Why do we use studio lighting?
We use studio lighting when we want to control illumination, the subject as well as the camera and exposure settings.
Studio lighting (strobes, reflectors, diffusers etc.) offers us that control.
Shooting Mode:
Manual mode is often preferred once an initial exposure is established. If you’re shooting your camera in Manual Mode, and your flash in manual mode, you’ll also adjust flash intensities and then apertures. If your images are dark, you increase the intensity of your flash and/or use a smaller (higher) aperture. If your test images are overexposed, you decrease the intensity of your flash and/or use a larger (lower) aperture.
One Point Lighting
In many occasions, a single source of light creates a very natural, sometimes dramatic look that will draw people’s attention to the single lighted person or surface- a single source looks two dimensional or flat, and rarely hits people straight on, so it creates shadows.
Two point Lighting
When you want the subtleness of a single light source but want your people to stand out in 3D, two-point lighting can be a great way to add dimensionality without going overboard on your lighting.
Three point Lighting
The goal of three point lighting is to create the illusion of a three-dimensional subject in a two-dimensional image.
- The Key Light – This is the main light used on your subject. (The purpose of the key light is to put the light on the subject. You can place it anywhere you want, but a common placement is about 45 degrees to either side of the camera, and about 45 degrees up from the subject.)
- The Fill Light – The purpose of this light is to fill in the shadows created by the key light, preventing them from getting too dark. (The purpose of the fill light is simply to fill in the shadows caused by the key light. One thing to be cautious about — the fill light should not create a second shadow. If you see two shadows, that means the fill light is too powerful and needs to be reduced.)
- The Back Light – This is used to separate the subject from the background.
What is Chiarascuro ?
Chiarascuro is an oil painting technique, developed during the Renaissance, that uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to model three-dimensional forms, often to dramatic effect (it is a method of painting which imparts a sense of very directional light falling on the subject.) Artists known for developing the technique include Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt.
Some examples: