Commercial Photography Technique - Studio Lighting
Sooner or later, every keen photographer gets the urge to try his or her hand in the studio. A proper studio lighting kit gives you complete control, enabling you to decide exactly how your photo will look. You;re no longer restricted by the weather or the limited capabilities of your cameras's bult in flash. The photographer's studio is as much a creative tool as his or her camera.
While top-class lighting equipment is frighteningly expensive, and to kit out a professional photo studio would cost thousands of pounds, a good, basic home system can be put together for just a few hundrend punds . There are several manufacturers producing affordable home studio lighting systems and most are ideally suited to the demands of digital photography. Lets take a look at some of the options available.
Taking on Tungsten
The easiest type of studio system to use is tungsten lighting. Tungsten studio lights work in the same way as the average domestic light bulb, but are a lot more powerful. While the brightest domestic bulb is 200 watts, tungsten studio lights, or photofloods as they are known, range from 300 to 1,000 watts.
A domestic light bulb can generate a fair amount of heat. So, not surprisingly, photofloods really turn up the temperature. Tungsten studio lights at full power can quickly cause a studio to become hot and uncomfortable. Another disadvantage of tungsten lights is that they burn out quickly. The typical life of a photoflood bulb is only 100 to 200 hours and cost around £10 to replace.
However, tungsten photoflood remains a popular choice because its quick and simple to use. You can see instantly what your photo will look like, making it very easy to set up different lighting arrangements. And, since there's no need for a flash trigger connection with tungsten lighting, it can be used with any type of camera.
Halogen-centric imaging
Halogen studio lights were originally developed for use with video cameras, but are also well suited to digital stills photography. Since digital cameras with manually adustable white-balance settings can easily cope with the colour of the light they produce, they have been warmly welcomed by enthusiasts.
Such lighting has several advantages over tungsten systems. The most obvious being that, for a given wattage, they are much brighter, producing a whiter light that is closer to daylight than that produced by tungsten. And because the light is much brighter, smaller apertures or faster shutter speeds can be used than are possible with tungsten photofloods.
While replacement lamps for halogen lights are somewhat more expensive than tungsten photoflood bulbs, the have a much longer life and are less financially draining. They still generate a lot of heat, but in comparison with the amount of light they put out, they are a lot more efficient than their tungsten cousins. The only disadvantages of halogen lights are that they are generally more expensive and there are fewer accessories available for them. But, as with tungsten, there's absolutely no need for a flash connection.
Flash Styling
Most professional commercial photographers use electronic flash as their studio lighting, and there's a number of good flash systems available within the budget of a keen amateur.
Although the light from a flash is only on for a fraction of a second, it is much brighter than even halogen lighting. This means that very small apertures can be used, offering greater depth of field - important for close-up or product photography. The colour temperature of flash is a close match to natural daylight, so there's no need to alter the white-balance. Also, since flash will freeze movement, the model doesn't have to be perfectly still, as they would with tungsten or halogen.
Most studio flash systems have tungsten bulbs as well. They act as 'modelling lights' and give an idea of what the final photo will look like. However, it can still be a hit-and-miss affair. Using studio flash was more complicated when film photography was the norm. Now it's just a case of taking test shots and reviewing them immediately on the LCD or if you have one, a laptop. To work with a flash system, the camera will need an external flash connection, either a PC sync socket or a hotshoe with an adaptor.
Using Studio Lights
Photography is all about capturing light, and a studio lighting system means you can accomplish this with ease. But there's more to setting up a home studio than simply plugging in a few lights and snapping away. Before you begin, consider this...
Firstly, do you have enough room? A three head studio lighting system plus a couple of reflectors and a background can take up a lot of space. Ideally, you need a room at least four metres square, but generally the bigger the better. It's also important to consider the height of the ceiling. You may want to position a light above a standing subject, so a ceiling height of at least three metres is recommended.
Second, the object of the exercise is to totally control the lighting, so it's a good idea to block windows in your studio with heavy blackout curtains to prevent stray daylight ruining your shots. Similarly, cover up reflective surfaces.
Finally, you'll need to have exclusive access to your studio for several hours, so don't pick a busy room. It's a real inspiration killer when people keep walking in, distracting you and embarrassing your model. The ideal room for a studio is a large garage or loft but remember you'll also need a good mains electricity supply.
Head-and-shoulders Portrait
The most common type of studio shot is the simple portrait. Whether it is used for a passport or to be framed as a gift for a loved one, there are a few simple techniques that ensure excellent results.
One winning approach is to use the flash head on full power just above and in front of the model. The flash head is fitted with a large softbox to provide bright, even illumination of the hair. At either side, two more flash heads with medium softboxes are fired into large polystyrene reflectors. Two more reflectors are positioned to each side to fill in any shadows. Finally, a large, gold coloured reflector is positioned just out of shot below the model's chin. This reflects the light up under the chin and fills in shadows under the eyes and nose. It also produces attractive catch-lights in the eyes. The technique works wll for both standing and seated portrait poses.
The portrait lighting set-up is similar for a full body shot, but with a few significant differences. First, the large softbox is positioned slightly further back so that the light from the two side reflectors illuminates the model more evenly. The same gold reflector used for the portrait is employed again here. It fills in shadows and the gold colour tends lends a healthy-looking tan to skin tones. Some photographers add an extra light to a photo such as this, usually a single bright light with a 'snoot' or funnel above and slightly in front of the model to highlight the hair.
Edge Lighting
For a more ambitious and artistic picture, using low key lighting can produce a highly evocative, moody and dramatic effect. For this shot all lights are switched off except for one to the side. This illuminates the background and the models right side but leaves her mostly in silhouette with just a few highlights. The reflectors bounce a small amount of light into the shadow areas, just enough to make some detail visible. This is a technique commonly known as 'edge lighting'.
The smooth outline shape created by the model's pose becomes the main focus of the image, so it's a good idea to avoid using loose fitting clothing which hides the shape of the figure and destroys impact. As a cunning variation, try removing the reflectors and instead use a dark background in order to accentuate this effect. This technique works particularly well when shooting in black and white. So, if your camera supports it, head for the menus and switch off colour capture.
Special Techniques
Hair Lights
The reason that the model's hair shines in a shampoo advert is because there's a main light set to full power directly above her head. There will be either a large reflector or small softbox attached to the lamp. Positioning reflectors or more lights around the model (angled upwards) fills in the shadows under the nose and chin.
Back Lighting
Adding a single light behind the model creates additional highlights that emphasise particular shapes. The best technique is to use a light with a small reflector, at the same height as the model's head and angled forwards. If space permits, it might also be possible to have this light partially illuminate the background.
Ring Flash
In portrait shots, a ring flash produces near shalowless illumination. Used in the studio they produce a high-key, but flattering look. However, they do show every tiny skin blemish in exquisite detail. Ring flash works best when combined with a hair light and reflectors to bounce some light on to the sides of the model's face and up under the chin.
Don't mix your lights
It is important to use only one type of studio lighting. If you mix tungsten and halogen lights you'll get some very peculiar colour casts on your pictures. It is also a mistake to try combining continuous lighting with flash lights since the latter of these will completely overwhelm the former.
Accessories
Amongst the most useful studio accessories are reflectors. These can be any shape and size, but for portraits, larger ones are better. They have the effect of diffusing illumination from the studio lights and bouncing this into shadow areas.
While there are many types of reflectors on the market, it is easy to make your own. A large sheet of card or hardboard, either painted silver or covered in aluminium foil is ideal and large sheet of expanded polystyrene also work well.
The most popular add-ons for the lights themselves are brolly reflectors and soft boxes. Both act to diffuse light, producing soft shadows and flattering highlights. Another useful extra is a device known as 'barn doors' - a set of hinged shutters that fit around the light, restricting it to a specific area. Most studio lighting systems also have a range of 'snoots' - round funnels that limit the light to a circular spot. The effect of using a snoot can be altered by a device called a 'honeycomb' which is a highly reflective grid that ensures that the light is even more directional and straight as its exits the snoot to form a tighter circle of light.
This article shows the quality and variety of techniques that customers benefit from as part of our commercial photography and architectural photography service. Call now to discuss your requirements and timescales on 079101 68536.
Copyright Adam Coupe Commercial Photography 2009
