Lighting a portrait

Portrait photography can be a difficult, albeit very rewarding, area of study. Capturing the essence of a person (or an animal) is the ultimate challenge to the photographer. Funny enough, it is also the ultimate payoff.
So then how does one capture the essence of the person? Good question! It takes a rapport and a shared vision with your subject. That is the most important thing you can bring to the game. (Some coffee and good music also help the session a lot too!) As soon as your subject steps into your studio - whether indoor or outdoors - your first responsibility is to make them feel completely at ease and ready to jump into the session and get their feet wet (maybe even literally!).

How does one do that then? Well, it takes some people skills for one thing. That is something you practice on your own every moment you are in public. Whether it's with the hairdresser or the checkout girl or that nasty receptionist at the dentist's office, if you practice how to deal with people you will be an expert when you are ready to photograph someone.

That aside, the technical know-how also helps. When you subject can feel that you know what you're doing, they'll feel much better about parting with their hard earned dollars. Don't try the "Fake it till you make it" with the technical. You'll be nervous and your subject will want to run screaming. Believe me, I know! (Curious? Drop me a line and I'll tell you the story...)

So here are some basics that you will need for good portraits:

• A subject
• Your camera
• A Soft Box (Don't have one? Make one on the cheap *here*!)
• A strong and steady light source (window light will do - just remember that sunlight is changing constantly on a bright day!)
• A reflector (White mat board will work just fine)

To get an idea of how I set up my studio, check out this image by Kevin Kertz:

Notice how the light is at about a 45 degree angle towards the subject. The reflector is placed so that it can fill in the shadows. I usually angle my light so that it is above the subject (while still at that 45 degree angle in the studio). This creates flattering shadows under the jawline and lights the person well overall. Beware of bags and deep set eyes - you will need to angle your reflector to fill in those shadows!

So what about your settings? Well you can invest in a light meter, which will take readings based on how much light your source delivers. But let's say you're using window light or an indoor lamp? Try to take advantage of the in-camera meter using the skin of your subject. Most caucasian skin reads as a medium gray to your camera. Does your subject have darker tones to their skin? Take a reading off of a medium toned shirt or find something that is about a medium grey and have your subject hold it in front of themselves.

Now is the chance to put your technical know-how to use! With my lighting set up I generally set the shutter speed for about 125th of a second and an aperture around 5.6 or 6.3. Why?

You tell me!

No I'm kidding. =) Generally the fast your shutter speed, the crisper the image will be. You will be able to stop most camera movement and subject movement with about 100th or a second or above. Obviously movement in the studio might be minimal, but if you have trouble holding your camera still then it will be very beneficial to have a fast shutter speed.

So what about the aperture? An opening of f5.6 or f6.3 is right smack in the middle in terms of the depth of field - this will allow for a sharp image of your subject but it will help blur the background so that it is a little less distinct. If you were to use an opening of, say, f1.4 and were to focus on the subject's nose then everything further back would be a big blurred mess. An opening of f22 with give you crisp details in your background - ask yourself if this works to your advantage in your given photoshoot.

Lastly, but not leastly, I will leave you with the Portrait Lighting Cheat Sheet. This is not the most comprehensive item for portraits, however, it will give you a great idea of what happens to your subject as you move your lightsource. Notice that there is no fill in these images.