How to Learn Studio Lighting Basics

Studio lighting basics are simple to learn, but somewhat more difficult to master. Every studio lighting situation produces unexpected variables. Studio lighting must be frequently readjusted to adapt to changing photographic situations. A solid foundation in introductory lighting is the best place to start.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Studio lights of various sizes
• Light stands
• Camera
• Tripod

1. Start with your key lights. Every subject in your studio should have a key light directly on them. It should ideally hit them in the face or wherever you wish to focus attention. The more important the subject, the more important his or her key light.

2. Define your subjects with back lights. Too much light on the faces of your subjects can blend them into the background. To distinguish them from their surroundings, place a back light behind each subject. The back light is smaller than the key light and is shined either behind the subject or slightly upward. The goal is to make your subjects appear more three-dimensional.

3. Remove shadows with fill lights. When a studio fills up with conflicting light sources, strange shadows can appear. Get rid of them by placing fill lights at angles with the key lights and back lights. You will need to move the fill lights around to get your desired effect. Shadows are unpredictable so be patient and adapt.

4. Brighten the background. Sometimes the background gets lost in all the studio lighting. If the background is important, then light it separately from your subjects using the same rules. When you do this you, can often eliminate the back lights for your subjects since the background will already be lit.

5. Light for the action. Static studio lighting is fine if your subjects don't move. If your studio work involves blocking or other movement, then keeping key lights and back lights on each subject becomes impossible. In that case, light the entire studio as if it were a bright cloudy day. There should be plenty of light everywhere but no shadows. This can be achieved with indirect lighting and gels over the lights.

6. Add or remove lights to fit your desired outcome. Sometimes a special effect is the goal. If you want all the attention to be on a single person, then hit him or her with a key light and a back light, and leave the rest of the studio dark. If you want to shift attention from one subject to another, then shift the lighting or shift the subjects. If you want your subject to be an anonymous shadow then hit them with a bright back light alone.

Tips & Warnings

• Lighting for still photography, video and film are similar, but there are some important differences. Each requires a different intensity of light and different filters. In fact, lighting will differ from shoot to shoot within the same medium depending on the desired outcome. Lighting for black and white film will be very different from lightting for digital color.

• Lights get very hot and consume quite a bit of electricity. Keep foreign objects away from lights so that they don't catch fire. Don't touch lights or they will burn you instantly. Be sure lights are anchored securely so they don't fall over. Tape down all power cords so no one trips over them. Fuses trip quite often when too many lights are plugged into the same socket. Spread the electricity use around to different sockets on different fuses.

Resources

• Television Lighting
• Copy Video