s also essential that mum or dad is on hand so the kids feel comfortable – get them to stand behind you and attract their children’s attention (with silly faces, dancing – whatever it takes!) so they’re looking in your direction.

Tip 5: Basic lighting set-up cheats
If you don’t want a studio set-up, you can also achieve professional-looking portraits with a pair of modern flashguns and attachments. our example portraits were taken using a small portable background and two off-camera flashguns, fired through white brollies.

Tip 6: Shoot in Manual mode
When using manual mode in your home photo studio, a good starting exposure is 1/200 sec at f/9 and iSo200.

Tip 7: Bright lights
Your home photo studio lights dictate how bright or dark your subjects are. increase or decrease light power to brighten or darken them.

Tip 8: Get to know your aperture
Aperture controls depth of field, as well as how much the flash lights your subject. Wider apertures lighten subjects, while narrower apertures make them darker.

Tip 9: Speed freak
Your shutter speed controls ambient light. Set it higher to darken backgrounds, lower to brighten them. Maximum flash sync speeds are 1/200 or 1/250 sec, depending on your camera.

Tip 10: Be sensitive
ISo controls how far the flash light spreads – pump up iSo if subjects (such as groups of people) are far away, or if you want to brighten up backgrounds further.

Win Digital Camera’s Ultimate Guide to Portrait Photography

To celebrate the launch of ‘Portrait Photography‘, the latest instalment in our Digital Camera Special series of beginners guides to photography, we are running a picture-based competition via Facebook. Simply visit our Facebook page and upload your best portraits. We’ll pick 5 of the best portraits posted on our wall and offer these readers an advice clinic as well as a free copy of ‘Portrait Photography’.
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Fast black and white fixes for indoor portraits

dcworld — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:48:09 +0000

Make photos of family and friends stand out with this quick black and white guide

You may think that capturing stunning mono portraits requires expensive studio time, but that’s not the case. All you need is a window, a cheap reflector and a few quick steps in Photoshop…

1. Convert to mono

To get a punchy portrait, convert your image to black and white by going to Image>Adjustments>Black & White.

2. Add a filter

In the Black & White Presets menu, select the Red filter to give the image a soft glow and then readjust the Levels to darken the shot.

3. Clean-up

Use the Burn tool to darken areas of the background that may be distracting. For example, we darkened the curtains here.

4. Enhance eyes

Select a small brush and use the Dodge tool to subtley lighten the whites of the eyes, giving them clarity and making them stand out.

Improve your family portrait skills

dcworld — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:27:02 +0000

Everything you need to know for contemporary family portraits

There’s lots to consider when taking your family pictures, from the technology you’re using to how the people involved react. By using some simple tricks in composition and preparation, and by keeping the children entertained, you can be sure that you’ve got all you need to take some really good family photos.

1. Spare batteries
Shooting flashguns at 1/4 of their full power really drains the batteries, so always have plenty of spares to hand. The recycle times between each shot also become a lot longer the more exhausted the batteries become, so shots may be missed if you shoot too quickly.

2. Simple backgrounds
Using a plain throw or bed sheet as a backdrop on your sofa means you can achieve a clean image that doesn’t have any background or foreground distractions. Consider using black material for an effective backdrop for mono portraits.

3. Keep the kids entertained
When photographing kids, you must remember that they have a much shorter attention span than adults. To keep them interested in having their pics taken, let them view the shots on your LCD.

4. Change poses
Keep the shoot flowing well by varying the poses. Not only to get different shots but also so that the subjects don’t lose interest and get bored with the same poses.

5. Crop tight
Don’t be afraid to crop tight. Even going as far as cropping the forehead and chin off a face, and leaving a shot just of the subject’s main features can have impact. By using a zoom lens such as an 18-105mm you can get both the wide shot and a close up.

Interaction with kids between shots is just as important as it is when pressing the shutter.