The main focus of this lighting workshop was to learn about three point lighting. Three point lighting is exactly what it says on the tin, this method of lighting involves using three lights in different positions in order to illuminate the subject.
The lights all have their own name and their own specific purpose:
- The Key Light: this is the brightest light and typically the light you set up first. The light is placed on the floor at a 45º angle from the subject and is angled towards them at a 45º angle from slightly above head height.
- The Fill Light: this light is used to fill the shadows created by the key light so that the light is even across the subject's face.
- The Back Light: this light is used to help define the subject from the background. It helps to illuminate the subject so that they stand out from the surroundings.
We were then given the opportunity to have a go with the lighting ourselves. We set up three tungsten lights and positioned them in the appropriate positions. We used scrims to change the intensity of the lighting, but this could also be done by positioning the lights further away from the subject.
We decided to open up the barn doors in order to flood the light onto the subject. However, this lead to us creating a rather over exposed image (as shown below).
We then realised the intensity of the light was too strong as it completely washed out Alex's face. In order to resolve this issue, we moved the lights further away from him and used some scrim to dim the light.
We finally managed to achieve a good image with the three point lighting technique. The key light and fill light work perfectly together to give an even lighting effect across Alex's face (with a natural looking shadow falling across the left half of his face). The back light works to separate Alex from the background which we found particularly hard due to Alex's clothing being dark against the dark background.
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