Lighting Techniques for Photographing Model Portfolios: Strategies for Digital Photographers

beautifully over the whole photograph, creating the desired result: a beauty

shot that emphasized the model’s eyes and delicate features.

I have noticed one benefit of pairing a softbox with an umbrella: they pro-

duce two different qualities of light. They both are soft and spread out the

light, but the softbox produces a softer light while the umbrella produces

slightly more contrast. There is a problem, however. Many purists do not like

themultiplecatchlightsintheeyesthatthissetupproduces(5-17).Therefore,

you may wish to take them out in Photoshop, as seen in the final image.

Notice how nothing in the photograph distracts from her face. I decided

to frame her face with rabbitfur because itwas softand and the texture of the

fur would work nicely with her smooth skin. I knew that I was going to have

to crop the image very tightly so that no distractions would appear around

her, so I didn’t worry about the background.

Practical Example: A Fresh, Colorful Look.The client for image5-18

(next page) was a hair, makeup, and photo stylist who wanted an image that

was “wild with eye-catching bursts of color” to advertise her skills. The pose

also needed to be high in energy to complement the fun of the accessories.

With that objective in mind, I was free to concentrate on lighting that

would complement her work. With a veritable fiesta of color to shoot, light-

ing was critical to maintain a fresh, festive appearance. Subtle reflections were

needed to highlight the confections and to avoid making the face appear flat.

To achieve this, the model was photographed against a white seamless

background, which was lit by umbrellas to either side of the set, ensuring it

would render as clean, bright white. A 12x16-inch softbox was placed six feet

above the model to create highlights on the hair style and accessories. This

helped to bring out the wild colors and to reveal the detail in the shapes and

textures.

To light the model’s face, 24x36-inch softboxes were placed to either side

of the model. These were positioned about four feet high, then angled down

toward the model’s face. (Note:A lighting setup where two main lights are

used on opposite sides of the model’s face is called crosslighting or clamshell

lighting.) For a little fill light from below, to ensure the shadows beneath her

LIGHT MODIFIERS 81

5-16(facingpage), 5-17(top).Pairing a
softbox with an umbrella, placed on op-
posite sides of the subject, creates a
very soft look. It also creates multiple
catchlights, as seen in the blow-up of
her eyes only (5-17). If you like, these
can be removed in Photoshop, as seen
in the final image (5-16).

camera on tripod

umbrellaat elevation

of 4 feet

24x32-inchsoftbox at

elevation of4 feet and

angled down