Lighting for Portraiture in the Studio

Low Key Lighting for Portraiture

1. Place the snoot over the mono-block light

2. Use the light reader to determine the correct camera settings.

3. For our shoot, I set the camera to ISO 200, f/stop 16 and the shutter speed of 1/125.

During the session on low key lighting, I experimented with taking portraits using this type of lighting and the above camera settings. Below shows some of my outcomes from the session. I really like how the images suggest an element of mystery due to the fact that they are quite dark and therefore appear to be quite dramatic.

I then edited my original images which are shown below to give them a black and white filter. In my opinion, the edited versions look much more effective as the edits help to show the highlighted areas as well as the shadowed areas. I also edited the image by increasing the saturation and also altering the curves to make the overall image brighter to therefore help the subject appear more striking and attract the audiences eye more. I also prefer the edits as I believe that the black and white filter helps to portray the element of mystery that is presented in the portraits which are captured with the low key lighting. Overall, I really like the outcome from the session and feel as though the lighting has helped to create a more dramatic photograph.

Although I like the original image and its composition, I feel that the image was more successful when it had been edited using photoshop.

With the above images, I really like the way that the light has been manipulated in order to make the main light be on the subjects face. This therefore helps to draw the audiences eye to this area as the main focus point of the image. I like the edit as I think that it has been successful in brightening the illuminated area of the image. 

I really like the composition of this image and like the element of shadow which is present within the image.

I especially like the edited version and feel it is a more successful image than the original. I like the way that the element of shadow is still present and like how, using the edit, I have managed to brighten the image and also by doing this, give certain areas of the image, such as the hair and the hand, more definition.

I like this image and like the alternative way of the photograph being taken as a landscape shot. I think that in this image, this is effective as it has allowed more negative space to be created either side of the subject's face. 

I really like this edit which was done using photoshop. I like how I have managed to enlighten the skin tones as this does not only draw more attention to the face, but also makes the shadows more apparent on the face. I think that these shadows look very effective and add interest to the image. I achieved the position of the shadows by manipulating the positioning of the low key lighting in the studio.