| Lighting Sunlight If you have any windows in your studio, you might be able to use the sunlight coming in. Creates directional diffuse light. Great light for portraits. Use a card. Front light, 3/4 light, side Light, back light Subject just inside shade line outdoors with reflector card Diffusers for sun light Reflectors Hard Light - Soft Light Sun/Shade Direct light creates hard edged lighting with dark shadows Diffused light is softer, more even, shadows are light. lower contrast. Lights alone or with diffuser panels Studio Lighting - Rent or buy? Most big cities have good rental studios that come complete with lights, backgrounds, and often assistants. This is the way to go if you have a big budget and know exactly when you want to shoot. Having your own studio, especially at home, is great for spontaneous work and also because you can take some of your equipment on location. Types of lights: Hot Lights Once you know how much light you need, decide whether to go hot or cold. "Hot lights" are tungsten or halogen lights that burn continuously. The big advantages of hot lights are * You can always see what you're going to get, even if you mix with ambient light. You don't need Polaroid tests, fancy meters, and a good imagination. *much, much cheaper.... * You can use hot lights with movie, video, and still and digital cameras *You can use any type of light with black and white because you don’t have to worry about color balance. Disadvantages: * Heat. Thousands of watts of heat that make the photographer sweat, the models sweat, and the props melt. * Tungsten color balance. Kodak makes some nice tungsten color slide film but if you don't like it, you'll have to filter your lights and lens like crazy to use your favorite color films. * Fire hazard - It is much easier to control a light source that isn't hot enough to light paper on fire. You can experiment with electronic flash without burning your house down. With hot lights, you must make sure that your diffusers, soft boxes, umbrellas, etc. can handle the heat. Cold Lights "Cold lights" are electronic flashes, much more powerful than the ones on your camera but basically the same idea. Lighting Nomenclature Key light - to side 3/4 - height is determined by adjusting the light so that the shadow from he nose falls just short of the upper lip. Light should be positioned to leave a small triangular highlight on the cheek on the shadow side, Fill light - on opposite side and near the camera and slightly above eye level. Weaker than key light, no secondary shadow, allow shadow under the chin to separate the face from the neck. With your light meter adjust the fill light to be about a 3 or 4 to 1 ratio to the key light (11/2 to 2 stops). Hair light, located high behind the model to light the hair and shoulders of the model and separate these from the background. Usually on the opposite side than the key light and shielded so the light does not strike the lens. Background light, to separate the figure from the background. Light to keep light against dark and dark against light.
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