Lighting Design For Commercial Portrait Photography

Effective commercial portraiture is heavily reliant on clean, crisp lighting looks that emphasize color, contrast, contours, and texture to allow viewers of magazines, newspapers, television, and movies to view a product or model/celebrity in a precise and predetermined way that suits the overall marketing campaign and leaves viewers with a specific, conscripted feeling about the product /person being shown. Crafting this type of polished lighting requires absolute proficiency with the tools of the trade, from flash, to beauty lights, to softboxes, to gobos and gels. It also requires thinking outside the box to create lighting with a “hook”—a certain quality that binds the look to the brand identity and can be carried out repeatedly across several advertising campaigns. Whether you are producing album cover art, lingerie shoots for an intimates catalog, or production stills for television shows or movies, Jennifer Emery will give you the technical and creative skill set you need to thrive artistically, work efficiently with models and set designers, and win repeat clients. Beginning with essential strategies for finding and casting talent, paying/trading with that talent, and creating an open dialogue throughout the directorial stages, Jennifer builds a solid foundation from which the artistic concept can spring forth. In the following chapters, she presents text and images that will instruct readers on creating numerous looks/projects, including: (1) Beauty lighting for beauty/cosmetics ads (2) High-Key Lighting for a magazine cover shoot, (3) Lighting groups for a movie/TV poster, (4) Sculpting light for boudoir/lingerie/swimsuit/nude photograph, (5) Working with speedlights/flash for editorial fashion and lifestyle shoots, and (6) Lighting exterior locations for high fashion and fashion editorial work. Armed with these skills, photographers will be able to approach any commercial lighting job with a repertoire of skills, an ability to overcome challenges, and the confidence needed to nail the shot every time.

Studio lighting offers portrait photographers unlimited creative control. Mastering its use requires a specific skill set, however. Fortunately, portrait photography legend Tony Corbell is up to the task of showing readers how to harness its full power. He sets a foundation for mastering the use of strobes and continuous lighting sources (LEDs, tungsten lights, and fluorescent sources), creating effective lighting setups (with the aid of detailed, yet simple-to-understand diagrams), metering and adjusting the light, correcting color imbalances, softening harsh shadows, and more. He also introduces readers to the proper use of standard photographic modifiers -- softboxes, umbrellas, octoboxes, beauty dishes, and other tools -- so that they can sculpt their every portrait subject with incredibly flattering light. This book is filled with over 150 inspiring and instructive images from a true master of the craft. In these pages, readers will learn step-by-step instructions for mastering the many critical concepts one must understand to gain mastery over light. Armed with simple strategies for studio lighting, readers can repeatedly re-create Corbell's award-winning portrait lighting looks with their own clients.

Effective commercial portraiture is heavily reliant on clean, crisp lighting looks that emphasize color, contrast, contours, and texture to allow viewers of magazines, newspapers, television, and movies to view a product or model/celebrity in a precise and predetermined way that suits the overall marketing campaign and leaves viewers with a specific, conscripted feeling about the product /person being shown. Crafting this type of polished lighting requires absolute proficiency with the tools of the trade, from flash, to beauty lights, to softboxes, to gobos and gels. It also requires thinking outside the box to create lighting with a “hook”—a certain quality that binds the look to the brand identity and can be carried out repeatedly across several advertising campaigns. Whether you are producing album cover art, lingerie shoots for an intimates catalog, or production stills for television shows or movies, Jennifer Emery will give you the technical and creative skill set you need to thrive artistically, work efficiently with models and set designers, and win repeat clients. Beginning with essential strategies for finding and casting talent, paying/trading with that talent, and creating an open dialogue throughout the directorial stages, Jennifer builds a solid foundation from which the artistic concept can spring forth. In the following chapters, she presents text and images that will instruct readers on creating numerous looks/projects, including: (1) Beauty lighting for beauty/cosmetics ads (2) High-Key Lighting for a magazine cover shoot, (3) Lighting groups for a movie/TV poster, (4) Sculpting light for boudoir/lingerie/swimsuit/nude photograph, (5) Working with speedlights/flash for editorial fashion and lifestyle shoots, and (6) Lighting exterior locations for high fashion and fashion editorial work. Armed with these skills, photographers will be able to approach any commercial lighting job with a repertoire of skills, an ability to overcome challenges, and the confidence needed to nail the shot every time.

Some photographers make portraits that we can’t take our eyes off of. These images create mood, evoke emotion, and pique our curiosity. They have that certain something that other portraits seem to lack. These rare images are memorable—the kind of shots that clients want and photographers strive to emulate. These portraits are technically precise and have style. Neil van Niekerk is a big name in the portrait and wedding photography industry. His masterful photographs get a reaction, and he’s devoted to helping others create compelling portraits for their clients. In this book, van Niekerk shows readers strategies for creating a wide range of portrait looks (romantic, fun, sweet, dramatic, glamorous, or moody) in lackluster, middle-of-nowhere locales, small home studios, big expanses, and even on rooftops. Starting with traditional lighting and posing strategies and moving through “spicier” varieties, he shows readers how integrating specialized lighting (rim lighting, backlighting, flare, and low-key lighting—using natural light and artificial sources) and compositional approaches (shallow depth of field, lens compression, and unorthodox perspectives) into their creative approach can allow them to take full creative control over their portrait-taking process so that they’re able to deliver incredible shots of their clients in any photographic conditions.

Whether you are a beginning photographer or a budding professional, you will find techniques to help in your photographic endeavors.

This cookbook-style guide to portrait lighting contains all the ingredients necessary for a successful photo shoot. With 60 two-page spreads highlighting the techniques used to create stunning portraits alongside the portraits themselves, aspiring photographers will have a clear sense of both the "how" and the "why" of good lighting. Difficult questions such as How can I downplay a double chin and dark shadows under the eyes? and How can I produce a soft, romantic feel in a woman's portrait? Are addressed and resolved in this no-nonsense guide to good lighting.

The fundamentals of exposure and the essentials of lighting are explored in this photography reference that uses progressive images from portrait sessions as its basis of explanation. Starting with how light is perceived differently by the camera than the human eye, this resource clarifies the more complicated laws that govern light, breaking the rules down with clear, effective examples. Various light sources are investigated—from simple sunlight to advanced professional and studio systems—as well as the types of lighting units used at different times during the sessions. By adding or modifying one light at a time, a sequence of images shows how the desired effect was achieved, offering photographers step-by-step troubleshooting tips. Concise text paired with photo examples offer any portrait photographer the techniques needed to create perfectly lit images.

Light, vibrant and malleable, is the greatest tool at the disposal of portrait photographers. In this acclaimed book—with over 50,000 copies in print—Christopher Grey walks you through studio portrait lighting from start to finish. Dozens of image sequences and before/after pairings show you precisely how each change of light position and modifier affects the look of the lighting on the subject. From classic portrait lighting patterns to unexpected but powerful looks, Grey teaches you everything you need to know to control light effectively. Armed with these powerful skills, you’ll be able to create portraits that are more flattering, more marketable, and more creative.