OCTOBER 2019 DIGITAL CAMERA^351
Soft or hard light?
Chris says: “To achieve a softer light,
try moving your key light in as close to
your subject’s face as you can without
it showing in the frame. The same
principle works if you want to use a
hard light: just move your key light
further away from your subject, and
watch the shadows turn darker and
become defined. Both soft light and
hard light work great for headshots.”2
The rule of thirds
“The ‘rule of thirds’ is a familiar term
in photography, and basically means
to add something of interest in any
third section of your frame. As you
can see from my headshot of Clem,
I have framed his eyes in the upper
third section of the frame – doing
this helps the viewer connect with
the image. The rule of thirds works
particularly well with landscape
photography but can also be adapted
in just the same way with a portrait.”3
The inverse-square law
“The title may seem a bit intimidating,
but it’s actually simple. The inverse-
square law refers to how fast light falls
away from your subject – highlight
to shadow. This is achieved by moving
your light source closer or further away
from your subject. The closer you put
your light source in relation to the face,
the faster the light will fall off, leaving
lots of shadow to contour and shape
the face. Moving your light further
away from the face means fewer
shadows and a more even
spread of light.”9 | PORTRAITSLarger than life
Chris Bailey reveals his best pro tips for
capturing cinematic portraits in small spaces
hris Bailey is a portrait
photographer from Frome.
He tells us: “I had the
opportunity to shoot some
headshots of actor Clem
So.” Clem has appeared in many films
including Skyfall, Spectre, Star Wars:
The Force Awakens and Jurassic World:
Fallen Kingdom, as well as the TV
series Doctor Who and Broadchurch.
Chris reveals the shoot actually took
place in his living room! “Shooting ina small place with minimal gear can really
help push your creativity and make you
think outside the box,” he says. “I find
these types of shoots the most exciting:
you always end up with fantastic results.”
Chris found Clem’s persona and look
to be full of so much character that he
wanted to showcase him in the best
way possible. “I decided to play about
with some ‘cinematic’ lighting styles.
I wanted the final headshots to
almost look like movie stills.”Chris used a basic three-point lighting
setup for this shoot. “To the left is a very
small 30x40cm softbox, which I used
as a key light. To the right is a small
daylight LED, which adds that tiny
bit of highlight on Clem’s jaw.
“The third light is another daylight
LED, which is feathered across
the background. By using this classic
setup you can make a two-dimensional
subject ‘pop’ from the frame.”
http://www.chrisbaileyphotography.co.ukC
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Colour-grading
“I wanted Clem’s finished headshots
to look like movie stills. A good way
to achieve this in the post-processing
stage is to colour-grade the image.
I did this by adding a golden tone in
just the highlights and a slight blue
in the shadows in Lightroom using the
Split Toning panel. Colour-grading your
images is a great and fast way to add
some atmosphere to your headshots.”5
Choose the
right background
“When you select a background for
your headshots, simple is almost
always a better option. Backgrounds
that are too busy distract the viewer
and take attention away from the
face, which is the most important bit.
I specifically chose a dark grungy
background for Clem, as I thought it
would add to his character and bring
atmosphere to the shot. Choosing
the right background can really play
a huge part in your headshots.”ChrisBailey