How to Learn Portrait Photography Lighting

Learning portrait lighting is a creative and exciting artistic endeavor.

Portrait photography lighting is a wonderful craft to learn and can take your photographs to the next level. Lighting a subject properly, using artificial lights or natural light sources, will set your work apart from your competition or simply enhance your family photographs. Learning portrait lighting takes time and effort, but the process does not need to be complicated or require expensive equipment. Learn from others, through books and workshops and experiment often by photographing your friends and family.

Things You'll Need

• Camera with adjustable settings
• Subject or person to photograph

Instructions

1. Create a sketch of an image you are studying and try to predict the number of lights used, their direction and the camera placement. Save these sketches to use for your own photo shoots at a later date.

2. Experiment with existing light on a variety of portrait subjects and the direction and type of light source. For example, window light is one of the easiest light sources to work with and casts a diffused, or soft, light onto a subject. Have a friend sit perpendicular to a window and take a series of photos. Ask the subject to move slightly at various angles to the light and make a notation of the angle of light as it hits the subject on each photograph. Use your sketches to re-create situations.

3. Use a reflective surface to light a subject. Large white or gold objects, bodies of water or white buildings in the sunlight can act as reflectors and will cast a beautiful light onto your subject. Many photographers use large gold, silver or white reflectors to balance a harsh light source or to cast a small highlight on a subject's hair or face on the opposite side of the main light source. Experiment with existing light outdoors near these types of reflective surfaces.

4. Attend a local or regional workshop on portrait lighting. Professional organizations, such as the PPA (Professional Photographers of America) or the ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) will often hold lighting workshops around the country. A workshop is an excellent way to learn how to refine your existing lighting skills without purchasing expensive lighting equipment.

5. Invest in a small system lighting set up and offer inexpensive or free portrait sessions to the local community to build your portfolio and gain additional experience with lighting. A small lighting system can range from one or two camera flashes with diffusers, remote controls and swivel heads to one or two large strobe lights with umbrellas, soft boxes and battery packs. Some professional photographers prefer to do portrait work with no artificial lights and rely entirely upon existing light and reflective surfaces. As you learn, you will develop your own preferences and style for using light in portrait work.

Tips & Warnings

• Select the top photographers in your specialty and study their work in books, magazines and online. Take notes about the type of light sources used and the directions which the light source is coming from. To do this, look for reflective surfaces, such is the eyes of the subject or a piece of silver they may be wearing, and you will see the size and direction of the light used by the photographer.

References

• Sublime LightL Portrait Lighting for Beginners
• Shutterbug: Lighting

Resources

• American Society of Media Photographers
• Professional Photographers of America