light high and pointed down onto your subject in the direction of the camera
is best.
The idea behind hair and rim lighting is to accent various parts of the body.
This is why these lights are sometimes referred to as accent lights. Remember,
though, that lights used to draw attention to things like keys, a purse, props
in a scene, etc., are also accent lights.
When photographing a model outdoors, you can achieve rim lighting by
placing her with her back toward the sun and her front toward the camera.
This works best with early-morning or late-evening light, as the qualities of
light during that time of day are much softer and, as such, the photographer
doesn’t need a super powerful studio power pack to overpower the sun with
flash or fill the subject with sufficient light to properly expose the image.
My friend, the great photographer Monte Zucker, believed that the best
images are the ones lit from the back (and sides) rather than primarily from the
front. Zucker was a master of light and understood how light interacts with
the subject.Kickers.
Kicker lights are lights that “kick” in a little extra light around the eyes, under
the chin, or other areas of the body without overpowering the original main
light. This extra bit of light, usually subtle and soft, is designed to soften the
hard shadows created by more dramatic lighting.
My favorite technique is to place a California Sunbounce Mini, white side
out, on the legs of the light stand on which the main light source is mounted.
Sometimes I’ll point a light directly into the reflector or just let the reflector
capture the spill light from the softbox or beauty dish and spill right onto my
subject. Again, the goal in using a kicker light is to add just a small amount of
light in certain areas to help soften the shadows.Lighting the Background.
While I’m not a big fan of lighting the background for a glamour shoot like
a portrait photographer would, I do utilize the Inverse Square Law to control
the darkness and lightness of my background. The idea is that in glamour pho-
tography, it’s about your subject, not the background or foreground.
Now this technique is meant more for shots in controlled environments,
like the studio or another indoor location, but depending on the time of day,
it could possibly be used outdoors too. To ensure I maintain a dark back-
ground, such as black in a low-key setting, I will keep my subject at least twice
as far from the background as they are from the main light. If I want an evenSUPPLEMENTARY LIGHTING 115FACING PAGE—While providing private
photography instruction to my client
Adam, I had the opportunity to pho-
tograph Renee in a local motorcycle
shop in Virginia. The first thing I
noticed, was the garage door open-
ing, which would help provide a
light-toned background for the
model’s dark hair—specifically with a
long lens. I was fortunate enough,
with Adam’s help, to try out Canon’s
newest lens at the time: their super-
fast 200mm telephoto, which was
perfect for compressing the back-
ground. We also had access to some
high-end, Broncolor lighting, which
allowed us to add accent lighting on
the bike and model. (CAMERA:Canon
EOS 5D fitted with a Canon EF
200mm f/2L IS USM. SETTINGS:
200mm effective focal length,^1 / 200
second shutter speed, f/4.5, white
balance at 6000K, ISO 100)