STUDIO LIGHTING

What is studio lighting and why do we use it?

Studio lighting is an effective way of lighting up a subject using artificial light sources, it is done in order to: reflect light off the subject, highlight certain features of a subject and to give a clear image of the subject by enlightening them.  It helps the photographer to create a controlled environment in order to an exact photograph that you want. Studio lighting allows you to completely control how hard/soft the light is, the intensity of it and the direction of which it is coming from. It is easy to adjust studio lighting in order to create the best shot possible by highlighting certain parts of the subjects face and body and by reflecting light in different directions.

Types of lighting

Spill Lighting

Spill lighting is lighting where the light falls where it was not intended to fall by the photographer. This creates a distracting effect within images which can either benefit or ruin your photographs.

Fill Lighting

Fill light is any source of illumination that lightens or fills in areas of shadow created by other lights. Usually, fill light is used to lighten the shadows created by the key light. This is purposefully done to give a natural full look to the subject in order to get a nice clean image.

Chiaroscuro Lighting

Chiaroscuro lighting is a technique of lighting that uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark in order to exaggerate certain aspects of the subject with a very dramatic effect.  This technique creates a lot of drama and mysteriousness which works well in a semi-abstract way.